Help - I had these install on my car and they squeel like mad...been driving on them for about 1k miles. I paid alot of $$ for them and the shop saids there is no fix but to change them out.

Can anyone validate this? Is the problem the pads, the shop or another part on the car?

 

Performance pads make noise, that's sort of par for the course. Depending on the formulation they'll make more or less noise, but it's not unexpected. One thing you could try is breaking them in properly. Find a lonely stretch of road, accelerate to 50mph, brake hard to 10, accelerate back to 50, brake to 10, repeat this several times to get the brakes nice and hot. Then cool them down gently by driving continuously without stopping for 10 minutes.

 

No luck. I did the exercise but they still squeal like mad. It's also not on occasion, it squeals loud about almost every time I brake. If you were next to me, you could hear it even with your music turned on a decent volume.

Could it be something else? What is glazed brake pads? Do you think something else could be wrong?

 

squeal

 

I have no personal experience with Mazdaspeed pads specifically, but Hawk HP+s behaved exactly as you describe.

Brake pads can become glazed if they're overheated or not broken in properly, but that can't really happen on the street. You need racing conditions to get that much heat in them.

There really aren't too many options here. Did the installer carry over metal shims from your old pads? In front, when you look at the brake caliper's U shaped cutout, do you see brakepad or do you see a shiny metal surface? MS pads are blue, aren't they? It should be easy to tell. If the shims are missing, you should revisit the installer and insist they do they redo the job properly. If the shims are there, you could try reibstalling the pads with more grease between shim and pad. Thise shims are there for noise abatement, among other things. Post pictures if unsure.

Also if you aren't racing, you could go back to regular pads. There is no benefit in having better than stock pads for regular driving. You could probably resell the MS pads.

 

See attached photo. Is that the metal shim? I did another round of bedding and the squealing is a little less now. I'm planning to hit the track next month, If they improve, I'll keep them after my track day, otherwise, I think I'm just gonna replace them and never order them again.

Can you tell me if that's the metal shim? I'm trying to figure out if the auto shop I go to is good or bad.

Thanks,

 

The caliper shims that the pads ride on are filthy. Those should be cleaned and a small amount of grease placed on the shim. You should also remove the shims from the caliper bracket and clean those and install a small amount of grease there as well to prevent rust buildup. The slide pins should have also be removed, cleaned, and greased.

The back side of the shim on the pad has grease points. Ensure the pad was not overgreased. The shim also acts as a heat sink, drawing heat away from the pad and too much grease can cause heat to be trapped in the pad material, not allowing for proper cooling..

It also appears that you installed the pads over old rotors. The rotors should have been turned or replaced, especially with performance brake pads. They do need to bed in properly and cannot bed in when pressed against a glazed rotor. Glazing can cause a squeal.

At this point I would replace the rotors and pads and start over. I'm not sure the pads can bed into a fresh rotor once they've accumulated glazing on the pad surface.

 

If that's a used rotor, and it wasn't resurfaced, the pad could be rubbing on the little lip in the rotor inboard and ourboard of the shiny pad-swept surface. Feel with your nail for such a lip, and then see if the pad wobbles a little.

Is the squealing worst at low speed, high speed and high brake pedal pressure or low brake pressure?

Somehow, I don't think it's glazed just from street driving.

 

It's a new rotor, Centri, installed with the brake pads a month ago. For some reason, it rusted pretty quickly after a car wash. I have a buddy who knows how to change brakes... I'm going to try to setup a time for him to teach me and do all the points you highlighted.

How can you tell if the rotors are glazed?

 

See the dark spots on the rotors? Those are pad deposits that have been burned into the rotor. As the rotor glazes it becomes shiny. This is inevitable however. Its always best to turn the rotors on a brake lathe or replace them any time the pads are replaced. This will help them bed into the rotors. Your rotors do look newer, but its best to avoid a pad slap, especially when installing performance pads.