EBC Bluestuff NDX Super-Street, Trackday & More Brake Pads

The Blue grade pads from EBC is a truly high end premium pad. ….beds in fast for street use on Premium cars with ZERO noise, squeal or vibration.  These pads are as smooth as silk. Bluestuff is also without a doubt the EBC Track-day recommended pad for a drive to, enjoy and return home event because of its super fast bed in – fit and forget characteristics For longer races you may wish to explore the EBC RP1, RPX, or SR ranges. Bluestuff is R90 approved for street use on most cars (in Europe where such rules apply) and  is so powerful in its brake effect…Blue is also being used on heavy  4 x 4 and Armored vehicles.Carrying the prestigious “Leaf Mark” with the highest N rating, recognized for its superior environmental safety.

Product Information

When we say “Trackday” don’t underestimate this fantastic material.The reason we draw users’ attention to the words Trackday ( also known in the USA as lapping ) is because of this material’s fantastic ability to bed in quickly. Weekend fit and go drivers do not want to spend their laps bedding in brake pads.Yet when used on more serious race track drivers this material delights and up to rotor temps of 0-550°C (Ambient – 1000°F) Bluestuff is the way to go. This material has been used by numerous spec series cup car racing groups in Europe.The NDX pad material is bonded to the steel backing plates using the patented NUCAP NRS hook system which raises shear and bond strength by a factor of five and prevents pad to plate separation. The pads are then baked and ground and feature high-volume Vee grooves to catch the larger amount of debris from track use.Target use is all types of fast and heavier cars in performance and race driving with a much enhanced lifetime over our previous Yellowstuff grade pads.Made with Nucap NRS hooks on backplates to totally eliminate the chance of pad debond.Bluestuff is available in NDX high friction version at 0.52 Mu and a lower B version for many rear applications on lighter cars with a lower 0.42 Mu.

Performance

EBC Bluestuff are heat scorched which helps bedding times but you still need to take care especially on the highway and when using on part worn rotors. Use the brakes gently for 200 miles, gradually increasing demand on the brakes in a SAFE ROAD ENVIRONMENT until you feel totally confident and can evaluate their stopping distances in all traffic conditions.

Remember, it’s down to you and your bedding-in process. If you do feel brake fade a couple of times and even smell the brakes, this is totally normal and once achieved and the brakes are allowed to cool, they will have improved a lot.

There are several ways of surface scorching pads and EBC has chosen an infra red lamp tunnel for surface preparation of its pad ranges.  The furnace is now scorching all pads for resale including the Bluestuff NDX range.

Performance

EBC Bluestuff are heat scorched which helps bedding times but you still need to take care especially on the highway and when using on part worn rotors. Use the brakes gently for 200 miles, gradually increasing demand on the brakes in a SAFE ROAD ENVIRONMENT until you feel totally confident and can evaluate their stopping distances in all traffic conditions.

Remember, it’s down to you and your bedding-in process. If you do feel brake fade a couple of times and even smell the brakes, this is totally normal and once achieved and the brakes are allowed to cool, they will have improved a lot.

There are several ways of surface scorching pads and EBC has chosen an infra red lamp tunnel for surface preparation of its pad ranges.  The furnace is now scorching all pads for resale including the Bluestuff NDX range.

Bedding Performance

The curve shows that friction builds quickly during bedding in even after 2-3 stops but in a real world TRACK USE where rotors may not be perfect and calipers not serviced weekly (like our lab dyno ones) the bedding in process with Blue may exhibit 20-25mm contact bands in the centre of the discs after 4-5 laps and on some standard street calipers some vibration.

This is simply the pad telling you “ I cannot hold onto the disc at these torques until I am fully bedded in”. If vibration happens you should continue driving whilst BRAKING EARLIER TO BE SAFE until the contact band widens to almost entire disc/rotor sweep at which point the vibration will stop. In street use the torques will not normally be enough to generate vibration during bed in but drive safely for 200 miles gentle brake use to bed in your new brakes and test them to performance in a safe and quiet road environment until you have total confidence that they are bedded. Hitting the brakes too hard, too soon can not only shorten pad life it may cause loss of brakes and an accident. Bed brakes in progressively.

