when to change brake pads(brembos)
whenever they are below spec... are you the first owner of the car (30k on the car...it must of had brakes changed atleast 15k ago)? you can always get a small mirror and flashlight... and take a peak on top of the caliper to see the pad life
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From: Florida
thanks.
Thanks guys... Umm i am the first owner!! and i haven't had n e problems.. Just squeeky noise lately.. Even after i wash and rinse the brakes... thought i would make sure!
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From: Metropolitan South Farmington, not too far from the supercity we all know as Wilmot, NS
Chester,
Prolly woulda been best to mention the squeaky bit right off from the start, judging by the friendly abuse you're sufferin' here.
On your pads, you actually have some audible wear indicators- embedded soft metal bits on the pads, and they'll make a squeak on the rotors immediately when it's time to swap them out. The squeak will be dependent on speed, and easy to hear with the windows down at lower speeds, as a repetitive tick, tick, tick (no rotor is perfectly faced, so the high spot contacts the wear indicator on every pass).
If the sound you're hearing isn't like that, it's possible a) that you've whipped right on by the indicators and are now metal on metal (less likely, hopefully), or b) you have a seize, or the start of one. Often, one or both of the back brakes can seize, and often it's due to the handbrake/cable not staying lubed.
If you leave it, and it is seized, then you'll end up replacing one or all of pads, rotor, fluid, and, in really bad situations, the caliper components (seals, bushings...) or complete caliper due to the extreme heat that can be generated.
Get it looked at is what I'd suggest. Then you'll know for sure.
Cheers,
Derek
p.s. I should add, if it's just squealing under heavy braking, the thing is, depending on the company, that can be normal. Example- when the first carbon ceramics came out (those $10K options on Ferraris and Porsches), the customers were wild about the fact that their brakes always made noise. Yep, and so does M. Schumacher's Ferrari. Despite this, Porsche developed "quieter" high performance for the Carrera GT, apparently. Many OEM Brembos do the same, depending on what the manufacturer asks for as pad compound. When I was racing, my Honda race bike, fitted with EBC Kevlar HH pads, was a screamer when it was hot, too, so it's not just cars that suffer this.
Oh yeah, and finally, for racing, the trick was to chamfer the leading edge of the pad so that it didn't stick on the drilled holes of the rotor, and that helped to reduce the squealing, as well as improving braking modulation (no grabbing). Whether one wants to remove and dress the pads on a road car, well, I'd sooner be out driving myself
Prolly woulda been best to mention the squeaky bit right off from the start, judging by the friendly abuse you're sufferin' here.
On your pads, you actually have some audible wear indicators- embedded soft metal bits on the pads, and they'll make a squeak on the rotors immediately when it's time to swap them out. The squeak will be dependent on speed, and easy to hear with the windows down at lower speeds, as a repetitive tick, tick, tick (no rotor is perfectly faced, so the high spot contacts the wear indicator on every pass).
If the sound you're hearing isn't like that, it's possible a) that you've whipped right on by the indicators and are now metal on metal (less likely, hopefully), or b) you have a seize, or the start of one. Often, one or both of the back brakes can seize, and often it's due to the handbrake/cable not staying lubed.
If you leave it, and it is seized, then you'll end up replacing one or all of pads, rotor, fluid, and, in really bad situations, the caliper components (seals, bushings...) or complete caliper due to the extreme heat that can be generated.
Get it looked at is what I'd suggest. Then you'll know for sure.
Cheers,
Derek
p.s. I should add, if it's just squealing under heavy braking, the thing is, depending on the company, that can be normal. Example- when the first carbon ceramics came out (those $10K options on Ferraris and Porsches), the customers were wild about the fact that their brakes always made noise. Yep, and so does M. Schumacher's Ferrari. Despite this, Porsche developed "quieter" high performance for the Carrera GT, apparently. Many OEM Brembos do the same, depending on what the manufacturer asks for as pad compound. When I was racing, my Honda race bike, fitted with EBC Kevlar HH pads, was a screamer when it was hot, too, so it's not just cars that suffer this.
Oh yeah, and finally, for racing, the trick was to chamfer the leading edge of the pad so that it didn't stick on the drilled holes of the rotor, and that helped to reduce the squealing, as well as improving braking modulation (no grabbing). Whether one wants to remove and dress the pads on a road car, well, I'd sooner be out driving myself
Last edited by derek; Jul 13, 2006 at 11:17 PM.
Damn, I had to do pads at about 17,000 then I did rotors and pads at like 32,000. Maybe it was a bit premature each time but I hate any squeaking from my brakes, even though it does seem to be a much more common problem with the Brembos. Maybe thats why they stopped putting them on?
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I had 34K miles on my 03 with Brembos and never changed the pads or rotors. Pad life depends on your driving style and conditions. Squeaking from the Brembos (or from many other brakes) comes from dust in the pads or uneven brake wear. Just because you rinsed your rims well, doesn't mean you got the dust out.
You can remedy brake squeak by spraying something like Eagle One A2Z All Wheel & Tire Cleaner on the rotors/pads next time you wash your car. Then, go for a drive and do several hard stops from 30 or 40mph. The EBD system is supposed to sort out uneven brake wear, but it still happpens...if this is what causes the squeakiness, there is pretty much nothing you can do.
You can remedy brake squeak by spraying something like Eagle One A2Z All Wheel & Tire Cleaner on the rotors/pads next time you wash your car. Then, go for a drive and do several hard stops from 30 or 40mph. The EBD system is supposed to sort out uneven brake wear, but it still happpens...if this is what causes the squeakiness, there is pretty much nothing you can do.
Miles don't necessarily dictate when your brake pads need to be changed... you'll hear the wear indicator when it truly needs to be changed out soon. It's not really a squeaking sound, but more of a metal scraping sound, since it's a little metal piece on the brake pad rubbing on the rotor.