Tight Fitting Brake Pads

[NightRaven]

Hey fellas,

Has anyone replaced their brake pads with the Carbotech 1521s?

I've noticed these pads fit fairly tight. I installed them roughly 1.5k miles ago, and I'm now getting signs of brake pad drag. I'm guessing they just don't have enough room to slide freely.

I've already disassembeled my brakes twice, clean and lubed appropriately, and they still take some light force to slide into the caliper, and there is hardly any free movement.

Just wondering if any of you guys have had this experience with these or similar aftermarket pads.

Thanks!

[JozhGoober]

I've had it happen on some other cars I've worked on. Whatever pads I tried to put on my old Celica hardly fit until I took my Dremel to them and removed some material from the backing plate (mostly excessively thick paint).

It should be a short job with a Dremel or metal file to clean them up if you're worried about it.

[ZionsWrath]

I had uneven wear on my first set of Cabotech XP10 because they were sticking in the caliper. I actually smelled brake pad on the highway once. I bought another set and used 3M silicone past to lube the contact points in the caliper. That set wore even I just took them out yesterday. Try lubing it up.

[NightRaven]

Originally Posted by JozhGoober

I've had it happen on some other cars I've worked on. Whatever pads I tried to put on my old Celica hardly fit until I took my Dremel to them and removed some material from the backing plate (mostly excessively thick paint).

It should be a short job with a Dremel or metal file to clean them up if you're worried about it.

Yeah, Carbotech definitely loves the red paint lol.

I will try and carefully file down the edges tonight when I have the brakes apart for the third time in three days. I appreciate the input!

[NightRaven]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

I had uneven wear on my first set of Cabotech XP10 because they were sticking in the caliper. I actually smelled brake pad on the highway once. I bought another set and used 3M silicone past to lube the contact points in the caliper. That set wore even I just took them out yesterday. Try lubing it up.

I have cleaned everything, and lubed all the contact points already. I'm really just start to think the pad ears are just SLIGHTLY too wide/long. I can get them into the retainer clips on the rotor with some wiggling, but they don't slide in all silky smooth like. They also dont freely slide within the retainer clip once inserted as I believe they should.

[Element Tuning]

If its a street car take out one of the backing plate shims or both. Once you get a little brake pad wear you can out them back in. My Hawk race pads were a very tight fit but they did fit without rubbing.

[ZionsWrath]

Originally Posted by Element Tuning

If its a street car take out one of the backing plate shims or both. Once you get a little brake pad wear you can out them back in. My Hawk race pads were a very tight fit but they did fit without rubbing.

I left the backing plates off my pads. OP is talking about the two tabs on either end of the pad, I don't believe they are effected by that shim.

[Element Tuning]

Ah, yeah just take the rough edges off if they look ugly. Only take off what's barely required so you don't get pad "clank." Don't use lube there as it will only make it worse over time because it will attract dirt/brake dust.

[NightRaven]

Quick Update:

After three sessions in the garage trying to fix the issue, I finally gave up and took it to a trusted dealer in the area. I'm still under warranty, so why not.

After a lengthy amount of time on the lift, they concluded that it is simply noisy pads. The caliper, rotor, and brake pads all looked like they were in good working order.

After driving it for a few hundred miles post-service, the squealing seems to have calmed down a tad, but it is definitely still there.

If you can stand some noise and dusting, the Carbotech 1521's aren't too shabby.. but I will probably go OEM for my next swap considering the reduced price.

[CSG David]

Originally Posted by NightRaven

Quick Update:

After three sessions in the garage trying to fix the issue, I finally gave up and took it to a trusted dealer in the area. I'm still under warranty, so why not.

After a lengthy amount of time on the lift, they concluded that it is simply noisy pads. The caliper, rotor, and brake pads all looked like they were in good working order.

After driving it for a few hundred miles post-service, the squealing seems to have calmed down a tad, but it is definitely still there.

If you can stand some noise and dusting, the Carbotech 1521's aren't too shabby.. but I will probably go OEM for my next swap considering the reduced price.

What are your goals for getting brake pads in general?

[NightRaven]

Originally Posted by CSG David

What are your goals for getting brake pads in general?

Better stopping power than OEM brake pads. In my area there are a lot of good back roads that quickly lead to stop signs on steep declines. the OEM pads just didn't feel QUITE right, but the carbotechs feel great. I could just do without the noise.

[CSG David]

Originally Posted by NightRaven

Better stopping power than OEM brake pads. In my area there are a lot of good back roads that quickly lead to stop signs on steep declines. the OEM pads just didn't feel QUITE right, but the carbotechs feel great. I could just do without the noise.

If you are getting noise from the Carbotech 1521, it means you glazed them. Those 1521s are not meant for higher performance driving. They don't really require a proper bed-in to work properly.

For higher performance brake pads, proper bed-in reduces brake noise to almost nil. Every member of CSG runs track/race pads on daily cars with zero brake noise.

[Takumi788]

I had a set of hawk HP+ pads for the track that did this. I had a hard time getting them in and sliding properly. I realized the stock pads ears were shorter so I ground the Hawk pads down the smallest amount and all was good.

Then I ordered a set of Hawk PC pads for street driving and they fit with no modification.

[CSG David]

Originally Posted by Takumi788

I had a set of hawk HP+ pads for the track that did this. I had a hard time getting them in and sliding properly. I realized the stock pads ears were shorter so I ground the Hawk pads down the smallest amount and all was good.

Then I ordered a set of Hawk PC pads for street driving and they fit with no modification.

Hawks are notorious for poor quality control. We've had pads fall apart from the factory. Someone must hate us...