I needed brakes a couple of months ago and decided to upgrade to the RacingBrake full setup. I opted for the 1-piece slotted rotors with the ET500 pads all the way around. Also got SS brake lines and am running Mutol RBF600 brake fluid. Had then installed, bled and bedded properly and love them!

I have put around 2000 miles on them now, and am getting a slight squeal on very light braking, which goes away as soon as I apply more or less break pressure. Performance is still fine, but the squeal is a little bit annoying and was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to fix the problem (maybe different fluid)??? Any help is appreciated!

 

Some slotted rotors have a tendency to "sing" or hum with very slight brake pressures, don't know if this is the sound you are hearing or not.

 

are the pads chamfered??? did you apply brake lube between the caliper and the pad?? these 2 are the most common issues i see at work everyday. on some pads they tend to do that on light application when cold or in reverse then it goes away when they get warmed up. hope that helps!

 

I get quite a bit of noise with the 500 pads and the two piece rotors. Very annoying. Will be switching back to OEM soon.

 

Are they ceramic pads? I don't have the ET500 but I do have ceramic pads and those things squeal like a bitch!

 

I have the two-piece slotted rotors with ET500s and they do the same thing. My squeal is bad though. I put back the factory shim and even used brake quiet grease. That worked for about two weeks. I am thinking about switching to the ET300s.

 

I only get a slight squeal, every once in a while.

 

I bet that won't make a bit of difference. For me it is pretty much unacceptable and annoying that the squeal is present. I'm switching back to the OEM pads soon.

 

I'm gonna be replacing my OEM pads with ET500 pads while keeping the stock rotors as they are in excellent condition. So, I'll be using the factory shims and some good brake grease. Can anyone recommend a good brake quiet grease and any other tips?

Do I need to sandpaper the rotors before the bedding in procedure?

 

I have the ET500 pads on my 2006 TL and the wife's RL. Both have the identical noise at between 5 MPH and 0 MPH. It is Not a high pitch squeel, but more of a low pitch "clean rubbing" sound.

The noise doesn't bother me or the wife.

I LOVE THE ET500 PADS

 

What the heck did you expect running track pads on the street?

'I bought tires meant for the track and they wear too fast and aren't comfortable, plus they decrease gas mileage! WTF!'

Seriously, why are you running a track-oriented setup on your daily driven TL? You most likely have LESS stopping power thanks to track pads usually liking to be warmed up before they're at maximum bite, and you also have to deal with annoying squealing.

So weird that people think something like a TL needs better brakes on the street. It has great stopping power even bone stock.

 

It does. And now with the RB one pieces and et500 it is even better. The 500s aren't their track pads, they are their highest level streets.

If you were to read around before commenting, you'd see that people love this setup. That it's one of the best around for our car for street.

Even my wifes stock 2010 civic makes this type of noise. It's what happens with harder pads.

 

Editing my previous post.

The sound occurs between 1 MPH and 0 MPH (not 5-0 MPH).

A better description of the sound is as follows. It is the sound that a rags makes against glass when you are wiping the glass clean and the surface becomes dry. It is like a "sqeaky clean" sound. The volume is such that if another car was beside you and they had there window down, they would hear it. Otherwise if they had their window up, I doubt they would hear much. And, it is for a very brief time from 1 MPH down to a dead stop. I estimate for 1 second at the most.

 

Thanks Inac...should I be sanding the rotors before the new pad install?

 

When going from a less aggressive pad to a more aggressive pad like you are (from oem to ET500), it is unnecessary to sand the rotors. The reason why is because the more aggressive pad will quickly "wipe away" the less aggressive pad from the rotor.

What break-in method do you plan to use? I recommend

- Four 40-5-40 MPH medium/quick stops.
- Then three 60-5-60 MPH (near ABS lockup) stops.
- Then one or two 80-5-80 (near ABS lockup) stops. If you are concerned with speed limits, just do two or three more 60-5-60 (near ABS lockup) stops.

When you feel the brakes "go away" or you see / smell smoke, just do one more stop and then quit the process.

Two rules -

1. For 10 minutes after this process, you should not allow the pads to be in contact with the rotor with no rotation.

2. All of the braking sequences must be back-to-back hard accelerations and hard stops with little or no steady cruising in between.

 

If that's what you recommend then I'll use it - just saves me more time.

Cheers,

 

- Four 40-5 MPH medium/quick stops.
- Then three 60-5 MPH (near ABS lockup) stops.
- Then one or two 80-5 (near ABS lockup) stops. If you are concerned with speed limits, just do two or three more 60-5-60 (near ABS lockup) stops.


One part that I may not had made clear is - You will most likely not complete all of these stops before you see/smell smoke or experience severe fade. I just did this process yesterday, and I had smoke after this below.

- Four 40-5 MPH medium/quick stops.
- Then three 60-5 MPH (near ABS lockup) stops.

Biut, mine were truly back-to-back with no relief between each stop.

 

http://www.heeltoeauto.com/pitboard/?p=499

I did exactly what was said on Heeltoe's website and mine turned out looking exactly as his did. I just did this Saturday night.

And yes, smell and smoke. You know you're doing it right then. Get em hot!

 

I wanted to follow up with this thread after having put the entire RB setup on my car. One thing that I didn't like reading from Inaccurate was that the ET500 pads are almost as dusty as OEMs. After 2 weeks of driving my car without a wash, I don't see any dust whatsoever. I just wanted any future readers to know my experience.

Also, the RB setup is kickass. So much so it makes you feel like you can brake however and whenever you want. Which is bad. Lol

 

I had the same problem. Since they are racing brakes, cold brake temperature will cause it to squeak a little. Once the temperature rises, it should go away. Also on my first set of ET500 the rear passenger brake pad wore down within a month. The cause was a bad caliper piston which applied constant pressure on the pad causing the pad to wear quicker. Check your calipers and ensure they are functioning correctly. I hope this helps.

 

My first set of RB500 pads I never had any noise.

My second set started out quiet but after ( about a year?) they developed a very light squeal at low speed, usually more consistent when cold.

 

I agree. The ET500 pads and RacingBrake rotors have very little dusting. Also agree about having too much fun with late braking. I have been pushing the envelope with late braking and scaring myself a little too much

I been meaning to post an update......

I had a lot of dusting with the ET500 pads and oem rotors.

But now that I have the RacingBrake 2-piece rotors, the dusting is a lot less.

When I had the ET500 and oem rotors, I had no squeal. I just had the groan sound from approx 2 mph down to a complete stop. However with RacingBrake 2-piece rotors, I still have this groan and also now have a mouse squeal sometimes around 10-20 mph.


Any update? What do you think about the ET500 pads?

 

Just did Powerslot rotors, and Hawk ceramic pads all around, two days ago. There is a slight squeak when they are cold, but thats about it. Very much improved brake feel with this setup.