Hey guys, a friend and I are going to be changing the front brake pads on my magna this week.

I did a search of this and other boards and couldn't find answers to my questions so here goes.

He has changed pads on other cars before so no worries there just wondering if we need any additional information that the factory manual cant provide as to the process.

Also what break pads would you suggest for a Sports variant.

Thanks for any help and advise :)

The magna's have a very simple brake setup. No special tools or skills required. Brake caliper is held on by two 15mm bolts to the assembly. Only need to undo the bottom one and loosen the other. Easy as pie to change.

Brake pad wise it depends on what you do with the car, but QFM have a good reputation around here. I've used them for over 40,000kms now and have no complaints on their stopping power and noise. They are pretty dusty and can get chewed through relatively quickly but pull up well with no real noise or fuss.

Bendix Ultimate's are also about on-par. I'd probably stay away from Bendix CT's and cheap Ferodo's. Mind you I've got Bendix CT's on the back but I'm not to fussed about the brakes on the back. Wouldn't be confident on putting them at the front as that where it counts the most.

Pads depend on your driving style. Cost can be from $35 to $85. Cheaper pads work well when cold and around town, but fade when using the Magna as a race car. My $35 pads I installed recently work well, low pedal pressure needed and good stopping ability, easy to activate the ABS. But then I haven't tried them in the hills.

You need to fully retract the piston into the bore to make room for the new thicker pads. G clamp or tool needed.

You can use a screw driver to push the piston back

Whatever you do dont use QFM A1RM, just took mine out and they were falling to pieces. Not happy

Also what break pads would you suggest for a Sports variant.
What's your driving style like?

If your car's just a daily, I'd recommend Bendix General CTs. Average performance and will fade when pushed hard, but no dust and no noise.

If you don't mind a spirited drive, I had QFM HPX pads and loved them. Excellent performance, and low dust/noise for a performance pad. Will get them again on my 380 next service.

Pads depend on your driving style. Cost can be from $35 to $85. Cheaper pads work well when cold and around town, but fade when using the Magna as a race car. My $35 pads I installed recently work well, low pedal pressure needed and good stopping ability, easy to activate the ABS. But then I haven't tried them in the hills.

You need to fully retract the piston into the bore to make room for the new thicker pads. G clamp or tool needed.

What brake pads are these MadMax?

I need new pads.
No plans to race or drive fast.
Has to have good feel, quiet/smooth, low dust preferable and stop well in case of emergency

Lets clear a few things up here

QFM for starters,
A1RM are a competition pad, I have fitted many to cars, they are dusty, noisy and generally bad when cold but brilliant when hot. They are not designed to be fitted to street cars
HPX are considered a quiet and clean pad, great for street use and good for some spirited driving. All brake pads get dusty (funny that) There is no way I would ever say Ultimates are on an even par with HPX as ultimates chew the crap out of rotors, are very noisy and dusty.

The General CT are fine for normal street cars as this is what they are made for, we fit these here in most of our customers cars who intend to use them for normal day to day driving

What brake pads are these MadMax?

Just went into the local car parts place and asked for front pads.

They gave me:
RDA GP Max RDB1203SM (fronts)

Come with their own shims to replace the OEM ones.
They work well from cold, low pedal pressure.
No idea how long they will last though, or how they perform when hot.

Comes with instructions on how to bed them in, worth following. I found that initially you need to press the pedal really hard for them to work, but they settle in nicely after a while. So watch your braking distances for the first few days of using them, ok?

I did both ends of the car with these pads, but did the rears first and gave them 300 km to settle in before doing the fronts.

I'm happy with them, bought a spare set for when I need to do my other Magna.

Thanks MadMax, they seem like a good option for the price.
If you test them hot please report back.

The Bendix CT also seem like a good option but are double the price