Okay, here is the deal. I just put on new Pads all around and now my breaks are squeeking. I applied a little anti-squeek compound to the back of the pads, but I still get some noise. What is actually happening to make the noise?

A quick squeal as I break before the pads bite, and a continuous squeek as I am rolling down the road. It comes and goes as I drive depending on which way I am turning, so I'm sure the pad is just barely touching the rotor as I am rolling. Is this normal? I installed the pads myself, and it was my first time, but I thought I had done everything right.

Any suggestions?

-Floyd

BTW, the pads are Carbotech Panther and Panther Plus

 

Most all performance brake pads will squeak to some degree. Not uncommon at all. Porterfield R4 pads sound like azz on my brother’s car... but they perform well on the street and the track.

Have you gotten the pads up to temperature and then listened for noise?

Give them a few miles 100-200 to correctly mate up to your rotors...

I think the actual noise is the pad material and the rotor creating some sort of resonance frequency when the touch... maybe?

Will

 

They say Americans don't like squealing, even if the brakes aren't the best.
Whereas it is also said that the Europeans don't mind if their brakes squeal a bit, as long as they work!
Looks like it's hard to have it both ways. Do they only squeal unde light breaking?

 

Some pads are slightly smaller than the stock pads - which gives them some ability to move around. If they can move around, they can vibrate and make noise. Fabricating little shims or tabs out of sheet metal to fit around the pad to center it can help with this.

Phat R - who loves the sound of squealing brakes.

 

Track pads like the R4 tend to squeal more than street pads like the R4S.

What kind of pads are these?

 

The pads in question are Carbotech Panther Plus's.

This was the first time I had worked on brakes and I was surprised to see there is no "spring" to bring the pads away from the rotor when not in use. Did I miss something or is that the way they are supposed to work?

They squeeled all the way home from the track on Saturday, though I don't remeber them squeeling so much on the track. But then again, I was rather preoccupied. Maybe they haven't been up to temp. since then...

-Floyd

 

They squeek because they vibrate. Buy some earplugs.

 

My Endless CCX do not squeal, dust is manageable a car wash weekly takes all the dust and dirt away.

HP+ squeal like a pig and are annoying for street use in my honest opinion.

It's the compound that usually the cause of squeaks. Highly metallic more tendancy to squeal if the rotor surface is not super smooth. Higher organic compounds were developed for less squeaks.

 

I have powerslots with aem pads. They squeek a little when you apply them, but not too bad. Is that normal? It didn't do it for the first few hundred miles, but it just recently started. If you can, please give some input. Thanks.
JEFF

 

My Endless CCX didn't squeal, either, and neither do my RM Racing pads.

 

ALL true performance ferro-carbon pads will squeal. Organic pads shouldn't squeal, but also have a lower operating temperature and a lower coefficient of friction. Generally speaking, the more the squeal, the more iron is in the pads an the higher the CF is. Endless pads are an example of organic pads.

 

CC-X
Ceramic Carbon Metal

100-700 degrees F.

 

The metal content on CC-X's isn't very high and the 100-700C claimed by the manufacturer isn't a good indication of it's operating temperature. The CC-X is more like Hawk HP+ than Hawk Blues, but with less squeal and less dust. The downside? Price. It's more of a street/track pad than a racing pad. I've managed to fade CC-X pretty quickly and the CF isn't very high on those either.

The Hawk Blues are rated at 538C, but they offer MUCH higher CF and MUCH higher operating temperature than CC-X's...

 

Most hi performance pads will always squeal until there up to temp..which normally can not be got on normal street driving. Sometimes the rotors can cause this issue if there made of different materials and there is always chance a rock could have got inbetween the pad and rotor. So be sure nothing in coming on contact with the rotor because this will not only make it squeal but put grooves in the rotor and pad cutting down your braking performance slightly on that wheel.

 

I just put the Porterfield R4S on my car, and under very light braking they squeak a little bit, but i kinda like it...it sounds like great potential (which indeed they have). i say let'em squeak, i'm not gonna bother with anti-squeal junk....just one more instrument in the symphony of performance that is the Type R

 

I run Project Mu B-Specs, and they squeal a little too. Just think of the squeal as saying "Hey big boy, I'm a good brake pad".

Man, these suckers dust though, the rims are filthy after 2 weeks of use. Will have to start cleaning the wheels every weekend.

 

Hehe... I'd have to clean my wheel everyday if I wanted to keep them clean! Every 2 weeks doesn't seem that bad anymore!

 

Thanks for the input guys. I can handle some noise while I'm applying the breaks, but my complaint is that squeek even when I'm not breaking. I can be driving down the road with my windows down and I hear them squealing. If I pass by a jersey barrier or a guard rail it is really bad. I haven't isolated which wheels are doing it yet, but it is very annoying.

Maybe I did something wrong. Is this normal?

-Floyd

 

Did you put them in the right way?
Sometimes a brake squealer will make noise when the brake isn't depressed to tell you the pad is dead, but i'm not sure if that should happen with a new pad...at least i've never heard of it happening. My new R4S's are silent unless the brakes are depressed slightly. Oh, and FYI, it's BrAke not brEAk, break is when it's broken, which in your case might be appropriate, broken brakes that squeal. Thank you drive through!

 

 

I can't think of any reason that would be normal for a new pad. Did you install the pads yourself? If so, after installation did you pump the brake pedal hard a couple of times to seat the pads and auto-adjust the mechanism?

[edit] Duuuhhhhhh....should have reread the post, ok, did you pump the pedal hard after install? [/edit]


[Modified by timberwulf, 10:31 PM 9/18/2001]