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anybody know what this clip is for? It is about 1cm long.

It was a leftover part from swapping front brake pads. There was one of these clips on the backside of the passenger side brake assembly on my RX8. There was not one on the driver's side. There was also only one in the box which contained the new brake pads.

My guess is that it clips somewhere and is suppossed to make a noise when the pads are low. Brakes seem to work well without it but it would be nice to have some confirmation that the part is not critical.

Any help is appreciated.

 

Thats like whenever I build something and there is an extra screw in the bag when I'm done. I wonder if they gave me one too many screws or if I messed up. :D

 

The clip is there to reduce brake squeal. It's a shim.

It helps to keep the pad in one place.

It takes two per pad.

It really isn't needed. I think it's an add on from the mechanics.

I went to a couple of proffessionals on brakes and they couldn't find that part listed for Mazda. It looks similar to a Toyota part.

Went to dealer and ordered shim kit. When the shim kit came in the part was not included.
We opened several new brake pad kits. No part was found.

It ended up being added by the mechanic from his tool box.

I think Mazda was experimenting in reducing that brake squeal.

 

Just did my FRONT brakes, which I've reported in the other DIY brake thread. I have the exact same clip in the exact same location as Rotary Brother: only on the passenger side and only on the inside pad (on the bottom of the pad).

I do not believe it's to prevent squeal because why would there be one only on the passenger side? I believe it's the wear indicator that causes squeal as the pad wears down too low.

 

Here is a photo of that clip on a pad. It starts making noise when the pad is warn down enough to where the circled part of the clip contacts the rotor.

 

It's a "squeeler" like expo said...it tells you when your pad wear is to minimum. It starts to squeel like a pig

 

Ok, but like I was asking in the other thread, when is the pad worn too low? A brand new OEM pad is 6/16". My front pads for both the passenger and driver sides, respectively, had one pad at 2/16" and another pad at 3/16". I found a website that said 2/16" (or 1/8") is minimum depth. Would you guys agree with that? It just seems like even the 2/16" is plenty of depth but what would I know.

 

If they're that low...and you spent the time to take them out..you might as well put some new ones in....the time it takes to RE/RE them again isn't worth the 60 ish Bucks for a new set...