Don't buy cheap brake pads!!!

iwannadie

New Member
Jul 28, 2006
981
0
0
gilbert, az
Asterix;1368352 said:
Yup. Porterfield's R4 also squeal like an old bus and make clouds of black dust, but boy do they stop! They get much quieter over a few months, but are rarely silent. I get some good looks when they're squealing; people probably are expecting to see a bus and instead see a small-ish car.

Asterix

My porterfield pads are quiet, no sound at all. I used OEM shims and some of the brake quiet grease on the backs.
 

MK3Brent

Very expensive....
Aug 1, 2005
2,878
0
0
Greensboro and Greenville NC
My porterfield R4's are silent as well.
I sprayed the backs with brake-quiet, and used the springs.

They only squeek for .5 seconds when you hit the brakes for the first time after sitting for a month or so.




Cheap pads squeek badly mainly because they're an extremely hard compound. Many parts stores offer a free lifetime deal on their pads knowing the rotors will long be shot before those pads will be.
 

swaq

posts++;
May 24, 2005
1,351
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36
Oregon -> Arizona
www.SwaqValley.com
CyFi6;1368026 said:
Wow, spraying your brakes with WD40... haha i dont know what to say
I did this to the brakes on my bicycle when I was a kid. I don't remember how I rationalized it, but it completely ruined the brakes... My stopping distance essentially doubled :runaway:.
 

Moy

It's broken...
Aug 6, 2008
2,432
0
36
Beach Park, IL
Let me ask this question. Why would you go cheap on something that you don't replace constantly? Why not spend the little bit extra money now, than to go cheap and end up costing bigger money later? Do it once, do it right.
 

CyFi6

Aliens.
Oct 11, 2007
2,972
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Phoenix
www.google.com
Moy;1368602 said:
Let me ask this question. Why would you go cheap on something that you don't replace constantly? Why not spend the little bit extra money now, than to go cheap and end up costing bigger money later? Do it once, do it right.

+1, not to mention your life depends on it and its arguably the most important system on the entire car
 

supraguy@aol

Well-Known Member
Dec 30, 2005
4,236
37
48
Atlanta
Axxis Metal master FTW.

I've used two sets on my car, and never, ever had squeal.
In fact, I once tried 'upragding' to Axxis Ultimate ceramic.
They didn't stop or bite any better, they made more dust and squealed.
I ended up putting the metallics back in.
 

tekdeus

Pronounced Tek-DAY-us
Jan 23, 2006
2,115
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0
Vancouver Canada
www.bitrontech.com
My old pads had squeal problems, even with the OEM shims AND the permatex brake quiet. I found that chamfering the edges of the pads and using Gunk Squeal medic sprayed onto the rotors solved it. No problems, and this product is safe to use on the rotors.
LG_M725_6.gif
 

crisp

existentialincrementalist
May 25, 2007
1,785
2
38
Ohio
tekdeus;1368724 said:
My old pads had squeal problems, even with the OEM shims AND the permatex brake quiet. I found that chamfering the edges of the pads and using Gunk Squeal medic sprayed onto the rotors solved it. No problems, and this product is safe to use on the rotors.
LG_M725_6.gif

Good to hear someone else on the "chamfer" solution! Didn't know if it was just me...;)

First time I've seen that stuff, I'll look out for it.



-crisp
 

crisp

existentialincrementalist
May 25, 2007
1,785
2
38
Ohio
IJ.;1368803 said:
4 piston leading calipers negate the need to chamfer ;)


We went from "Cletus" to "Constructive", no?;)


...I always learn something in here...:biglaugh:


-crisp
 

Asterix

Lurker of Power
Mar 31, 2005
469
36
28
Vienna, VA
It's a bit off topic, but Wired Mag ran some WD40 past a gas chromatograph machine, and here are the results.

I can't imagine putting anything on a rotor in an attempt to stop squeaking. The complete solution is between the shims, or maybe a little chamfering if that fails.

My new set of R4 pads are making rather less noise than the previous set, probably because I put lots of anti-sieze goop between the shims this time.

Asterix
 

crisp

existentialincrementalist
May 25, 2007
1,785
2
38
Ohio
Asterix;1369936 said:
It's a bit off topic, but Wired Mag ran some WD40 past a gas chromatograph machine, and here are the results.

I can't imagine putting anything on a rotor in an attempt to stop squeaking. The complete solution is between the shims, or maybe a little chamfering if that fails.

My new set of R4 pads are making rather less noise than the previous set, probably because I put lots of anti-sieze goop between the shims this time.

Asterix

Good stuff!

...sounds like FISH OIL could still be in there somewhere!;)


-crisp
 

Kota

New Member
Jun 26, 2009
105
0
0
michigan
i put cheap pads on my front wheels, drove about an hour or so to a car show. it was even mostly highway, but when i got there my silver rims were nearly black in the front and perfectly clean in the back. ...not to mention my car sounds like a school bus
 

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
16,757
0
0
43
Fort Worth, TX
Want quiet brakes?

-Get a decent pad
-Make sure you have good hardware (all the springs and clips)
-Remove paint from sides of pad material
-Chamfer the leading and trailing edges (many good pads come this way already)
-Use the shims or spray

While there, inspect the calipers and slides. If the pads aren't wearing evenly it's usually a sign of the slides being bad...
 

crisp

existentialincrementalist
May 25, 2007
1,785
2
38
Ohio
Poodles;1371305 said:
Want quiet brakes?

-Get a decent pad
-Make sure you have good hardware (all the springs and clips)
-Remove paint from sides of pad material
-Chamfer the leading and trailing edges (many good pads come this way already)
-Use the shims or spray

While there, inspect the calipers and slides. If the pads aren't wearing evenly it's usually a sign of the slides being bad...


Hmmm... I did not KNOW that!;)


-crisp
 

sixpatch

Chaser
Feb 13, 2010
225
0
0
Kernersville, NC
So I was looking at this thread and saw the "Only Brake Pads Listed For That Vehicle" portion of the story, and since I work for Napa, decided to look into the issue. My 87' came up with the same issue. The part number listed is a TS-7231. But if you bump up to an 89' or later there are higher quality pads available. Someone posted a part number of SS-7231AX which are the mid-grade ceramic pads for the 89' and above. Now I've been looking hard at these two numbers and I can't find a single difference. I've ordered the ceramic pads in and am going to attempt to install them on my 87'. I'll let you know how it works out. Also, there's a Premium version of this part number (UP-7231AX) but it's less available in the warehouses, and most places will need a couple days to get it in. The midgrades (which I've ordered) look to be a next day item in most places.