Hi everyone,

I have a 2007 RX8 GT with just under 18,000kms. My breaks have been squealing now for the past couple months anytime the brakes are applied.

How often should the brakes be changed?

Is this an expensive job?

Thanks for your help!
-Greg

 

Don't need to change em. Take them to the stealership, they'll grind the rust off of the rotors. If you don't do heavy acceleration followed by hard braking you shouldn't have problems with squealy brakes. I had the same thing happen around 10,000KM on my 2007. Lately they've started a little bit of a squeal again, so maybe I need to stop braking hard too

Where are you located? Welcome to the club, haven't seen you post yet..

 

"Brakes" and "braking"

Not "breaks" or "breaking"

Before you let the dealership rip precious material and millimeters off your rotors, you might want to try to bed the brakes again. You may just have a problem with some glazing that can be solved pretty easily.

 

Damn you and noticing my massive typos

I spelled the last one right though :D

 

AHAHAH you were all thrown off by the original post...

 

My bad! I noticed my typo after I submitted the post. Thanks for the info everyone. Now I can bring it to the dealership and somewhat sound like I know what I'm talking about lol.

I'm from Toronto.. You?

 

Oh, and what exactly does bed the brakes mean?

 

Yeah definitely sounds like glazing... had this problem in my Audi. It doesn't affect the braking just makes them squeal.

 

Mine does the same but stops under hard braking

 

I'm just trying to use up my stock brake pads as fast as possible so I'm due for a new set of aftermarket pads.

Stock brake pads, albeit very strong and fade free, are just too squeaky for my taste

 

open the caliper, put some anti-squeal grease on the clips, and the rear of the pads.

thats all.

 

Applying high temp tolerant [e.g. copper] grease anywhere the pads contact the caliper actuation/slide channels is a good idea. Of course keep gease off the pad surface that contacts the rotor face. You can also take very fine sandpaper to the rotor faces.

Bedding in (also called burnishing) is simply laying down a layer of pad material on the rotor faces. Again, the rotors should be cleaned or new prior.

Procedure from Hawk:

Burnishing Instructions
1. After installing new brake pads, make 6 to 10 stops from approximately 30-35 mph applying moderate pressure.
2. Make an additional 2 to 3 hard stops from approximately 40 to 45 mph.
3. DO NOT DRAG BRAKES!
4. Allow 15 minutes for brake system to cool down.
5. After step 4 your new pads are ready for use.

Here's their pad installation procedure as well (note rotor insight):

Brake Pad Installation Procedure
1. Install brake pads properly. Be sure pads are securely positioned in the caliper.
2. Flush system with fresh brake fluid.
3. Check all hydraulic parts for excess wear and tear.
4. Check disc for proper thickness, parallelism, and lateral runout.
5. Check disc for scoring or grooves over .012”depth. If either applies, resurfacing is required.
6. If discs do not need resurfacing, then contamination from the previous brake pads must be removed. Sand discs with 130 grit sandpaper using moderate pressure. Use soap and water to clean discs’ surface after sanding and machining. Discs should be free and clear of oil, grease, and brake fluid.
7. Inspect calipers for freedom of movement. Lubricate where necessary.

edit: even after all the above, most brake pads squeal to some extent - nature of the disc brake beast. However, Ceramic pads do much better in terms of low noise (and low dust).