Ceramic Pads - Do some Squeal?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 252
Likes: 0
From: FL.
Ceramic Pads - Do some Squeal?
I did a search and there are a ton of posts on ceramic pads and all seem to say you don't get squeal. If you have one that squeals, what is the problem?
I put new GM ceramic pads on the front and rear with brand new NAPA rotors. They work as I would expect except I am getting a squeal from one of the wheels when I apply the brake. It is on driver side and I think it's the rear one. It goes away if I brake hard but I didn't think they should squeal at all.
I read a lot of posts on how to break them in and a lot of it was conflicting. Some say to do a lot of hard brakes and some say to break lightly. Mine is a daily driver and I have been very light on the brakes since I installed them. I have driven it about 500 miles since installed. They have only been squealing for about the last 200 miles and I don't remember having to brake hard.
Thanks for any ideas!
I put new GM ceramic pads on the front and rear with brand new NAPA rotors. They work as I would expect except I am getting a squeal from one of the wheels when I apply the brake. It is on driver side and I think it's the rear one. It goes away if I brake hard but I didn't think they should squeal at all.
I read a lot of posts on how to break them in and a lot of it was conflicting. Some say to do a lot of hard brakes and some say to break lightly. Mine is a daily driver and I have been very light on the brakes since I installed them. I have driven it about 500 miles since installed. They have only been squealing for about the last 200 miles and I don't remember having to brake hard.
Thanks for any ideas!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 19,384
Likes: 87
From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
I would have said they shouldn't squeal if they're broken in properly. I always thought it needed firm to hard braking to do that. Light braking would make them slick. I'm no expert though.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 16,795
Likes: 62
From: Lake Havasu City, AZ
follow this link for a great set of articles on brake and rotor bedding...
This is what I use and I have never had a brake squeal problem...
http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp...contents.shtml
This is what I use and I have never had a brake squeal problem...
http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp...contents.shtml
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,235
Likes: 2
From: Haymarket VA
CI 7-8 Veteran
When I had stock rotors and pads I had a squeal in one or more of my brakes at any given time. My understanding is that this happens because a glaze will actually build up on the surface of the brake pad. This is something that is far more frequent with A4 than with MN6. With an A4 you don't have the luxury of downshifting to bring the car to a stop so you use the brakes much more than an MN6. My solution to the problem was to get slotted and dimpled rotors and switch to ceramic pads. The slots in the rotors actually scrape the surface of the pad as you're braking causing any buildup to be removed. Of course this creates more brake dust in the process.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 252
Likes: 0
From: FL.
Very interesting article. Thanks for the link. I will have to try it and see what happens. According to one article, you can do after you have driven it for a while. The squeal currently is when I press them very light and dissappears when I give it more pressure. Hopefully this will work!
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 152
Likes: 0
From: Pittsburg Kansas
I put some new NAPA rotors on the front of mine about 700 miles ago along with ceramic pads all the way around and have no noise to date. That was about 2 months ago. Also another benefit I have noticed is the lack of brake dust on everything compared to the old pads.
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 252
Likes: 0
From: FL.
I remember one thing that I forgot about but not sure if it could cause any problems. When I finished putting on the brakes, I had one of the shims left over so I figured I forgot to put one of the self adhesive strips on one of the pads but didn't know which one. I didn't have any noise or problems when I tried it so I didn't worry about it. Could that cause any problems? I'm pretty sure that was on the right side of the car though so it shouldn't be causing the noise.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 152
Likes: 0
From: Pittsburg Kansas
I had thought the shims were for noise suppression, so that maybe the culprit. Might be worth your time to find out which one you left it off of and put it on. That may not be where your noise is coming from now, but it may prevent one in the future.
