c4-toy

I know that most of us put up with the dreaded brake squeal syndrome. However, mine have been squealing a little more and louder recently. I tried hosing them and even scrubbed the rotors with P21S wheel cleaner. They seem to squeal more after driving around a bit. PS. my rear pads were replaced about 6K miles ago, car has 55K miles on it. Any tips or recommendations out there, could it be the rotors?. I hate to say it, but it is embarassing some times when comming to a stop in traffic. Thx for any responses. Joe 96 C4 Cab.

Jeff96-993

Joe,

I just had my pads changed last month, and went from very quiet pads to very noisy pads in a short time. I'm hoping they quiet down as the pads bed themselves in, but I'm not certain how long that should take.

Soon after installing the new pads I spent a weekend at Road Atlanta. I tried to follow the break-in procedure recommended by others as far as heating/cooling the pads (as best as I could while on the track). Needless to say the loud squealing is definitely noticeable while stopping at a light, especially when cold. I have not noticed any problem with reduced braking capability, so I don't think the pads are glazed. But they are definitely noisy. If there's a quicker way to get rid of the noisy pads I'd like to hear about it.

Terry Adams

At 48K I had new front rotors, rear rotors resurfaced and new OEM pads all around. They did not squeal before the replacement, and only for the first 30 miles thereafter, during the bedding in. If you can stand to take your car through a car wash, this may work because the spray is really high pressure and it gets the whole rotor including the part that would have been missed if the rotor were sprayed while the car is stationary. My OEM pads have never squealed since I started paying extra attention to spraying all of the rotors.

pookee

Try Disk Brake Anti Squeal from Permatex.
It is a blue spray that you apply to the back of the pads. it works!

c4-toy

Pookee, i will try that brake anti squeal sounds like something i can do. You say the "back of the pads", is this the surface that touches the rotors?

Anir

[quote]Originally posted by c4-toy:
<strong>Pookee, i will try that brake anti squeal sounds like something i can do. You say the "back of the pads", is this the surface that touches the rotors?</strong><hr></blockquote>

Joe, you do not want to put the anti-squeal compound (gooey stuff) on the portion of the pad that contacts the rotor itself. It is meant to be applied to the shim on the "back" of the pad, i.e. the caliper (not rotor) side.

With respect to the general question of squealing, I have only found this to be a problem with cold brakes, when using light pressure. Increasing the force of the braking eliminates the noise.

Timothy Stewart

The Permatex product will work but a single
track session will cook it crisp.

I'm in the process of trying CRC Disc Brake
Quiet. A test application, without install,
showed that it dries much tougher and denser
than the Permatex product. More info after
an install and track session.

A friend recently tried the Fedoro pads and
had good luck on the street and track.

The anti-squeal shims and "pucks" do make a difference but make pad swapping more of a pain.

tim

pookee

Grinding a bevel on the leading edge(rotation aganst the rotor) of the pads is good practice too.

Flying Finn

Have any of you guys tried & replaced those stainless steel 'anti squeak' plates that might be worn out?

greg1234

FWIW - my brakes were squealing like crazy, and rubbing as well. Following advice on Rennlist I had the dealer check the pads were OEM - and they weren't. Someone had put in race pads. Replaced these with OEM and both the squealing and rubbing has gone away.

No shims, no goo, just the right pads... YMMV..

Robert Henriksen

[quote]Originally posted by Flying Finn:
<strong>Have any of you guys tried & replaced those stainless steel 'anti squeak' plates that might be worn out?</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yup, I did that on my *last* set of Ferodo pads, no squeal.

Did a Calvo & left those plates/shims off on my second set of Ferodo pads, and the things are squealing like pigs! FWIW, I *did* grind the leading edges, and smeared anti-squeal goo on the backing plates. But those didn't do the trick, at least w. the DS2000 compound.

E. J. - 993 Alumni

Hey Robert, I use those on the street too and no goo, no plates, no noise. I beveled the edges too.

Thats pretty interesting.

E. J.

bloke

I been told that sometimes we need to give a good step on the break to get rid of the build up. So, if you are trailing your brakes then those compounds wound help much.
So, try to give a hard stop without flat spotting.

Good luck.

B-Line C2S

Just a thought...

I know brake squeal is annoying and OEM pads should probably not squeal but in all my previous cars, whenever I did a brake upgrade (pads, calipers, etc) the more aggressive the brakes, the more squeal the brakes made.
Now Porsche which is not particularly known for being the fastest car in the world in my mind has always been recognized for it's braking and handling abilities. So it would seem to me that even the OEM pads are more aggressive than say the pads on a BMW M3.
I would have to assume that part of the trade off for our great brakes is the squeal that can and often does occur with high performance brakes.
I know this isn't the answer that anyone with brake squeal is looking for but I do think that brake squeal in general is extrememly common with any high performance brake pad etc...even a OEM one.

Just my .02

B-line..

Robert Henriksen

[quote]Originally posted by E. J.:
<strong>Hey Robert, I use those on the street too and no goo, no plates, no noise. I beveled the edges too.

Thats pretty interesting.

E. J.</strong><hr></blockquote>

How new/old are your rotors? That's the only other thing I can think of, mine are pretty near death.