MTEC Brakes - Review(s)

[Robo_#1]

I know a few people have shown interest in maybe buying some front discs for their Clio 197/200 from these guys. I took the plunge last week, so thought I'd stick a quick first impressions. I'll post in here at some point in the future to see how they're wearing over time.


Delivery: I went for the 48hour delivery, which took 72 hours to arrive (it took 24 hours to dispatch them, even though I ordered first thing in the morning)

Packaging:
Packaged decently enough...


IMG_7432 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr



Weight:
They don't seem abnormally heavy, a little heavier than my used Brembo HC discs (which have obviously lost a lot of material over 40k of use)

IMG_7465 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr


IMG_7468 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr



Fitting: Well they went on pretty easily. Unfortunately, my standard Brembo discs DID NOT want to come off, which started out with a bit of this...

IMG_7477 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr

Then a bit of this...

IMG_7478 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr

And then the big hammer came out, and the Mrs put the camera down and backed away... :lol:

I ended up getting a bit filthy (I REALLY should have worn gloves)...

IMG_7454 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr

Comparison: They were always going to feel a lot better than my knackered discs and pads, and until they have fully bedded in and with the sh*t weather we're having it's hard to really give them a proper test, or see what (if any) difference the grooved and drilled discs make to performance and brake fade.

Pros: So far I'm very happy with them, they seem to have decent bite and on a decent run today with 10 other Clios/Megs I've had no problems .
Cons: When they're wet and cold they groan when you first hit the pedal, my Brembos never did this, so I'm guessing its coming from the grooves. They're also a bit whiny when slowing hard from speed, but again I'm still bedding in and this seems to be settling. (also, I've not gotten too much heat in them, as its pissing down with rain!)



IMG_7437 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr

IMG_7438 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr

IMG_7440 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr

IMG_7449 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr


Looks: I went for drilled and vented discs with a black coating, I'm really happy I went with that choice as personally I think they look great. MTEC also offer them in Silver and Gold coatings. The only issue I have, is that I kind of want to paint my H&R Spacers black now too as they're currently silver and contrast with the discs a little.

IMG_7482 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr

IMG_7490 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr

IMG_7494 by Rob Owen!, on Flickr

I'll get a shot of them now the black has worn off later on and post it up. Also I know one or two other people have bought from them in the last few weeks, so feel free to stick your opinions in here too and we can get a definitive review thread together

MTEC Brakes: http://www.mtecbrakes.com/

 

[Ashton]

Great review Rob

Also I recommend the black mamba gloves for stuff like this. Indestructible

 

[Tickle]

Good thread, im keen to see how these turnout. They look good too on the car mate :thumbup1:

 

[keljon]

I have grooved and dimpled black edition and happy with mine, they are noisy though but it's the grooves as mentioned

 

[fmp]

i wonder how many yards until all the black coating comes off....?

what sort of price are they?

 

[Jonesy]

they look like the EBC dics patten.

good right up









love it when u get dirty

 

[Tickle]

i wonder how many yards until all the black coating comes off....?

what sort of price are they?

The black coating will be in the grooves, dimples or holes and wherever the pads dosnt sweep for the life of the disc.

 

[Robo_#1]

i wonder how many yards until all the black coating comes off....?

what sort of price are they?

They've got a 10% discount on there at the moment so I got them delivered for <£100 (inc £14 for black coating). So they're really cheap.

Design (thickness, internal vents etc) are identical to the brembos just with the additional grooves. Not sure on the compound though so I'll be interested how they go when they're bedded and up to temperature.

The black coating where the pads touch was gone by the time I'd done the 25mile journey home . Hopefully it'll last ok everywhere else though and stop them looking scabby after a while.


Jonesy: you know I like to get dirty...

 

[Fernandez]

They look alright Rob, I've seen them on eBay before and if I wasn't going 330mm then they would be a contender.

Great write up too :thumbsup:

 

[Dmonk197]

Thanks Rob- do they still make noise once bedded in? also seems like the colour is just a gimick?

thanks for the feedback!

 

[Robo_#1]

I've not driven the car since last weekend so not sure really. If they are then it can't be loud as the Mrs hasn't bitched at me for breaking it yet

I'll give it a spin at the weekend and take some fresh pics and post them up. The black coating is there to protect the bell and the edges of the disc, it's always going to wear out on friction section that touches the pads, I'm happy I went with it, as looks good behind the wheels (it won't go crusty). Although I wish I'd either bought the silver coating, OR, I'll have to paint the edge of my H&R's but I'm too lazy to take them all off and put the car on stands for a weekend while I paint them .

 

[Dmonk197]

LOL- fair enough i guess the wife is a good way to judge it ha ha

 

[Robo_#1]

Just a quick pic to show how the brakes look after a couple of hundred miles of use. They are still a little noisy, I'll see if I can get it in a video. TBH it doesn't really bother me, but there is a noticeable wurring noise when slowing heavily. This probably wouldn't be the case with just drilled discs so if the noise is an issue then you could just go for those.

 

[Gam]

Rob when I went from plain discs to the Tarox F2000 I noticed a small difference in noise when braking heavily but can't notice it now.

It's just that the surface of the disc isn't smooth and therefore produces a bit of noise. I did however notice that the brake dust has been ridiculous since getting grooved discs as they are harsher on the pads!

 

[Robo_#1]

Can't say that I've really noticed much in pad build up, but I'm running standard Brembo Pads. Also the car hasn't been driven hard at all (other than a blast up to Malton the other week), I've also only cleaned it once so not really noticed. These days my wheels are so wrecked I try not to look at them whenever I can avoid it anyway!

Are you running DS2500?

 

[Gam]

Nope some Pagid pads, honest to god they give of so much brake dust my wheels go from a nice black to copper in like a week!

 

[Robo_#1]

Urgh, that's not ideal. My back one goes like that, but that's because it's stuck on . New rears are here now, so just need to find the time to fit them.

 

[Gam]

New rears courtesy from Angel for Xmas and new pads all round!

 

[Tree200]

Hi Rob, How you finding these a little bit down the line? Got a good price for the front and rear discs so thought id ask how your getting on with them.

 

[jakehewitt]

I think mine are brilliant, got them with standard brembo pads, only thing I can say about them is as I didn't get the black ones the bells go rusty. Nothing a can of hammerite can't solve though