Sport pkg brake squeal

gh0st3794

I've noticed a small squeak from the brakes when I come to a stop from a slow roll at times. It happens usually when the brakes are cold. Other than that I don't notice any other noises. I have about 19,500 miles on them. Anyone else notice something similar?

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-2012 Solid Red NISMO 370Z
-2010 370Z 6MT sport pkg 301 whp 251.4 wtq (Dynojet) SOLD
-K8 Suzuki GSX-R 600

kenchan

I noticed on my 4k mile akebonos as well when driving 30F temps. I say normal although my endless pads on my G's brembo makes no noise.

ChrisSlicks

You can try pulling the pads and placing a thin layer of high temp brake lubricant in between the backing plate and the back of the pad. Or just brake harder

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370Z Purist

It's the temperature. Cold brakes squeak more often. Happens to me, and I have less miles than you (about 10k less, actually).
Or it could be that your brakes were rusty from water or something like that. Perhaps road salt or other things. But you live in Florida, so probably not.

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-Phil

"Since one of my brake light bulbs just went out, the forum told me that my piston rings are about to blow."

odie99

We get this a lot in the dealership. The basic answer is: a small amount of squeal is normal in a high performance braking system.

The quick and dirty fix is to drag the brakes (like your actually coming to a stop) for a hundred feet or so, then drive for a couple miles to let the brakes cool down before applying full brake pressure again.

Alternatively, you can sandpaper the glaze from the pads (especially the edges), scuff the rotor surface, apply B&G stop squeal to the pad surface and burn it in (my favorite part), and apply some 3M VHB double sided sticky tape to the back of the pads. Then, go bed the brakes in as normal.

Neither of these is a true "fix" as there is no true problem to fix.

If you think these rotors are big, the iron (steel, whatever. The ones that aren't CSiC) rotors on the Continental GT are 16.1" with a 2 piston floating caliper hauling a 6600lb car to a stop. They get replaced nearly every 20k-25k miles.

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DeLRo

I was wondering the same thing. Over the last few weeks I've been tripping out not sure if it was me or the cars next to me. I know performance brakes can be noisier, so I wasn't too worried. But I didn't start noticing it till recently.

Anyone know how long the stock pads should last under normal driving conditions?

kenchan

i dont know about the akebono's pads but im assuming it will last a good 25k miles or so depending on the kind of driving you do.

i do recommend (already posted above) about braking a tad firmer and shorter distances vs light application and long braking distance like on a normal car. this helps keep the contact surface clean.

kenchan

i guess if it becomes too much of a nusance, remove the pads, gently clean the surface with 1000grit sandpaper to rid the shiny crap, add CRC BrakeQuiet on the back and shims and re-install. that'll probably quiet things down.

Billy02987

I noticed the same with my car, but it's only when I first start it on the day and back it out of the garage. I live in FL so I don't think it being excissively cold out causes it considering it will be 80 out and mine will do it. It just started for me a couple thousand miles ago and I took it as a sign to order new rotor's and pad's cause im just about at 30,000 miles. I do all highway driving though, so they could easily last me a little longer im just tired of the dust.

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2010 GT-R
2009 GTM TT 370Z-SOLD

AP - Chris_B

This is not unusual, but can be mitigated by rebedding the pads. Fixed, opposed-piston calipers with larger pads can often squeal a bit, especially if not used very hard. The pad transfer layer get slowly rubbed off over time by easy braking. Rebedding refreshes the transfer layer so the pad is rubbing on it's own material instead of raw iron. Not only does the squeal usually go away (or close to it), but the brake will be more effective as well.

Do NOT use sandpaper of any kind on a brake rotor. There is no way to maintain the flatness required for optimum brake performance manually. You can use either Scotch-Brite (and elbow grease) or a Flex-Hone on an electric (not battery-powered) drill motor to remove pad material deposits on the friction surface. After cleaning the rotor surfaces, the pads will need to be bedded again.

Below is a bedding procedure that is useful for street pads. If you still have trouble after going through this, let me know and I can offer a bit more assistance with more aggressive solutions.

• Lightly brake from 45 MPH down to 25 MPH five times in succession. Do not attempt any high-speed stops down to zero at this point.
• Increase the braking effort (like stopping in traffic) for another 5 times, again avoiding full stops.
• Increase speed to 55-60 MPH. Brake to 35 MPH five more times using heavier braking than normal, but not so heavy as to engage the ABS.
• You may now notice the smell of hot brake pads (off-gassing) and the pedal becoming a bit soft or mushy (green pad fade), which is normal. If no fade yet, repeat step #3 again.
• Drive the next 1 mile using no brakes. If safety concerns require using the brakes, apply them as gently as possible and attempt to keep from completely stopping.
• Allow the brake system to completely cool upon return.
• After cool-down, the brakes will be 70-80% bedded (100% is usually achieved by 500 miles).

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wilsonp

Mine is the same way - I back out of the carport down a slight incline, and there is a few squeals that first time backing out.

I don't hear any squealing the rest of the time. Since I had bad squeals from the (aggressive) pads I had on the NSX, I don't mind this little bit.

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2014 Cayman S PDK Sport Chrono White/Black
Was 2009 370Z Touring Sport+Nav 7AT Metallic Black/Persimmon
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