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!
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Anton, Holly, and Espresso
Las Vegas, NV