I couldn't take it anymore and got my local OK Tire monkeys to change the pads. These are the pads that Mazda swapped in last spring to supposedly fix what was at the time a minor problem. They made it worse, especially in cold weather. It sounded like one of Michael Jackson's pajama parties. It was embarrassing, I kid you not. These new ones are softer, apparently. The first replacement pads (the really noisy ones) were ceramic. Dunno what the originals were made of.

 

My replacement pads only sqeak after I wash my car (for one or two stops)...or after I park my car after the brakes got wet....

 

never had a problem to brake squeal, but yea i know people that have had their's replaced only to squeal again.

 

Yea, mine used to be all fine just like yours... until they replaced it with new ones and resurfuced my rotors during the recall (didn't ask them to check my brakes)... then it start to squeal kinda badly after a few hundred miles. It was kinda raining that day when I took them in to do the recall. I'll remember next time to tell them not to do other things that I didn't ask for...

 

Ha same experience here. My new pads are just as bad as my old ones. The Mazda dealership threw me some bullshit line like "Well when you have hard brake pads like that, they tend to squeal. It's just how sports car brakes are." I didn't bother to argue with him. I'm fairly sure my friends' Cayman and Z don't do that. But what can you do?

 

That would be funny if they actuall threw you bullshit, you dodge it, and it hits the manager in the head, then they get fired. My dealer nonstop bs's me too. Brakes squeal and I tell them to fix. They give me the car back saying nothings wrong but they still squeal like crazy.

 

Yeah. Apparently everything is "normal" to the dealer

 

i'm guessing you don't do track days too often... or stick around long after them...

 

Performance pads will squeak. but Im not sure what kind of pads we got on our 8 (stock) tho.

mine doesnt squeak as much now. it does sometimes after it rains, and on hard corners. but I trained myself to live with it. so it doesnt bother me anymore.

 

Yeah I have the same problem and have made a case of it to the dealers service department numerus times. They say its the pad compound. They say that they will last longer. than the regular pads. All I know is that if I use a bottle of that break cleaner it solves the problem for about 3 stops.

 

I would say in your case, and in some others, the squeal is coming from brake dust and other road gunk stuck up between the pad and rotor. This is common after aggressive mountain driving or track days, but can build up in dusty areas also. A lot of times hosing them out or using brake cleaner fixes it, but you have to take the wheel off to clean the inside pad.

 

Some hard braking always gets rid of the squeaks. If you re-bed the pads when the squeaking starts up, it'll go away. 77k and my fronts are 65% (changing them soon), squeaking has never been a bother because I get rid of it when it starts. I'd rather have the occasional squeak, than sacrificed braking performance.

The problem is, the 8's brakes are way too good for daily driving. You hardly have to use them at all. The pads get crap all over them, and you need to work them hard to clean them off. I predict the softer pads will start to squeak in a few thousand miles.