HokieZ

iTrader: (1)

Ah cool, that makes it easier (having the shim pre-installed). By traditional bedding I mean what the Hawk pads said. Few medium stops, few hard, few really hard.

roydiculous

I just installed the Hawk HPSs and I have one question.

When I was putting the outer shim cover back on (the one facing the piston), I could not for the life of me get the shim cover to fit correctly. One corner was not lining up regardless of which pad i tried.

I used some antisqueal - clamped the pad in between two pieces of wood real tight and then mounted it all to my car. Bedded it ... and no squeal. I think its okay.

I just have one question. Did you guys notice the not 100% fitment of the Hawk HPS pads and the stock piston shim cover?

Thanks! I'm just a bit paranoid.

ZinMiami

iTrader: (2)

I had the same situation with the shims. They will not seat correctly on any front pad. I decided to leave them off since I thought it would be worse to put on a part that doesnt fit right.

Anyone else have this issue. Is it very bad to leave the shims off?

Any suggestions from those that have done this before?

HokieZ

iTrader: (1)

I didn't have any problems with the fittment of mine but a couple people have said the new ones come with shims. I wouldn't leave them off. The pad backing will damage the face of the piston and visa versa.

macka

First of all, this How-To was GREAT!!! Thank you so much for posting it, I was able to change my breaks in about 40 minutes (front only), and thats good if you take in to account that I have only changed breaks once in my life about 4 years ago!

OK, on to my post....

I replaced the stock pads with new Akebono ceramic pads that I got from tirerack.

A few things about these pads:

1. They come with shims (at least mine did) and the shims come with an adhesive backing. Very easy to install, simple peel of the paper and stick the shim to the back of the new pad.

2. These pads fit like a dream. I had absolutely NO problems getting them installed. I even took the shims off the old ones and used them along with the shims that came with my new ones. (btw - is this bad? I have one pad on each side with 3 shims (2 from the oem pad + the 1 that came with it) and the other pad on each side has 2 shims (1 from the oem pad and the 1 that came with it).


As for squeel and I dust, I will have to report back later. I only installed them yesterday, so I can't give an accurate report, though on my drive to work today, I had absolutely NO squeel.

As for the feel of the pads, they feel somewhat soft, not as much bite as the oem pads, but they work and my main concern was brake dust so here's hoping.

Thanks again for this post, it helped me a lot!!!!


Macka

BTW - While I had the wheels off, I painted my calipers, very easy and only cost me 4.99 for the paint. I plan to post pics of them later.

code350z

Okay this is exactly what i need...THANKS!

Just one thing can anyone recommend a cheap places for brake pads?

code350z

Okay this is exactly what i need...THANKS!

Just one thing can anyone recommend a cheap places for brake pads?

ihatethatbobbarker

i can recommend me if you want to buy endless pads, i love them, and so do my customers that bought them.
they arent neccessarily cheap, but they are reasonably priced, and very worth the money.
heres endless website www.endlessusa.com
just pm me and ill get you a price.

Dissident

iTrader: (1)

Ok, since this thread is still going and I'm bored... The Hawk HPS pads I installed 1K miles ago haven't squeaked much if at all, and there's been no noticeable increase in brake dust. Haven't really given them a good workout to tell how they stop v. stock, but they feel ok.

350zluvr

Dissident, do you mean that the Hawk HPS have not illustrated more brake dust than stock or they have accumulated very little brake dust period? Thanks

Dissident

iTrader: (1)

Um, I'd say a little less than stock, but it's been hard to tell since e haven't been cleaning the car as much It does seem less than stock tho, since htey used to get dark REAL quick...

ihatethatbobbarker

the endless make barely any dust at all,
plug plug

HokieZ

iTrader: (1)

I've heard good thing about both Endless and Hawk. I have the Hawk pads and they hardly dust at all (and they get at least 2 good workouts a day).

guido51

I have installed , two weeks ago the Project Mu front pads (Brembo calipers) : the car runs 15.000 Km
I had before
- stock pads for the first 10.000 Km with 2 trackdays
- ferodo DS 2500 for 5.000 Km with 2 track days
My impression ??
The stock pads runs better than Ferodo DS2500 .
The Project Mu are the best , fantastic......

roydiculous

From the way it sounds, you did not bed in the brake pads, am I correct? If you did not, you will have an increase in brake dust due to the absence of a transfer layer. Imagine the difference between using a crayon on a fresh coarse piece of paper instead of running a crayon on a piece of paper that's already colored in.

But anyways, let me know if I am way off. But I have noticed a 80% improvement in dusting to the point that the front and rears (which are still OEM) are dusting at the same rate, which is a godsend in winter. I might not have a salt free car, but at least my front wheels aren't gunmetal black.

alininger2001

iTrader: (1)

Are the shims the metal backing plates with the wear indicators attached? My Hawk pads have them on already. Maybe the new pads have them on and the old ones did not.

HokieZ

iTrader: (1)

I think that's the case, several people have mentioned their pads already have them. Nice of them to include them, makes an easy process even easier.

dr_gallup

I had the exact same situation and did the same thing. From some of the above posts we may have a wear problem on the piston face but I doubt it. I think the shim on top of a shim will not make one bit of difference as far as the load distribution on the piston, it is only there for noise reduction. If it ain't squealing I wouldn't worry about it. I have had no noise problems with mine.

I still have the OE pads in back because of time & weather constraints. So far I'd say the front Hawks dust just about the same as the rear OE, a huge improvement. My front wheels look better after 3 weeks without a wash than they used to look after 3 days with the OE pads.

I have noticed an increase in friction with the Hawks, I am now getting ABS action on the fronts without any in the rear. It used to kick in about simultaneously. I need to get the rears changed ASAP because they are just starting to squeek the the wear indicators.

Z BOY

iTrader: (41)

i just took my z in for the 30k mi service with about 31k on it. mechanic says i have 5% left on my fronts. this will be my first brake pad change since i bot it new 12/25/02.

theZman

I just installed my Hawk HPS pads. I had no problems. I pushed the pistons back into the calipers after I removed the stock pads and the shims and the pads fit fine (after a little coaxing with a rubber mallet). I put a little CRC Disc Brake Quiet between the back of the pad and the shim. I have no brake noise and the pads work great!!