Black Diamonds or national/ferodo

[DUNLY]

been reading the forums, and id say half of you guys prefer the black diamonds and half the national/ferrodos. reason is, i need new back discs as the MOT is due next month and are knackered.. i like to give my car a good drive along the back roads so im constant hard on/off the breaks (had standard discs fitted to the front about 6 months ago and were warped prob within 2month). im going to replace the rear ones first as there knackered, and dont think they will pass an MOT. So what do you guys reckon for the back? black diamonds or national/ferrodos (drilled/grooved or drilled and grooved)???

GLS btw.

cheers guys

[I-S]

Is there a national disc for the GLS (as opposed to the VR4)? I'm not aware of it. In the member's section I have a list of known brake parts for the GLS.

I have the black diamonds and I'm not entirely happy with the discs to be honest.... I'm not sure I'd have them again or recommend them.

[strangebat]

I agree with Isaac the black diamond are better than standard, but I'm not really happy with them and won't be using them again. I should have listened and bought the national racing setup :embarasse

[Spirit]

This may help :thumbsup:

[Big Ian]

unless the standard rear disc's are dearer to buy than up-grade's then i'd just leave the rear standard...........they don't do anywhere near as much work as front's do /Hmmm , ive got drilled Black D's on the front with predetor pad's, i find them :inquisiti OK (better than standard....especially when hot!) but i think next i'll try them with origonal Mitsy pad's.

(i found factory made pad's worked better on my cavalier than the Green-stuff pad's i had on that with the Tarox disc's.)

[Spirit]

More National Info:


TÜV approved performance brake disc
Precision engineered by the UK's leading brake disc manufacturer
Specifically developed for high performance fast road use
Total quality, full range available, competitively priced
Available as 8/12/16 grooved, non-handed grooved, drilled, drilled & grooved.


National have become the leading supplier of performance brake rotors in the UK. With a choice of six designs there is a pattern to suit every customer. Specifically designed for the fast road user National offer a complete range which follows our complete standard disc program, simply add the codes from the lists below to our standard part numbers. Please note that all performance discs are manufactured to order and are non returnable.

From the standard part number reference, eg NBD 001, dropping the N and replacing with a “P” denotes a performance disc and by adding a further code letter after the number denotes the style or type (Refer Below)

PBD 001 B = Cross or X Grooved type.
PBD 001 D = Drilled & Drilled type, also known as the Combi or Combination type.
PBD 001 F = Drilled Type, also known as the cross drilled type.
PDB 001 G = 8 Grooved type.
PBD 001 M = 12 Grooved type.
PBD 001 X = 16 Grooved type.

Using the latest CNC machining technology and SPC techniques the production facility is fully ISO 9002 accredited ensuring 100% total quality for every component. Manufactured from close grained perlitic grey cast iron conforming to the quality requirements of BS 1452 (DIN1619), each component is machined to exacting dimensional tolerances for geometric flatness and parallelism.

Grooves give rapid gas expulsion and deglazing of the brake pad
improves the brake discs resistance to distortion
Enhanced brake fade characteristics
Higher braking temperature range
Gives consistent, vibration free efficient braking
Acts as a wear indicator - Depth of groove is to minimum thickness of disc
Braking faces, flatness and parallelism - machined to a max tolerance 10 microns
Braking faces to mounting face - max tolerance 50 microns
Surface finish of braking faces - max tolerance 3.2 microns Ra
Controlled chemical composition, hardness, microstructure and tensile strength

TÜV APPROVED

[I-S]

Spirit - Is it just me that notices from that the overwhelming similarity in part number to the black diamond discs? Look at the discs for the EA2 with 14" wheels...

National Parts:
PBD 459 (front)
PBD 681 (rear)

Black Diamond Parts:
KBD 459 (front)
KBD 681 (rear)

What I suspect may be going on here is that the disc casting occurs in the same place. The particular company then takes the casting, machines the grooves/holes/dimples themselves, and paint the discs (if they're going to... BD do).

The problem that I have with the discs appears to be something to do with the casting (about where it mounts to the hub carrier) and so may apply to the national discs also?

[DUNLY]

Cheers guys that info has helped a lot. was def going to get the black diamonds for the back but no 2 sure now! is there a website that i could look at for teh national discs, and one that does discount for members?? if not any website so i can cost them up.

cheers fellas :thumbsup:

[paulmc]

When I bought Nationals for my cossie some years ago I was told that Black Diamond made them. I bought them from Bren @ Apex and he told me that as National were only just staring out and I had never heard of them. I must say they stood up very well to the abuse they got on that car.

Not sure how true that is /Hmmm

[Big Ian]

and one that does discount for members?? if not any website so i can cost them up.

cheers fellas :thumbsup:

within the member's section you'll find the shop's/seller's who give member's a discount :thumbsup: