I recently purchased performance friction brake pads for my 04 coupe. The pads came with shims. So here is my dumb question...

Do you need to put the anti-squeal brake grease on the shims or is that no longer necessary with shims?

I apologize if this is a stupid question...

 

Firstly, there is no such thing as a stupid question - you know that. Secondly, the anti squeal brake grease is always a good thing, put just enough to lube the points on the pads that contact the caliper and caliper bracket. I say not too much because it's easy to get some on the rotor which will contaminate the pads. As you've said you're installing performance pads, it is more likely that they'll squeak a little anyway, but in short- yes put the anti squeal grease on! Good luck. What manufacturer pads did you buy?

 

"Performance Friction" is the name of the manufacturer.

 

Cool man. I'm actually trying to decide what pads to go with currently. I plan on only attending a few track events a year, but id like to have a pad that can handle more heat than stockers. How much did you pay for those pads + where did you buy them? Thanks !

 

Autozone has the PFC z-rated pads. I think they go for just over $100 a set. They used to have a lifetime warranty, which made them really popular, but they've cut it back to a 2-year warranty.

 

I purchased them from National Fleet Parts. I didn't get the z-rated. I just got the plain carbon metallics. I needed to replace my stock front brakes because they glazed over after a track event last month. I think they were only $50 for the front set. The z-rated are more like $90 as I recall.

http://www.nationalfleetparts.com/Pe...e_friction.asp

So I should apply the grease to the shim that sits between the brake pad and the caliper?

 

Yes, both sides of the shim is better, and just gingerly apply the grease. The idea is to dampen the high frequency vibration that causes the squeaking - that's really all the grease is for ; aside from maybe keeping the caliper bracket from rusting and preventing smooth movement of the pads as they wear down.

Easy peasy.

Steve

 

Are you sure its grease? I've bought brake pads before where the package contained a small clear plastic tube with a blue or other color "grease-like" liquid inside. There was no cap; you just snipped of the end of a nozzle and squeezed to get the stuff out. I believe the material to be an RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanizing) silacone rubber, which is not a grease. The differnece is the RTV quickly solidifies to a rubber-like material that will not flow like a grease and drip down from the caliper into the wheel I.D. I recently put on a set of rear pads that shuddered terribly. I applied the RTV to the back side of the pads. On the piston side, you should see a ring the piston contacts to the pad. Put the stuff on top of this ring. On the outside pad, there should be 2 or 3 spots where the "claw" part of the sliding caliper makes contact. Put the RTV on these spots. Put the pads back in, the caliper on, and apply a little brake pressure to seat the RTV to a constant thickness between the backside of the pads and the caliper contact points. Let this cure for an hour. The RTV will glue the pads to the caliper, allowing them to wear evenly making them quiet the first few times you drive. After a while, the high temperature from the brakes will breakdown the RTV, but the pads should now conform to the discs, so they will continue to run quietly.

 

You should grease all metal -to-metal contacts. Without the lube, the metal to metal contact may cause frequencies (also known as high pitched squeals). This also includes the metal hardware on the ends of the calipers where it meets the pads. After brake install, pump up the brakes until you get a pedal, bleed out calipers(make sure there's fluid in the master cylinder), spray some brake cleaner on the rotors(not the pads) to degrease it, install wheel with spokes facing outwards (j/k!) and torque the wheels to 100 ft/lbs. Then bedd the pads in with 5-10 mediums stops with a 30 second cooling stop in between.