posted
I bought Auto Zone's private label pads a couple of years ago, installed them, burned 'em in, and then left on the Power Tour. They squeaked and squealed horribly through the whole trip. It twas more than a little embarrassing. I don't think it was the installation because when I got home I installed a set of GM replacement pads and didn't have any problems.
Then about a month ago I installed a set of Hawk pads, they've been great.
-------------------- Randy Fenton SSOA F99-0098
Black '99 SS #98 T-Tops, M6, Dual Dual, Bilstein, SS Grille, Whisper Lid, K&N Air Filter, TB Bypass, NGK TR55's, PPC Plug Wires, SLP Smooth Bellows, SLP LT Headers, SLP Cats, SLP Y-Pipe, Optima Red Top, SLP Shifter, Lou's Short Stick, LS6 Clutch, SLP SFC's, SLP Boxed LCA's, SLP Boxed Panhard Rod, DGoetz Tunnel Brace, Hotchis STB, 17X11 Rear ZR1's, Michelin Pilot Sports (275's Front, 315's Rear), Baer Eradispeed Rotors, Hawk Pads, G2 Aluminum Pedals, Electric Antenna, etc.
Red '01 SS Convertible #4639 Dual Dual, Chrome Wheels, Whisper Lid, K&N filter, SLP Smooth Bellow, DG STB, and DG SFC's. Posts: 129 | From: Austin, TX, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
Another pad to consider but on the pricey side is Raybestos Quiet Stops. I was looking for a pad a couple years ago to put on my RS and they were the ones I found that not only eliminated the squeal but also the brake dust. The brake dust thing what I really wanted to eliminate because of the polished wheels I have on my Camaro. There is very little dust , not totally eliminated but close. I think I paid around $75 a pair ,
Hawk Brake Pads HPS Compound (Front Set) Price: $84.95 HPS (High Performance Street) Compound - provides advanced braking characteristics to enhance your driving experience. High performance street pads that are race worthy. All Hawk pads are compatible with factory brakes & A.B.S. systems.
Hawk Brake Pads HP Plus (Front Set) Price: $135.95 HP PLUS (High Performance Street PLUS Race Worthy) Compound - these pads can take the heat at the Track and get you home safely without having to change your brake pads in and out. This compound was designed for the serious street and autocross enthusiast. Warning : Due to the dramatic friction levels produced by this product to achieve "race-level" braking; rotor wear, noise, dust, and pad life may be increased. All Hawk pads are compatible with factory brakes & A.B.S. systems.
Hawk Brake Pads Blue 9012 (Front Set) Price: $159.95 BLUE 9012 (Medium/High torque) brake compound - Race compound pads with low pad and rotor wear with good brake modulation. Road racing, Auto-x and Rally applications where low to mid temperature effectiveness is critical. All Hawk pads are compatible with factory brakes & A.B.S. systems.
EBC Greenstuff Front (Road/Sport) Compound Price: $89.95 EBC Greenstuff Road/Sport disc brake pads are designed for sports cars, coupes and sedans used for high performance driving on the road. They are also suitable for sport driving in autocross, Solo II and many “track day” applications. The EBC Greenstuff pads feature a high Kevlar content formulation resulting in ultra high performance pads that are extremely kind to brake rotors. EBC Greenstuff pads (friction level of 0.46µ) will be more responsive than most standard original brakes (typical friction level of 0.25µ to 0.35µ). Their high resistance to brake fade up to 1000° Fahrenheit make them a superb upgrade for luxury and high performance streetcars used for high speed driving or that encounter repetitive, heavy braking. As standard brake pads wear, brake dust is released as the friction material carbonizes at temperatures found in everyday braking. EBC Greenstuff brake pads are formulated to run cleaner because they resist carbonizing until over 1000° Fahrenheit, so in normal street driving, dust is almost entirely eliminated. Features and Benefits of Greenstuff brake pads Upgrade brake performance by up to 30%, friction co-efficient of 0.46µ Excellent initial bite resulting in instant response, no warm-up needed Leading fade resistance on the street, heat stable to a blistering 1000°F Extremely low disc abrasion due to high Kevlar content Low dust formula, great for alloys due to zero carbon content Low vibration, smooth operation The EBC Greenstuff pads have won many awards from United Kingdom magazines. In 1999 they won the UK Autotrade Magazine INNOVATION AWARD for their clean running, high performance features, and were also rated #1 fast road car brakes by UK's largest circulation motorsport magazine, Max Power. Brake pads are wear items and as such, should be inspected regularly and replaced as necessary. Pads should be replaced when approximately 1/8” of friction material remains on the steel backing plate. Drivers who participate in track days should always take spare pads to the track and may find it desirable to also carry a full vehicle set of EBC Redstuff pads in case they need to upgrade their brakes to provide longer pad life at the track or accommodate higher brake temperatures.
'Seasoning' the rotors is when you heat cycle them completely several times before getting on them hard.
'Bedding' the pads is done after the rotors are 'seasoned'. You'd get your speed up to ~60 mph, brake hard down to about 5 mph, repeat twice more then get on the freeway for 10 - 15 min of cooling.
These procedures will help to insure a long life to the brake components.
when you install new rotors, you want to drive them for 10 - 15 minutes, without hard or heavy braking, then park the car and let them cool completely. Do this several times (3 or 4) over the course of a day or two.
