froggy47

I just flipped mine c5z, stock PBR calipers, they are about 1/2 done & have the "normal" taper due to hard use autox/track.

It doesn't matter which pads they are, I use a few brands and they all get this taper. It's "normal".

This is the first time I tried flipping.

I noticed the pedal is a little long & soft.

Is this typical on flipped pads?

Will it return to normal pedal feel in a couple hundred miles?

Or will it stay this way till I use up the pads?

I did not bleed, braking 100% normal.

My initial instinct is that this is probably normal as pedal application will now cause the pistons to push the pads evenly & high points of pads will hit the rotors first, then as the pad "angles in" a bit the rest of the pad will contact. I did not try a hard stop yet as I just street drove it last night.

I think it'll get better as those thicker parts of the pad material wear down to the thickness of the lesser parts.

Then eventually it'll wear like it was before the flip, but they will be ready to toss by then.

I will not track with the flipped pads, just street & autox.

Please don't post unless you actually have done this procedure yourself. Would like to stay on point.

dbratten

I guess this counts as flipping as I switch sides of the car with the pads as well as flip them aimed front to back on the same side. Keeping the pads aimed to the front I move them to the opposite side which has the effect of moving the inside pad touching the pistons to the outside and vis a versa. I switch them fairly often and they stay parallel with very little taper. This is with XP10s.

The long pedal is normal as you need to make up the space of the taper before the brakes firm up just as you say.

froggy47

Thanks. I kept inners in and outers out since my outers were almost perfect. The inners are the ones tapering the most. I think they way I did it was the MOST likely to make the pedal long & soft.

Here's a video if anyone wants to check it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMSwhV0nLRM&feature=plcp

JDIllon

I also flip them all of the time. The pedal feels normal after 6 or 8 hard stops, once everything evens out. You should be fine! Just be sure to check the fluid level and make sure it is were it was when you started. If they feel the lease bit soft? Just bleed. JD

froggy47

Thanks guys, I guess this is old news, just the first time I tried it.

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

You should do a couple different things....

Flipping the pads isn't a bad idea at all, and you can get a lot more life from the pads by doing so.

When you start doing this I would measure the pads at the leading edge and trailing edge. Also from outside to inside.

This will do a few things for you.

1. You can figure taper on the pad
2. Measure life of the pad compared to track miles ran (you can plan pad changes)
3. By doing this and keeping a record you can also see wheel bearing wear as well as caliper deflection and figure when those need to be replaced as well.

Tons of info can be had from pad measurements.

sothpaw2

I flip after day 1 of most events. I do not find any noticable difference in the pedal height during the next day when I'm running hard again. What I've found affects pedal height: overheated (discolored) brake fluid, using overheated pads (pads not up to the task).

froggy47

Thanks for all the info guys.

wtb-z

Just did this on a set of pretty well worn and tapered pads...if I survive the weekend I guess it works :P

froggy47

I was thinking I should shim the pads when they are about 1/2 done & I flip them.


To get the pistons back in the bore a little & insulate the fluid a bit.

Do you guys shim?

What shims do you use?

Bill Dearborn

I didn't shim the stock pads but did shim the pads in the Wilwood calipers. The Wilwood pistons really stick out when the pads wear way down and they don't have any dust covers.

I started flipping my pads when I had my 97. When the car had 2700 miles on it I took it to the track the first time and the original pads didn't make it through 2 days and after the first day the pedal was lower than the gas pedal. Flipping by moving the pads so the ones that were on the inside are now on the outside compensated for wear and when I did it after each day the pedal height was better. The main reason I went to the LG G Stop kit on my 03 was the pedal travel due to tapering and the long pedal.

Bill

dbratten

I am doing something that may catch a lot of flack but I will continue to anyway. For HPDE I run fairly new pads on front (XP10s typically but also XP12s) just so I know they'll last the day and I don't have to bother with them. On the rear, older pads will suffice as they wear slower.

For street use I run with the XP10s to go to and from autocrosses and will run older pads to get all the life out of them. Changing from newer thick pads to older thin pads creates problems with brake fluid levels as you go back and forth, as you know.

To compensate I found that I can double up a pair of thin (worn) pads next to the pistons and run a single worn pad to the outside and end up with close to the thickness of new pads -- 3 thin = 2 thick. The sliding calipers adjust automatically and I've had no problems with this. Switching back to thick street or race pads doesn't require draining fluid. I run the pads down to around 1/16" thickness before changing. Anything short of metal on metal is ok and totally worn out pads become permanent shims.

To make this even thriftier, I run front calipers on the rear with an adjustable proportioning valve so all four corners take the same pads with the oldest going onto the rear and finally they wear out. This allowed me to increase rear braking which I feel the car needs.

Z06Tracker

Please explain more on number #3. By doing his, when would I know it is time to change wheel bearings?

froggy47

Some of my pads have little "nubs" on the backing plate. Don't they get in the way?

froggy47

I think that worn wheel bearings can result in a certain characteristic pad wear, but I don't have details on it.

dbratten

They may depending on where they're located. The Carbotech XP pads don't have nubs and sit flat.

Dirty Howie

I have always flipped (C5 and now my C6Z) and never had any long pedal issues. Matter of fact I never keep track of where the pads were when I take them off. Usually put the thinner ones on the outside so I can see how thin they are at the track with a mirror without removing the wheel. I then know the inside is good cause they were thicker to start with. Eventually the fronts become the rears (nice that all padlets are same for front and back on C6Z).

Currently using DTC70


DH

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

You can see a lot from how the pads are wearings.

Say for example the part closest to the inside of the rotor is thicker than the outside this would let you know that the caliper is flexing under pressure and/or heat. Keep track of this and you can see when the caliper is losing strength.

Leading edge to trailing edge...this can show a number of things. It can show a caliper that doesn't have the right piston sizes, it can show a floating caliper that isn't sliding correctly, and also you can see bearing deflection in this as well.

Watch for odd wear over the entire inside pad compared to the outside pad and you can see possible cooling issues.