I just threw on some Hawk brake pads and they squeek worse than the used pads! The old ones were not worn all the way when I removed them also. What could be causing this?

 

Did u have the rotors turned --If not ---Turn them and get new Pads----again

 

what is turning the rotors, and are you joking about new pads!? I am suppost to throw $250 out the window???

 

what kind of hawk pads are they? if you got more aggressive ones (HPS, blacks, blues) then they should squeak more.

but, yes you should turn the rotors or get new ones. turning the rotors means machining the sides of the rotors so they're parallel/smooth again. if you look at them from the front or rear of the car, the goal is to get them flat ||

IMO you don't have to replace your brand new pads. you probably haven't done much braking to wear them any.

 

No Im not joking ---If u do a brake job on a vehicle and want it to perform as it should, U have to take ur rotors down and have them turned ( Machined )

Reason 1 -- To remove warpage which there WILL be

Reason 2 -- To Deglaze the surface so U can break in ur new Pads and Not get a Squeal

U have messed with the seating process by skipping the Rotor turn ( I pay bout 7.00 apiece ) to have them turned.

Now ---If u mess up and do as u did ---There is a way to fix it- Find someone that has a Stationary horizonal belt sander and carefully sand the pads to eliminate the bad break-in----Just a touch. Then put everything back together ---Go to Napa and buy some anti-squeal spray and use it to spray the BACK of the pads... Also, keep in mind disc breaks make noise

 

I got Hawk HPS pads. I have had them on for about a week but have not driven it all that much. I will take the rotors to get turned, and see about getting the pads re-surfaced.

 

Let me just give you an idea of the route I took.

Replaced stock pads with hawk HPS. Bedded them in.

Braking was OK when the rotors heated up, no stopping power when cold.

I drove on them at a "high performance driving clinic" and they scored/etched the crap out of my rotors. I know they are not a "track pad" but this was my first track event and I was not braking that hard.

I got tired (and scared) of the stupid problems with cold braking, to the point where freeway braking felt like utter **** because the rotors would cool down too fast...

so I ordered the stoptech stage 2 kit because I wanted new rotors, new pads, and the SS lines didn't hurt either.

Now: driving on axxis ultimate pads (GREAT street pad, low dust but slightly more than hawk HPS), stoptech slotted rotors (seem to work just fine), SS lines added firmness and responsiveness to the pedal

starting with a fresh surface on new rotors allows the rotors to wear nice and evenly. What this means is better braking performance for the life of the pad.

If you have enough thickness you should get the rotors resurfaced. If not, don't play games with safety...get new rotors. Switching brake pads without resurfacing rotors is not something I'd like to do again.

 

If nothing else---Get a large piese of Glass, like 2'X2' thicker the better--lay it on a flat surface.
Lay a piece of 180-220 Grit sandpaper on it and "lap" the Pads---By this I mean, --Lay them flat and Sand the pad by moving it in a fast figure 8 fashon til they roughen.

 

I don't notice a difference between cold and warm breaking. The Hawk HPS feel a bit smoother than the stock pads actually.

 

Did you use the no-squeel compound on the back of the pads? I just changed mine, i didnt ressurface, although nextime I need new rotors cuz stock pads eat at the front rotors pretty hard. I changed to Hawk HPS.. no squeeling but there is a quiet hissing from the pad rubbing against the rotor. Its not loud however...
Did u bed the pads in or remove the glaze off the rotors? I used some sand paper and sanded the rotors just slightly to remove glaze, and when i first drove the car, i went to 10mph then took off the initial padding on the pads, and when i felt like the pads were up to temperature (from normal driving), I did a few 70mph--> 20mph stops one right after the other until i felt fade. The pads felt real nice after that, but they felt like **** before.

Nex time, i'm just going to get stoptech stage 2 OEM upgrade, unless nissan doesn't cover my leaking rear calipers, in which case i'll look into a willwood F/R 13' bbk or stoptech F w/ stock rear OEM from someone else.

 

I learned that when upgrading to HP pads that you should upgrade the rotors as well, since the pad will more than likely wear your oem rotors down very fast as well as other issues. I did this on my 2000 celica and after I got new rotors everything seem to match up better and braking was more predictable with little to no issues.