Hey all, so after i killed my brakes i decided to machine the rotors and throw in some qfm ar1m pads in as there was still plenty of meat left on the discs (thank you hpx pads)....

My previous set up was:

Stock Rotors machined
Bendix heavy duty pads all around
Unknown green hi temp racing brake fluid
Stock brake lines

Actully very good feel to the brake pedal (when hot), dusty as hell, very quick rotor and pad wear, overall: good having a bit of fun without breaking the bank set up...

DBA T2 Slotted front rotors
DBA XS 4000 drilled and slotted rear rotors
QFM HPX pads all around
Motul RBF660
Stock Brake Lines and no brake coolers

Overall: a good every day pad, can take some track work (very light) and will withstand mountain runs at steady pace....will cook n fry bacon and eggs in no time when pushed to its limits (thanks to the weight of the 380 and the small disc/caliper set up from factory....but out of respect the hpx held their game even after being on fire multiple times and did not damage the brake rotors...and very very minimal wear on the discs and good pad life....minimal dust, fronts do squeak though when worn in....basic brake upgrade

my current set up

replace pistons seals, and re lube caliper pins

DBA T2 Slotted Front rotors (machined)
DBA XS4000 Slotted and drilled rear rotors (skimmed)
QFM AR1M pads all around
Castrol dot 4 brake fluid (only for bed in)
Stock brake lines no brake coolers

My thoughts, I am still bedding these sukkas in, because the rotors have been machined and skimmed you should not bed in the pads like brand spanka rotors, the pad needs to mate to the disc properley as skim/machine rotors have a much rougher surface...if you go too hard on bed in you will destroy your brakes.....Anyways....the first 250kms was baby baby bed in (under 60km/h) and using gears to slow down cant say much for that...

the next 250kms was a light-moderate bed in....let me say, these pads are dusty as HELL...my wheels are pretty much BLACK, they do squeak once you get to normal operating temps, and let me say, they SMELL like....something....and F**K me they get hot.....i have only started the bed in produde and 250kms later i boiled my brake fluid (cheap castrol ddot 4, this is why i used cheap crap because i knew the brakes where gona get hot and did not want to shell out $80per/Litre brake fluid, that was going to need replacing after bed in)...these pads are deciving during bed in (you are thinking, i should have stuck with hpx pads)....so another flush and bleed of the brake fluid and contunie with the bed in...

then things really changed then, again once i got a bit of heat into these fellas i was amazed by how rapidly the car was knocking off speed with very minimal brake pedal application...(during bed in i never bring the car to a complete stop)....I then knew i made the right choice, so i contined my bed in until the pad matted to the rotor and the rotor showed consistant colour i knew then the brakes where bedded in.....So another flush and bleed of cheapo castrol brake fluid and down to nashos for a test run....

After cruising for a while (pads cool down) dont expect the car to stop in a hurry like hpx pads....if anything expect to warp your rotors....but once a bit of heat is in them they stop and stop well they do....so going down the runs i get these babys nice and warm, (not a crazy or anything)....but hotter than usual....these have a very good feel to them, they wash off speed very well (much better than hpx pads)...I knew i was near the boiling point of the brake fluid though the fluid did maintain its properties after consistent hi temps (for the brake fluid)...i was using only very moderate brake pedal application...after a cool down i decided "lets boil the brake fluid".......it did not take much, i boiled the fluid far far quicker than expected....

I also found these pads just generally get hotter than usual even for normal driving....so i did another flush and bleed of cheapo castrol brake fluid for NOW....and everyday driving they are dusty, squeaky, and stop similair to an everyday pad for everyday driving...but if you are frying HPX pads these are your next step up


My next plan of attact is to put castrol SRF racing brake fluid and get these babys hot and see how they perform and i will post up how they go....if i still get fade i will get braided lines and front brake coolers...

sorry for the long read i just wanted to share my thoughts and advice

atm I have factory TW VRX brakes with Bendix pads. I'm considering 380 brake conversion, where I'd most likely follow your second (current) set up as it sounds like a good formula

"if i still get fade i will get braided lines and front brake coolers..."

I think you should have done this before when you first installed the slotted / drilled Rotors.... even just the braided lines on stock pads/rotors they make a lot of brake improvement

well wen i bought the car the pads on there where shit, so i upgraded to bendix hd with hi temp fluid...they where good for what they where....then pads and rotors shot, so i upgraded to slotted/drilled/pads/brake fluid expecting a major upgrade in braking performance as with most cars....but this is a heavy car with small brakes.....so since i cooked the hpx and still have meat on my current rotors i decideed to step up in pads (dont fix if it aint broke), it did help allot....but still on high speeds they brakes are just too too small (above 140km/h)....under 120km/h the ar1ms will make your back PEEL off the seat if you got good enough tyres without abs kicking in.....but i drive like a mad man on the track so an brembo conversion would suit this car better...(the 380 imho should have come out with brembos from factory just because of its shear weight and engine output)....


braided brake lines do nothing for braking performance...they dont stop the car any quicker, they just control brake lines balloning and the feel of the pedal but in no means stop the car any faster

brake coolers have pros and cons, (pro they do help TO A POINT on the track) cons on the streets brake coolers over cool your brakes when driving normal which on most cases mean higher rotor wear and less stopping power, when raining they will direct water straight to your brakes resulting in the brake fluid absorbing mostuire allot faster....

***UPDATE***

ok so after flushing out the cheapo castrol brake fluid i filled my baby up with castrol SRF brake fluid (the highest temp brake fluid over the counter i am aware of that does not eat brake seals)....my impression


BRAVO to the AR1M's, once heat was introduced to these pads under 140km/h right down to 5km/h will make your eyes pop out of there sockets they have a very very controllable progessive feel to them over and over again. But be warned these can be deciving if you have the wrong tyres on...ABS will kick in....(this is the first time my tyres have not been able to keep up with brakes, im running falken 912 245 45 18 tyres fresh rubber, previously these worked best with the HPX pads, but the ar1m's require i much softer tyre)....so i decided to put track tyres on, and WOW over and over again these brakes never failed or faded once, the brake fluid did its job bloody damn well.....between 170km/h-140km/h you need to be soft on the brakes until you come down to 140 (but belive me they wash off speed quicker than you can imagine) then you can go hard and the brakes and still have control otherwise you will boil your brake fluid and fry your pads, (thanks to the weight of the 380)...anything above 170km/h i can only suggest to use the weight/wind/gravity to slow this car down, i would only COVER the brakes very very lightly above 170 until i drop down to the 160 mark then go soft and work your way down....very noisy and dusty pad....pad wear seams a fair bit higher than average compared to HPX....rotor wear i cant say much until the pads are gone

but overall: very good pad with the right tyre and brake fluid choice