Pre-bedding burns off a lot of the volatile organics in the brake pad surface by passing the pads under an apparatus similar to a toaster after manufacture for a few seconds; this chars the surface and the paint around the pad surface but the result is a major reduction in bed in time which all drivers will appreciate.

Bedding Performance

The curve shows that friction builds quickly during bedding in even after 2-3 stops but in a real world TRACK USE where rotors may not be perfect and calipers not serviced weekly (like our lab dyno ones) the bedding in process with Blue may exhibit 20-25mm contact bands in the centre of the discs after 4-5 laps and on some standard street calipers some vibration.

This is simply the pad telling you “ I cannot hold onto the disc at these torques until I am fully bedded in”. If vibration happens you should continue driving whilst BRAKING EARLIER TO BE SAFE until the contact band widens to almost entire disc/rotor sweep at which point the vibration will stop. In street use the torques will not normally be enough to generate vibration during bed in but drive safely for 200 miles gentle brake use to bed in your new brakes and test them to performance in a safe and quiet road environment until you have total confidence that they are bedded. Hitting the brakes too hard, too soon can not only shorten pad life it may cause loss of brakes and an accident. Bed brakes in progressively.

Pre-bedding burns off a lot of the volatile organics in the brake pad surface by passing the pads under an apparatus similar to a toaster after manufacture for a few seconds; this chars the surface and the paint around the pad surface but the result is a major reduction in bed in time which all drivers will appreciate.

More information

Rotor condition

Is important, an off-flat or ribbed and grooved rotor will treble bed in times for street or track use, this is a harder and more durable pad and rotors should be in almost dead flat condition. If you need to have your rotors skimmed we recommend ONLY the very praiseworthy ON CAR brake lathes from Pro Cut.

Lifetime

ALWAYS inspect pads every 30 laps and discard when friction material is down to one eighth of an inch or 3mm to avoid fade. In street use the lifetime is considerable – 20,000 miles and upwards can be expected, even when driving hard.

Ducting and caliper drag

When using a street car brake system for racing, the mere insertion of a race formula pad does not transform your car into a track beast. Some cooling ducts often need to be added to give the brake system and pads a chance to survive race use.

Using Bluestuff NDX as a Street only pad

In Europe, the ECE R90 brake safety regulations require brake pads to have R90 certification when used on the road and with Bluestuff, this is not available for all cars. To find out if Bluestuff is R90 approved for your car, contact technical@ebcbrakesuk.com.

More information

Rotor condition

Is important, an off-flat or ribbed and grooved rotor will treble bed in times for street or track use, this is a harder and more durable pad and rotors should be in almost dead flat condition. If you need to have your rotors skimmed we recommend ONLY the very praiseworthy ON CAR brake lathes from Pro Cut.

Lifetime

ALWAYS inspect pads every 30 laps and discard when friction material is down to one eighth of an inch or 3mm to avoid fade. In street use the lifetime is considerable – 20,000 miles and upwards can be expected, even when driving hard.

Ducting and caliper drag

When using a street car brake system for racing, the mere insertion of a race formula pad does not transform your car into a track beast. Some cooling ducts often need to be added to give the brake system and pads a chance to survive race use.

Using Bluestuff NDX as a Street only pad

In Europe, the ECE R90 brake safety regulations require brake pads to have R90 certification when used on the road and with Bluestuff, this is not available for all cars. To find out if Bluestuff is R90 approved for your car, contact technical@ebcbrakesuk.com.

Bluestuff NDX is a superb 0.52 Mu compound entry-level race pad that is R90 approved for almost every application. A great choice for turn-up and race track events due to its short bed in time and medium plus lifetime. This compound has been the choice of the BMW cup series for several seasons.On lighter cars using the B version on rear axles with slightly lower friction with NDX on the front may provide a better brake balance.

1 10
View all