I want to change my pads to ceramic but only have 4000mi. on the car/rotors. Do I need to have them surfaced?

 

I changed mine at 5K miles and the rotors were fine. I have the Z51 cross drilled. Easy swap and no more squeal and black dust.

 

You should be fine with stock pads and 4k miles. As they were stock pads it shouldn't be too much trouble, but if you were going from a stronger pad to the cermaics which are rather mild I would make sure bed them in very well.

 

Make sure to use the anti-squeal lube or you will regret it. Bed them real good too. At least 5-10 60mph hard stops. Brakes will smoke a little.

Jeff

 

No, just clean them up with some brake clean and 60 grit sand paper.

If you are looking for pads Take a lok at the Carbotech 1521 compound.

Front $144 Rear $124 I offer 7% discount.

The Carbotech Bobcat 1521™ is our high performance street compound that is our most successful compound. The Bobcat compound is known for its awesome release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness. Like our AX™ & XP™ line of compounds, Bobcat 1521™ is a Ceramic based friction material offering minimal rotor damage and non corrosive dust. Bobcat 1521™ offers outstanding performance, even when cold, low dusting and low noise with an excellent initial bite. This compound’s virtually perfect linear torque production provides incredible braking force without ABS intervention. Bobcat 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 900°F. Bobcat 1521™ is suitable for ALL street cars, perfect for your tow vehicle, police cruiser, and has won multiple SCCA Solo 2 and Prosolo National Championships. The Bobcat 1521™ compound has been found to last two-three times longer than OE pads you can purchase at a dealership or national retailer. Bobcat 1521™ compound has also been found to extend the life of your rotors 2-3 times. That’s one of the beauties of Carbotech Ceramic brake compounds. Bobcat 1521™ is NOT recommended for any track use.

 

The BEST way is to use a Flex-Hone in an electric drill motor like the pros do.



This will: 1) Remove the old pad transfer layer, 2) Removes surface irregularities that are often a prime source of noise complaints, and 3) Leaves a circular-style cross-hatch pattern that helps with breaking in the new pads.

If you don't want to order one of those, use Scotch-Brite and a ton of elbow grease. I do not recommend using use sandpaper as it is impossible to keep the surface of the rotor flat when removing iron by hand. I can't count the number of times I've seen noise complaints resolved by just having a proper surface finish put on a properly flat and parallel friction face. Neither the Flex-Hone nor Scotch-Brite remove iron.

Chris