Exactly Doug, I'm pleased I changed the pads thumbs

The original Caparo pads on the nearside caliper were also running just over the edge of the disc, this created a thin lip on the pad which probably wasn't a massive issue but suggests the pads weren't fully seated in the caliper that side. The thin lip of pad material was breaking away and I guess this debris could potentially find its way to somewhere you wouldn't want it, the Caparo pad grooves were still present but weren't far off disappearing so while it looks like I probably could have got another 5,000 miles out of them it was definitely a good idea to replace the original 13 year old pads.

FYI I purchased the fitting hardware from Brands Hatch Morgan, the spring clips look the same as Princess but Caparo just used a better pin design, for anyone wanting to reuse the spring clips (not recommended) you will need to compress the clips as I found they catch on the pinheads when you punch the pins out. Before realising this, as we can see I wrecked the clips on one side, but no big deal as I had the new clips to go in which along with a good ceramic grease is all essential to do the job properly.

[Linked Image]

The Princess fitting kit is actually readily available for £6.25.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/33543227...r=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

But of course it comes with split pins (Princess arrangement), so as my original Caparo pins were well past their best this time I bought the £25.00 kit off BH Morgan, the pins do corrode so I'll turn up a set in SS so in future I'll just need to buy the £6.20 fitting kit for its fresh spring clips.

The new Mintex pads do need a good workout before I can give them my full endorsement but they definitely bite really well from stone cold and feel great at the pedal, there's zero noise so far too but I can't comment on dust until I've exercised them properly. l'll be giving them a good session at Prescott next weekend, and will then put 1,000 road miles on them before I make my final appraisal.

One thing is for sure, pad compound technology has come on a long way in 13 years, the shims in the Caparo pads had slipped, the pads weren't properly seated on one side and the friction material was getting near to end of life too. If these new Mintex MRM1802 pads stay quiet, don't dust excessively and retain the lovely pedal feel then I'll definitely be keeping them.

From my admittedly limited testing so far there's no question they have a better bite and I'd expect this to get even better when I properly bed them in next weekend, critically they work perfectly from cold and of course the heat range looks excellent on paper too. I conclude while £85.92 is expensive for a set of Princess pads, they do have the potential to be a very cheap brake upgrade for Morganeers running Caparo calipers.

I'll update this post as I continue my evaluation drive

Dave.

Last edited by Montegue; 22/06/24 09:41 AM.