Bluestuff NDX is a high friction sport and race material that can be used for aggressive street driving and certain types of track use. The material has had much success on the track with quality aftermarket calipers (Multi piston systems with better release and cooling and larger rotors) and limited success with street based calipers where pad size and caliper drag can challenge any brake material.

The biggest advantage of Bluestuff NDX is their bite from cold and progressive brake feel and the ability to bring a car to a complete stop.

See the new range of EBC Orangestuff grade full race pads which deliver faster bed in and higher temperature thresholds. As with all brake pads selection involves a trade off with life and disc/rotor wear and EBC have chosen with both the Bluestuff and Orange grade race pads to offer a pad that is the replaceable item rather than the disc or rotor. You will find that the EBC product is far kinder to your brake discs than comparable granite like semi metallics which may last longer but take your rotors with them.

The NDX pad material is bonded to the steel backing plates using multiple high strength interlock holes and a unique chemical interlayer 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 inevitable large amount of debris from track use.

Target use is all types of fast and heavier cars in performance and race driving with much enhanced lifetime over our previous Yellowstuff grade pads.

The EBC chemical interlayer system is used on Bluestuff NDX range pads which being a harder material and for heavy duty race applications require that extra security of bond strength. The effect of the interlayer is to triple shear strength of a common organic brake pad over non interlayer versions.

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 curve shows how the brake will feel at differing brake pressure at the speeds shown on the header line.

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.

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 its 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 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.

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.

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, which can be found using these links

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

Ducting and caliper drag
Please read this link on caliper drag, brake fluid and the effects in race use: 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
It is totally acceptable to do this but please note. In Europe– The ECE R90 brake safety regulations will require the pads to have R 90 certification and this is NOT available for all cars. For a list of cars that HAVE R 90 approval please check with our tech team on [email protected]. These pads however are an excellent brake material for all kinds of street driving, very sharp on the pedal, last well and absolutely no hint of fade.