So, first of all I intend on getting this issue checked out by a mechanic asap, but I was wondering if anyone here knew what that might be.

2004 Mazda RX8 GT
150k miles w/ <10k on engine.

So, recently my RX-8 has been acting strange. About a week ago, when I applied the brakes, my car makes a grinding sensation that I can feel in the brakes as well as slightly through the floor with my foot that's off the clutch. The sound/feeling can be described as braking over rough gravel, but the braking is not slipping. It feels like something may be scraping from the rear of the car, but there is no loud squeal that you usually hear when there are bad brakes.

I rolled down the windows to hear and there is a cyclical 'tsk' sound for every rotation of the wheel up to around 30mph but after that I can no longer hear it; this happens when the brakes are not applied.

I only hear/feel it after I apply the brakes but it continues even if I let the car drift slowly after tapping the brake.

The car handle perfectly fine, and the sound actually seems to go away when I take a turn. I drove it on the highway, no shaking or anything from the steering wheel and it accelerates quite smoothly, like any RX-8 should.

Thanks for reading, and any input would be appreciated while I worry throughout the night. Getting it repaired isn't what's killing me, it's not having and idea of what is wrong with my dream car.

 

step one is always to check the basics, in this case look at the brake pad thickness. if the pads are more than 2mm, then i think i'd make sure the aluminum shield behind the rotor isn't bent.

if its still neither of these, you should be able to turn the wheel by hand and hear the tsk tsk noise