Bluestuff NDX Formula Racing Brake pads

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EBC Bluestuff NDX Formula Racing Brake Pads

A world first Race pad that can be used on the STREET.

This is highly unusual as until now Race Pads have been built with no regard to disc wear, noise, harshness, bite from cold and certainly never tested and passed brake safety tests for Highway use such as Europe’s ECE R 90 Brake safety test.(see note at bottom about street use in Europe)

The biggest advantage of the new EBC Bluestuff pads is their bite from cold and progressive feel. This is achieved by blending with specially chosen man made naturally mined fibers which are much less harsh on rotors than semi metallic fiber used by ALL OTHER Race pad builders.

Deep V grooves help venting and catch dirt, dust and debris. Notice the open granular surface texture after the heat scorch (pre-bedding) process.

Pad shown is a European 4x4 which features balance weights for noise reduction.

Photograph of an NDX Formula Bluestuff Brake Pad close up

The EBC Bluestuff NDX formulation has been developed during years of track driving and in 2009 was refined to be suitable for the 3000lb USA model cars such as Mustang,Camaro,GTO,Viper and especially Corvette. Even on the (shall we say) difficult to perfect, race braking on the later “Padlet” type caliper using 6 and 8 piece pad sets the
NDX performs well.

The NDX pad material is bonded to the steel backing plates using multiple high strength interlock holes and a unique chemical interlayer which raises shear and bond strength by a factor of five and prevents pad to plate separation. The pads are then baked and ground and feature high volume Vee grooves to catch the inevitable large amount of debris from track use.

Target use is all types of fast and heavier cars in performance and race driving with much enhanced lifetime over our previous Yellowstuff grade pads.

Interlayer diagram of a Blustuff NDX forula brake pad

The EBC chemical interlayer system is used on Bluestuff NDX range pads which being a harder material and for heavy duty race applications require that extra security of bond strength. The effect of the interlayer is to triple shear strength of a common organic brake pad over non interlayer versions.

R and D Manager Steve Payne checks out the first batch of the new Bluestuff material made with a revolutionary new process to produce the highly acclaimed new EBC Bluestuff Race Pads. The new process involves 5 steps never before used in friction materials and sets EBC Brakes firmly in the lead as a provider of brake friction.

Bedding Performance

The curve does show you how the pad builds friction quickly as bedding in. Notice the stop number along the baseline. After 2-3 stops the friction is very good and the pad just keeps getting stronger during the bed in process. Bed in on a track will happen MUCH faster than on our lab dyno schedule which is set to brake gently 30 times compared to a typical track use.
This means pads will bed in faster than shown here in track use.

cosworth curve 1 - Friction level and Temperature curve during Bed - in
....this is not a final performance indicator.

This curve shows how the brake will feel at differing
brake pressures at the speeds shown on the header line.

This curve shows how the brake will feel at differing
brake pressures at the speeds shown on the header line.

This curve shows how the brake will feel at differing
brake pressures at the speeds shown on the header line.

EBC Bluestuff pads are now PRE BEDDED by heat scorching. This new piece of equipment that we have installed at the UK EBC Factory allows us to offer you a pre bedded brake pad that beds in within 3-4 stops at the track. This major advantage puts EBC ahead of its competition where drivers can arrive at the track, fit new pads and in a single warm up lap can be ready to race. This does of course still require consideration for rotor condition which must be flat and smooth to achieve good contact, we can do a lot at EBC Brakes but we cannot work miracles (yet).

There are several ways of surface scorching pads and EBC has chosen an infra red lamp tunnel for surface preparation of its pad ranges. The new furnace will be introduced in July 2010 and will quickly start scorching all pads for resale starting with the Bluestuff range.

Pre Bedding burns off a lot of the volatile organics in the brake pad surface by passing the pads under an apparatus similar to a “Toaster” after manufacture for a few seconds, this chars the surface and the paint around the pad surface but the result is a major reduction in bed in time which all drivers will appreciate.

Rotor condition

Is important, an off-flat or ribbed and grooved rotor will treble bed in times for street or track use, this is a harder and more durable pad and rotors should be in almost dead flat condition. If you need to have your rotors skimmed we recommend ONLY the very praiseworthy ON CAR brake lathes from pro Cut, which can be found using these links.

Pro Cut Independent Centre's

In the UK Machining per AXLE (two discs) costs between £20 and £50 depending on complexity and is well worth the money

For a list of USA fitting stations with a Pro Cut on car brake lathes click here:

Machining per AXLE costs between $40 and $80 depending on complexity and is well worth the money.

USA Pep Boys Locations equipped with Pro Cut Machines

Pep Boys - America’s No.1 Automotive Service and Repair Chain have upgraded
their brake operations to include the Pro-Cut On-Car Brake Lathes at the
locations below. The particular machines at Pep Boys are the latest type and
are fully capable of machining both plain and slotted or cross drilled brake
rotors. Click the link below to find the nearest Pep Boys center for your
brake rotor correction on vehicles exhibiting brake judder due to hub
misalignment. Pep Boys can also provide full brake service and EBC parts as
needed for your brake upgrade by special order at all locations, soon to be
in stock at major Pep Boys locations across the United States.

Lifetime

Once bedded NDX is capable of 4-5 race events of 30 lap duration in most cases but ALWAYS inspect pads every 30 laps and discard when friction material down to one eighth of an inch or 3mm to avoid fade. In street use the lifetime is very considerable, 20,000 miles an upwards can be expected even driving hard.

Ducting and caliper drag

Please read this link on caliper drag, brake fluid and the effects in race use: Caliper Drag

When using a street car brake system for racing the mere insertion of a race formula pad does not transform your car into a track beast. Some cooling ducts often need to be added to give the brake system and pads a chance to survive race use.

Using Bluestuff as a Street only pad

It is totally acceptable to do this but please note.

In Europe – The ECE R90 brake safety regulations will require the pads to have R 90 certification and this is NOT available for all cars. For a list of cars that HAVE R 90 approval please check with our tech team on technical@ebcbrakesuk.com. If you purchase this product for street use and you do not tell us, you are taking your own risk that the pads have no such approval. They will work fine but not legal. The pads however are an excellent brake material for all kinds of street driving, very sharp on the pedal, last well and absolutely no hint of fade.

In the USA and Canada – No such regulations exist that bar the use of a pad that is higher in friction than everything else available for the street, so not a problem to use these on the street. They are powerful and progressive and as we said earlier, bite well from cold and even damp conditions and will probably be rated as the best brakes you have ever used.

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