I had an issue that concerned me. Of course, I used some brake lubricant (anti-squeal) on the shims when I installed them. In order to make the calipers fit, I did have to reset the piston with a board and C-clap. I have ran the brakes since, and they work great, no squeal at all so far. Takeup on my brake pedal is a little higher, but that will go away pretty quick I assume.

My concern is the closeness of the brake pad to the rotor. During installation, I did have to reset the piston. The caliper did fit over the brake pads fine, but I am wondering if it is too tight. Is it possible that the brake pad could be (slightly) dragging on the rotor cause the new pads are thicker?? Now, I am not talking to the point where it would stop the car, but dragging slightly, enough to where it would be hard to notice cause the brakes don't squeal.

Reason why I ask is cause I put the car in neutral to coast, and it SEEMED like it didn't coast as easily as before the brake pads where installed. Now, I HAVEN'T driven enough to confirm this theory, and it could be a figment of my imagination, lol. What do you guys think?? BTW, the brakes are working great, lol, guess I am looking for problems.

 

After you seat the pads, it should wear down and free it up some. It should not be a problem.

 

what a coincidence, i just installed front/rear hawk hps's too on my brembos. yes the pads did seem pretty thick, and yes it did scrape a little against my rotors right after (i could hear it driving next to parked cars and curbs). but after bedding them in everything is perfect.

i also switched in motul 600

 

Did you bed the pads in after you installed them?

One way to check if the pads are rubbing would be to take the car up to redline in first or second and see if you hit the same mph as you did previously. If you're not as fast at redline (or any other gear/rpm combination for that matter,) then you may have some rub.

Good luck, and let us know how you like the HPS pads after you get a feel for them.

Gary

 

No, I didn't bed the brakes, cause they didn't squeal. My plan was to bed them if they squealed, and since they didn't squeal, I didn't bed. Now, if I hear any squeal in the future, I will definitely bed the brakes.

I did notice how much thicker the back brake pad was in relation to the old pads. I don't have brembo brakes, so the front brake pads were all that were available to me. On each one, looking at them, the back pad was by far thicker. I had 8000 miles on the stock pads.

Also, the back brake pad didn't have the clips on them to warn of low brake pads. Kinda disturbing that the part that wore the most doesn't have the clips.

 

You should always bed new pads in, regardless of whether they squeal or not. In addition to being a crucial part of the install process, it's also the funnest part! Give it a shot and see if they don't feel better.

Also, your right rear inboard pad (on the stock non-Brembo pads) should have a low-pad indicator on it. If it doesn't, then you may want to talk to your dealer.

Gary

 

Guess I am just cheap, trying to save every little bit of the brakes, heh. Really, all I did was drive home, so I could bed them tonight if I wish. Is there a reason we need to bed the brakes, even without them squeaking?? Guess feeling better is a reason, guess I am lazy or cheap.

Now, I am positive that the inboard pads didn't come with a low pad indicator, cause the pads didn't really want to snap in. May have to check on that. But you said the "right rear inboard pad", and Hawk doesn't offer rear pads for non-brembo brakes. You do mean the right and left inboard pads, right???

 

Should always bed your brakes:
http://www.raceshopper.com/tech.shtml

 

Stopping squeal is only one reason to bed the brakes. Other reasons include transferring pad material to the rotor to give the pads something better to bond to, and eliminating the top level of resins that cause green fade on new brakes. If you're cheap, then you should definitely bed the new pads in as it will make them more effective (giving you more for your money,) and will possibly even make them last longer by promoting more even wear and less fade!

As for the wear indicator, we may just have a terminology difference. When you referred to your back brake pads, I thought you were referring to your rear pads (as in the pads on your back wheels,) when now I think you were referring to what I call the inboard (piston-side) pad, regardless of front or rear. I think that the wear indicator on front pads is a manufacturer's preference, as my Carbotech Panther + front pads don't have wear indicators either. As long as you periodically check your pads for remaining life, you should be fine. You can see a little bit of your outboard pad through the caliper without taking off the wheel, so if you notice that it's getting a bit low, you may want to take off the wheel and make a closer inspection, and possibly replace the pad.

I think we're on the same page now, but let me know if that didn't make sense.

Gary

 

Interesting thoughts on the bedding process. One thing though, doesn't the film that they speak of get washed off with every cleaning of the car, or is this film that they speak of a more permenant thing on the rotor???

Gary, yeah, I was talking about the inboard on the front brakes, sorry for the mix up. When you say that the Carbotechs don't have the wear indicators, you do mean they don't have the wear indicators on the inboard pads right?? Cause I know they have the indicators on the outboard front pads, and just making sure I am clear on this subject.

 

Actually, my Carbotechs don't have any wear indicators at all, even on the outboard pads. I plan on checking the amount of pad remaining after every track session, so I'm not too worried about running them down.

 

Well, I did go out and bed my brakes tonight. And guess what, lol, it was a blast.

Just another excuse to drive my car fast. Did it on a mall parking lot, on the opposite side from sercurity. Got a lot of attention, guys heads were turning all the way around looking at me.

It was fun, and the brakes do feel better now. Heck, I think I did it too many times, at least more than the recommended amount of times. Having too much fun, I guess, lol. Might just have to "bed" my brakes every week.

Anyway, the brakes got good and warm, and could smell them afterwards. The brake pedal now feels more firm and predictable than before.