Here's a Baer link to some more info. Rotor Seasoning for Street or Light Track Applications
The first step in preparing the brake system for duty is to “SEASON” the rotors. The most visible effects are that of burning the machine oils from the surface of the iron and establishing a wear pattern between the pad and rotor. The most complex task it performs is that of relieving the internal stresses within the material. If you’ve ever poured water into a glass of ice, and noticed the ice cracking, then you’ve witnessed, first hand, the effects of internal stresses. The rotor casting and cooling processes leave the rotor with internal stresses.
By gradually heating the material, the crystalline matrix will reconfigure to relieve these internal stresses. After these stresses are relieved, the rotor is ready to accept the heat of bedding pads. Heating the rotors before they are fully seasoned can result in material deformation due to the unrelieved internal stresses in the material. This deformation may cause a vibration from the brakes. In order to prevent this vibration, all PRO-RACE+ rotors are trued before shipping.
Rotors need to be gradually elevated to “race” temperatures before any severe use. A “nibble”, or slight vibration, normally indicates rotors that were heated too quickly. After initial “Seasoning”, when running your car at open track events or serious canyon carving, you should use the first lap of a session (or first couple miles of open road), to warm the brakes as well as the engine, gearbox, etc. Where an engine turns chemical energy into motion, the brakes turn that motion into thermal energy....and lots of it! And where there is no cooling system for the brakes as there is for the engine, and there’s not, the brakes could use the courtesy of a warm-up lap.
Remember to ALWAYS WARM THE BRAKES before any heavy use!
Seasoning Procedure: 1. Before you begin, please note: The following represents the minimum recommended “Seasoning” process. If your situation offers any opportunity to perform gentle preliminary “Seasoning” outlined in Step 2 below for a longer period of time, this will generally render even better performance and increase further long term rotor life. 2. Use the vehicle for 5 to 6 days of gentle driving. Use the brakes to the same extent that you used the stock brakes, DO NOT TEST PERFORMANCE or ATTEMPT HEAVY USE UNTIL ALL ITEMS OUTLINED HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. It is imperative that excessive heat is not put into the rotors at this stage. They need temperature-cycling to relieve the internal stresses. Note: Zinc plated rotors (which are an extra cost option) need a couple of extra days of driving to wear through the plating before “Seasoning” actually will begin. 3. Find a safe location where the brakes can be run to temperature. Your goal is to gradually increase brake temperatures with progressively faster stops. Start by performing four 60 to 70 mph stops, as you would in the normal course of driving. Next, perform four medium effort partial stops (about 50 %) from 60 mph down to 15 mph. Follow this with five minutes of freeway driving with LITTLE to NO BRAKING to allow the rotors to cool. Then, perform four medium-hard effort partial stops (about 75 %) from 60 mph down to 15 mph. Follow this with ten minutes of freeway driving with LITTLE to NO BRAKING to allow the rotors to cool. Park the car and allow the brakes to cool overnight to ambient temperature. You are now 50 % done with the rotor “Seasoning/Bedding” procedure, proceed to STEP 4 the following day. 4. Return to the safe location where the brakes can be run to temperature. Make sure the brakes are warmed to full operating temperature and then, perform four medium effort partial stops (about 50 %) from 60 mph down to 15 mph. Follow this with five minutes of freeway driving with LITTLE to NO BRAKING to allow the rotors to cool. Then, perform four medium-hard effort partial stops (about 75 %) from 60 mph down to 15 mph. Follow this with ten minutes of freeway driving with LITTLE to NO BRAKING to allow the rotors to cool. NOW, make six HARD partial stops from 60+ mph down to 15 mph or until rotors have reached an operation temperature of between 900 and 1,100° (Note: Temperature paints to accurately measure rotor temperature may be purchased from Baer Racing). Every effort should be made to perform this procedure without locking a wheel. Follow this with ten minutes of freeway driving with LITTLE to NO BRAKING to allow the rotors to cool. 5. Let the system cool off over night. The rotors are then ready for the next step in Preparing your Brake System: Bedding Pads.
-------------------- '02 SOM SS Camaro #3111 M6, Hurst, every GM option Mods: !CAGS, SLP CAI, SLP lid, K & N filter, SLP bellows, power antenna, air temp module, 160 thermostat, Hotchkis sig. series STB, SLP bolt on SFC's, engine plaque, NGK 55 plugs, Mobil 1, Custom rear deck mat, MBA letters on back, Raptor shift light, Silverstar bulbs, Lou's short stick, QTP cut out, SLP decal,Auto Headlights Disable Mod, Decklid Hatch Spring Mod, Drill mod for clutch hydraulics, stronger M6 parts added, Painted calibers, 4 Drilled & Slotted rotors, SS floor mats, SSOA member M02-3111 Posts: 641 | From: northern Delaware | Registered: Jul 2002
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1998 SS - Black All Options - Mods Whisper Lid, K & N, Lou's Short Stick, Shift Light, Skip Shift, SLP Y, Borla, 4:10's, BMR STB, SLP SFCs, Granatelli MAF, Hypertech III, 160 Stat, Mallory Billet Pedals, Metco Aluminum LCAs,Fast Toys Ram Air Mod, Spohn Panhard Bar, BMR Torque Arm, free EGR mod,power antenna, BMR LCA brackets, Gentex Temp/Compass Auto Dim Mirror, AllMaxx Strobe and Wig Wag, BAER Eradispeed rotors,PPC Headers with Random Technology Hi Flow Cats, BMR Drive shaft Loop,FAST 78MM Throttle Body, FAST 78MM Composite Intake, Mobil 1 & lots of Zaino.
Wife & Best Friend Mary - copilot. Posts: 5558 | From: Windsor, Ontario. Canada | Registered: Feb 2000
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