More noise from ceramic brake pads?

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Been having some noise issues with the front brakes on our 2008 Matrix.

About 18 months ago, I put new rotors and pads on from Advance Auto. Both made in china, both their gold line, whatever that means.

I bed them in from instructions I found on the internet.

I get some groaning sounds maybe a little grinding from the front brakes, and it is annoying.

Brakes grab great, stops fine.

I'm trying to figure if there is some pad material stuck on the rotors, causing this noise.

Caliper slides are all moving fine, I replaced all the rubber and the pins were greased up properly with silglyde. All the ears of the pads and the back of the pads were greased with high temp brake pad lube.

If I am going to take it apart, I'm going to replace everything again.

I purchased a set of semi metallic pads and rotors and will be putting those on next week.

I wonder if those ceramic pads are too aggressive for the rotors, and for this car.

I didn't have time to get to a parts store, so I went to ebay. This part seemed to have decent ratings. I hope it is higher quality than what I get in the generic box from advance.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111623985665?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
Ceramic pads have a tendency to leave deposits on the rotor but they are in my experience much quieter than semi metallic pads. The only down side ive experienced with ceramic pads are after a panic stop. I get the "warped rotor" symptom for a few miles after until the deposits glaze off.
 
I would recommend Akebono Pro Act for your application. Im using them on a very similar application (07 Corolla) and they are very quiet. All I did was put brake grease on back of pads..thats it...
 
If a car uses semi-metallic as OE pads and you stick ceramics in there it's not uncommon to get noise. I've had this problem in my BMW.

I had the glazing problem on the BMW with ceramics as well. Eventually the entire car shook violently when braking, and had to junk the pads/rotors.

A Matrix should use ceramics and OE pad so you shouldn't have problems using ceramics.

I highly doubt that generic eBay parts are any better than generic parts store parts though. I think you get what you pay for.

From the ceramics I've tried I like Wagner Thermoquiet and Raybestos Advanced Ceramics. I have the Advanced Ceramics on a Corolla and they are silent. I also only put the paste on the back of the piston. I did not grease the back of the pads.
 
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You didn't have time to go to the parts store, but now you have time to redo your brakes 2 or 3 times to chase a problem?

Perhaps that is the lesson in itself that you get what you pay for.


I'd also suggest the akebonos or the raybestos if you don't want to redo.
 
Did you clean your new rotors off? Ceramics always have a transfer of material. If these rotors werent cleaned of their anti corrosion coating before installation it can lead to minor problems. i might try another shot at burnishing them.
 
Try putting a little grease in those slots on the caliper bracket where the pads slide into. And then put a little grease on the piston where it contacts the pad.
 
We've talked here many times about pad descriptions not really being a good indicator of the actual content of the pads. Some people associate ceramic with bath tiles made of hard crystaline material that will eat your rotors away. Banish those thoughts. Semi metallic has every bit of chance of being as noisy or nosier than so called ceramic pads.

Since your last ditch effort is to replace everything, why not first try to eliminate the noise at no monetary cost? Google "eliminate brake noise" and "sanding brake rotors" and follow all the advice. I might be tempted to lightly scuff sand the pads too (wet them first to eliminate dust).

Cleaning and lubricating everything eliminates vibration sources that causes noise. Sanding (somewhat controversial) removes deposits on the rotor that cause noise. You could sand the rotors in place, a section at a time, then wipe/spray off debris.

Seems a waste to replace pads and rotors as the first repair attempt.

Best of luck.
 
So I received the cheapo pads and rotors from the ebay link.

I received Powerstop ceramic pads and powerstop rotors.

Oh well I'll put them on anyways.
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH
So I received the cheapo pads and rotors from the ebay link.

I received Powerstop ceramic pads and powerstop rotors.

Oh well I'll put them on anyways.


Buy cheap, get cheap. Akebono ProAct's will give you the best overall performance and be quiet as a church mouse.
 
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