brakes
 

i have noticed over the last few weeks, that my brakes are beginning to slightly squeal. but when i examine them visually, they look as if they are still in good shape. but today, my brake sensor went off. so do i need to change the pads? if so which ones and where?

.tuan.

Drive the car very hard. Get the brakes very hot, to the point you smell them or see smoke. Then drive the car without even touching the brake pedal for five minutes. See if that solves it.

Yes you need fresh pads and possibly rotors depending on runout specs. Which one and where are big questions. It depends on

the year & model of your car,

driving style (daily driver, weekend cruiser, spirited driver+ AX, die hard track rat)

and goals (maximum heat tolerance, low noise, low dust, long life, easy on rotors, low cost, high quality, money no object).

Fill in the blanks and you will get meaningful responses here.

thanks guys,

it just surprises me because the pad themselves looks so thick still. but the squeal and now the light is pushing me to changing them. perhaps it's the inner pads that i can't see that are worn.

but i'm a daily driver. somewhat aggressive. no tracking.

2002 boxster

goals...most important..i hate squeal. second is cost. third is longevity.

thanks.

in my previous experiences, after market...always squeal. original parts are best. so where can i get geniune parts for low cost?

Often when brakes start to make noise it's just because they need to be rebedded. A free, easy and quick potential solution is to rebed the brakes. It doesn't work all the time, but if there is plenty of pad material left and no major grooves in the rotors (or lip on the outside) it would absolutely be what I try first.

When I was running street pads I had good experiences with both OEM from Sunset Porsche and Mintex pads. Others are running these pads to good effect with low noise, low dust:
http://porterfield-brakes.com/images/portstrt2008_11_06_02_41_04.pdf

I have since moved on to a dedicated track pad that is expensive, never overheats, throws dust like crazy and squeals like a school bus when cold. We all have our priorities. :o

the brake wear light still occasionally comes on. so how do i tell which brakes i need to change? again, visually, all 4 pads look "thick". any suggestions?

Rule of thumb for me is to change the pad when the pad thickness =the metal backing thickness. If your pads look good inside and out you may just have a worn/failed sensor. Brake sensors get inserted into the pad and if they were reused after the last brake service you may have a bad one.

Pull the wheels, inspect the pads, inspect/replace the sensors if you intend to use them. No way to tell "which wheel" without a visual inspection that I am aware of. I don't use sensors so once I verified they were still good I zip tied them up and out of the way to facilitate fast pad changes. Now my sensors will never go off so I inspect my pads visually before and after each track day or at least once/month. I usually change rotors every other pad change. Put a mic on your rotors to measure runout and make sure you have enough left. Minimum runout is normally stamped on the rotor hat.

This DIY brake guide is pretty good:
http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/Replace_Brake_Pads_%26_Rotors.html

yes you should have to change the pads. its better for you.

okay guys,

i changed my pads and rotors. but sometimes, i get a squeal when stopping. is this normal during the "break in" period?