Hi All,

Your collective advice is needed, I am unhappy with my combination of 380 DBA4000 disks and QFM HPX pads.

I do not believe I push the 380 hard, the original pads and brake rotors I changed after 115,000 and only changed them as the disks were glazed, the pads still had 3mm left on them.

Based on the advice on this forum I upgraded to DBA4000 disks and QFM HPX pads. I have not been happy with the amount of break dust created.

Now at 149,000 the DBA4000 disks are warn out and cannot be machined and the QFM HPX pads are at 2mm. I consider 34,000km total life on these premium products to be a total waste of my time and money($500+) and it does not speak well for these products.

So what should I do next, do I simply put my original disks back on with new MMAL pads or should I go DBA again but with MMAL pads as I believe the QFM HPX pads are overly aggressive?

For the record only now at 149,000 do the factory rear pads need to be changed, and again the original front pads at 115,000 had 3mm left so I don’t think I am hard on the breaks.

I see you are in the A.C.T so why not go have a chat with Trevor over at Australian Brake Sleeving in Queanbeyan.

This is strange as I have done so many of these with the QFM and I feel your issue may be the DBA4000 The DBA4000 were always regarded as a great rotor however I have seen a fair few with a lot of wear on them for the mileage done, part of the reason I think they perform may be softer material like euor cars have. I can tell you is not the QFM as all of our cars have them as do most of our customers cars and on normal rotors the wear is not very much at all.

Standard rotors are fine, there is no real need for slotted or dimpled rotors for street use at all.

Other alternative people are raving about in the trade are the Bremtek pads (Used as OE pads in a lot of euro cars), I have been using them here and have had good response from many thus far and are lower in dust. QFM were well known for being low dust but I will admit this has changed in teh last 18 or so months as I have noticed with my own cars as well. Pop on some Protek standard or RDA standard rotors and I think you will be pleased with the result

I put my first set of QFM HPX front pads on a few years ago, on stock rotors. The pads wore quite slowly, almost no dust, but they did chew into the rotors a bit.

Then about 18 months later I bought new DBA 4000 slotted 'street series' with new HPX pads (a package deal), and the DBAs were the last of the Australian made rotors before they switched to Chinese made.

This time around they were low dust again and didn't chew into the rotors at all.

Both times they were a bit squealy at low speed, and both times I fixed that with CRC De-Squeak.

So I suspect it's as Mal says, either or both the DBA rotors or HPX pads are now different from what they used to be.

Both times they were a bit squealy at low speed, and both times I fixed that with CRC De-Squeak.

Yeah, this has been my experience with HP-X pads as well. They perform well, but they squeal constantly at low speed. I also do agree with the original poster though, they are a very dusty pad indeed. Bedding them in lasted maybe a few days before squeal returned. I don't remember what rotors I have, Mal might remember as he sold them to me.

I think I will try that De-Squeak you mentioned here and at the dinner, any further tips for application? Just apply to rotor surface, then burnish in?

... I have not been happy with the amount of break dust created.
That's the trade-off with performance pads though. You will get noticeably more dust than a standard pad. The HPX are good for a performance pad though. My dad had a FPX F6X with factory six piston Brembo brakes, and the front wheels would literally be black after a week's regular driving. The HPX I have had on both my Magna and my 380 are much less dustier. Ditto for noise - my HPX squeal a little but nothing like the pads that came on the Territory.

If you don't like noise or dust, buy a set of Bendix Generals and be done with it. But I've had them fade (to the point where I could barely brake) on a good spirited drive, so I won't be buying them again. I would have no hesitations in using them on a daily driver though.

As for the wear, I think Mal raises a good point regarding the cause of your wear. On my old Magna with 380 brakes, I had the HPX as well as standard (i.e. non-slotted) RDA rotors. After a good 22,000km the pads were still on 6mm+.

Yeah, this has been my experience with HP-X pads as well. They perform well, but they squeal constantly at low speed. I also do agree with the original poster though, they are a very dusty pad indeed. Bedding them in lasted maybe a few days before squeal returned. I don't remember what rotors I have, Mal might remember as he sold them to me.

I think I will try that De-Squeak you mentioned here and at the dinner, any further tips for application? Just apply to rotor surface, then burnish in?

Jakey,

Apply a good even spray of CRC De-Squeak to both sides of the rotors. Then go somewhere with no traffic and 'panic brake' 10 or 12 times in quick succession, from around 80km/h down to 20km/h. Hard enough to invoke ABS. This should be enough to burnish the spray on properly. You can tell it's hot enough when you can see and smell smoke. Then repeat 4 or 5 days later. I had to repeat both times before it worked, but after that never a single squeal or squeak again.

Thanks to all of those people that have commented. For the record my DBA 4000 disks were some of the last of the Australian made units. I still have the boxes to this day with my original disks in them. Below is a pic, note the Australian Made Logo bottom centre of the box.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb7/s311_bvm/4000box_zps56194259.jpg (http://s205.photobucket.com/user/s311_bvm/media/4000box_zps56194259.jpg.html)

The dba4000s are awesome quality, hpx are nothing special though. Sadly there isnt many good pads for your calipers.