www.jec.org.uk

Is it worth the extra money to replace the standard Super V8 brakes with Brembro brakes ?
Anyone had the conversion done?..Joe

I have seen somewhere in one of Nigel Thorley's books that Brembo brakes offer no real performance increase over Jaguar's standard brakes but the replacement pads and spares are very expensive. They look great through the spokes with the posh red logo but thats all.
When I find the actual quote I will post it.

Hello and very interested in this subject.

I attended the Forum for XJ8 owners through the Club and the Jaguar Tech guys (Paul Grantham was there) indicated that uprating the brakes is a great way to enhance the car - as Nigel was there I am very interested in seeing if there is a real difference of opinion as to the efficacy of an upgrade on this as the cost is high, although I just want to know - is it worth it?

Cheers and look forward to any further info,

Dominic.

I personally have just had the same thought, as the brake pedal seemed "spongy" but it did stop the car.......i went to my local Jaguar specialist who said the pads he uses are stock pads and are the same as main dealer pads............unless you had the brakes done yourself earlier you dont really know if the ZR rating has been upheld...so he replaced the front pads as they were due to be replaced in 2-3 thousand miles the rear ones were ok. I asked the Brembro question to the guy who actually races Jaguars and he said " yer pays yer money yer takes yer choice" far too expensive for the replacement discs and pads not a worthwhile idea.
You pay for a name with not much different to what you already have if you are using the ZR rated equipment.
So he did the job, checking calipers,cleaning brake dust, replacing and supplying the front pads ZR rated...........25 mins ....cost aprox £70.
However it took a while for the pads to really bed in but now the brakes are just how i like them............

Looking at my post in October all seems well with my spongy brake pedal........its now April and I'm not too sure.
The first run out of our season (a run round the Dales) was a very wintry
experience as it turned out later in the day and as we were up in the higher Dales and the snow started to fall heavily it was a bit of a dash to get down to the lower end of the Dales where the roads were wider and more on a level.
A lot of tight corners and some on steep inclines made the old brake pedal seem soft, it did its job and stopped the car but without that firm grab i think brakes of this supposed calibre should have...anyone else have this problem?,,,,,Joe

Joe,

i would personally be looking for other issues with the brakes for being ' spongy ' as you put it

even standard brakes are firm and stop the car well, but like any car need looking after, this goes all the way from new pads and discs to changing out the entire fluid every two years. as recommended by jaguar service sheets ,

on top of this you may have a little air in the system which makes it spongy, or even have the start of the main brake pistons failing,

the brakes could be ' glazed ' making the friction surfaces slip ,

like i said, even standard is good, dont waste money by putting enhanced systems on until you get your existing system working 100% ,

BTW these enhanced systems are not required for every day driving, they only come into their own when going like an idiot round country lanes where the brakes heat up a lot, or on the racing track

its just a way of making you part with your money to feel like you have something ' better ' on the car

and remember, its the only system you have to stop you ploughing into something in front of you, get it sorted asap

BB