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04/11/02
I am the proud owner of a ’97 850R wagon that my wife and I got for our Dalmatian (at least that’s what I told my wife). She had no idea what an 850R could do until she took it to work one day, he-he-he...boy was SHE surprised! I bought it with 60K about 6 months ago, and along with an alignment have only replaced the tires with a wonderful set of 215/45/17 Sumitomo HTZII's from Tire Rack. The “riding-on-rocks” feeling with the P-Zeros is all but gone, and the grip is about 90% of the P-Zeros. A fair trade-off, and certainly worth a look ($440 - shipping included).
The time has come to replace the brakes. The front rotors are warped and all pads are low. I have spent much time on brickboard trying to gain a consensus for the best rotor/pad package. Although I agree that VOLVO OEM is probably the safest bet, I have decided on a set of Brembo drilled/slotted rotors on all four ($250 - including shipping) and a set of Textar pads ($70 – shipping included) all around. I don’t drive hard, but when I get the urge to "rally" it is very rare I slam the brakes. I like the looks of the Brembos and I demand the stopping power of the Textars, any dust issues aside.
This is what I've learned about pads:
- Volvo OEM : good stopping, fair dust, fair rotor wear, minimal noise, $$.
- PBR deluxe : poor stopping, virtually no dust, limited rotor wear, minimal noise, $.
- PBR metal-masters : fair stopping, virtually no dust, increased rotor wear, need time to get warmed up, fair amount of noise, $$$.
- Pagid : Jury is still out...any input?
- Dan-Block : www.alloemvolvoparts.com states that these are the Volvo OEM pads (is this true?), I've read that these provide solid braking, are very loud, fair amount of dust, fair rotor wear, $$.
- Textar : excellent stopping, minimal rotor wear, minimal noise, and lots of dust, $$...hey, its a trade-off right?
- EBC greenstuff : excellent stopping, fair rotor wear, minimal dust, ? noise, look like a great set of pads, but $$$$.
Checkout www.alloemvolvoparts.com and www.fcpgroton.com for great deals. Also, www.ipdusa.com has great information if you like PBR pads.
What do you guys think? I need a bit of reassurance here. I am a 13 year Honda / Toyota owner who just recently moved into the Volvo arena. Love the performance, unsure of the reliability/dependability quotient...Thanks in advance!
============
Anton, Holly, and Espresso
Las Vegas, NV
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04/12/02
What has anyone heard about the Zimmerman cross-drilled rotors with the Mintex pad package, offered from newandusedvolvoparts.com and on ebay.com? They seem to be a fairly good deal, but are they reliable?
They were a contender in my decision making process, but I was concerned that they were drilled all the way through. The Brembos I ordered are slotted, but are only partially drilled-in (not drilled though...kindof like dimples?). One nice feature of the Brembos are they are Zinc-coated to fight rust. Look at your rear rotors and you will see a significant amout of rust in the center area...a zinc coating will keep them shining like new.
Your opinions?
Zimmerman cross-drilled plus Mintex...Yeah -or- Neah?
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posted by
someone claiming to be Landin
on
Fri Apr 12 03:58 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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My wife has the 1997 850 GLT (LPT) and we love it, so I want a turbo wagon, perhaps the R. Do you mind my asking what one costs? What does the "sportwagon" designation include? In other words, is there a 1997 850 turbo, or R, without the "Sportwagon" designation?
Thanks.
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Landin -
Sportwagon is the same as wagon (Volvo marketing term).
I prefer to NEVER buy from dealers when looking at cars, but due to the rarity of this 850R wagon, they were the only game in town.
Dealer was looking for $22,500
I negotaited a price of $17,500 (and had them throw in a full window tint)
Not many dealers understand what an 850R is, and what a rare commodity they are. Use that to your advantage when shopping. Have them provide you with a detailed carfax report. If purchasing private-party, and you like the car, its worth paying for the report yourself. At least in Las Vegas, the market now is great for purchasing used.
- Anton
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posted by
someone claiming to be RJ
on
Mon Apr 15 00:28 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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Those "sportswagon" emblems are not OEM Volvo, they're made by/added on by some aftermarket place on the east coast somewhere. This topic comes up from time to time and our dealership has bought several used cars from the east coast area that came with those emblems. One's even found its way on my car.
You cannot order those from any Volvo dealer through normal channels and I still don't know exactly who's sticking them on but realize that the "sportwagon" is not really a Volvo optional package from Volvo.
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You're going to get other opinions but being an 850 owner who has had no success with Brembo cross-drilled rotors on my own '95 850 I'd suggest you just stick to OEM rotors. The benefits to drilled rotors are almost nil out on the street and even on the racetrack, a lot of racers have learned (by experience) that drilled rotors just don't stand up to repeated abuse. The difference between the HUGE Brembos (that also cost huge $$$), ie. Porsche OE, and all these wannabe "cross-drilled" aftermarket rotors is that the Porsche rotors have holes CAST into them as opposed to being drilled into them.
Regardless, what you really want to know is that despite my many attempts, I just could not get my Brembo drilled rotors to work properly. They didn't even warp, they just had this strange low-speed vibration that really irked me. Some told me that a little vibration-type noise is normal on drilled rotors because of the holes but I had actual vibration problems. I changed to two different type of pads to try and solve the problem but nothing worked. I ended up switching back to OEM rotors and the brakes have been fine ever since.
I tell everybody to just save their money and pick out a good set of performance pads, and get some stainless steel brake lines (which do improve brake pedal feel). Unless you have some serious HP and drive like a maniac, you really don't NEED, and in my case, want, drilled rotors.
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I have friends that have used those rotors, and they seem to warp fairly fast. As yet, I have not found anything better than good ole OEM....
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posted by
someone claiming to be Frank
on
Thu Apr 11 14:13 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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Well, being a "car guy" myself who also enjoys modding out my own cars, I too would be tempted to try the Brembos as the idea of drilled/slotted rotors does sound good (and they do look cool) but I have no real experience with them. I'd be curious to know what other users who've tryed them think.
As both a Volvo tech and Volvo owner, I have so far always used and installed OEM and they stop the car much better than "fair", more like "NOW" (on a dime) when needed in a panic situation. They'd put your passengers (and other loose items) into the windshield if you tryed stopping that fast (or had to) and if they weren't buckled.
The idea of drilled/slotted rotors is great if severe heat were an issue, like you rally race the car, drive in a place with alot of steep hills or make fast, sudden stops by habit but I'd speculate that they're overkill for your average driver unless "the look" is what you're also seeking.
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posted by
someone claiming to be Ben H
on
Thu Apr 11 14:54 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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Hey,
Where are you getting this "package" from
Ben
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Ben -
Picked-up the tires from the www.tirerack.com
Got the 4 rotor from www.raceconcepts.net, found on volvospeed
Got the pads from www.alloemvolvoparts.com, ask for Tom (knows his stuff)
- Anton
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