I have a 2002 Z28 that I put power slot rotors and "Green Stuff" pads on about 800 miles ago. I love the reponsive braking power and was thinking that I would put a similar set up on my RX-8 (should I ever get it... ) but after so many miles, the brakes still squeal. My father seems to think this is just a characteristic of the kevlar pads, but I think my father just put the calipers back on incorrectly, perhaps too close, or tight. Does anyone have any experience w/ kevlar pads? Is it normal for them to make noise well after the pads should be fully seated?

 

well, are you sure he greased the shims correctly?? are you getting your clearances on the calipers?? are you sure your rotors aren't in need of a little roughening up??

 

No, I'm not, which is why I think it's squealing. I don't think it's b/c of the kevlar...

 

JFYI, all semi metallic pads are generally known to be more squeaky than regular street pads..

 

Do they squeal at the beginning of your drive? Peformance pads tend to squeal a lot more as stated before. You might need the pads to warm up to the optimal operating temperature.

After a few minutes of driving and breaking do they squeal less?

 

it's difficult to install a caliper incorrectly - they aren't like legos :-) more like a jig-saw puzzle, they only go together one way. when you put the new pads on did you resurface your rotors in any way? if not, then have your rotors turned and lube all of the points where the pad contacts the caliper with moly-lube (NOT ant-sieze). and lube the slide pins with silicone lube only!

if the Green Stuff pads came with shims on the back of them (thin pieces of sheet metal glued or rivoted on the back) check to make sure they are still secure. if they have worked themselves loose just pull them off and discard. make sure to lube the exposed contact area.

Ray

 

Thanks, I think the pads are fine and no I didn't resurface my rotors b/c they're new slotted ones.

 

Also, I'm not sure, but I think they may acutally squeal more after tehy're heated up. They do work better though after.

 

i had racing kevlar pads (OMP) in my alfa and i can assure you everytime i stepped on the brakes you could hear me coming a mile away.
just by changing pads the braking result improved dramatically but the noise...
damn it was horrible! only when they got really warm you couldn't hear a thing.

after 15000km the noise was still there but it started fading away, it was acceptable.

 

Thanks maniac, too bad it's not something I can fix then...

 

well, i think you can, that's what i did at least: windows all the way up, music volume all the way up --> let the ones around you feel the pain in their ears:D