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I just put some new pads in my NA8 and noticed they are quite a loose fit in the caliper. If you lever them with a screw driver they move about 1 to 1.5 mm up or down. On my NB8B (road pads) I tried the same test and found they only move about 0.5 mm.

I compared dimensions of the old pads (Hawk Blue 9012) with the new pads (PFC-11) and found the hawks to be about 0.2 mm longer in total length. Internal shoulder to shoulder dimension they were pretty similar dimensions. I'm a bit concerned because it would not be a pretty scenario if a pad could dislodge from the caliper under heavy loading. It's probably ok though. Thinking about it some I considered linear expansion due to temperature. It seems with a 900 degree Farenheit temperature change they would expand in length from 102.7 to 103.36 mm. There would still be about .5 to .6 mm free play at this temperature. I guess nobody wants pads to jam in the caliper but the amount of free play does seem a bit excessive to me.

Has anybody else noticed this large clearance of pad to caliper?

IMG_20180107_121336 by Keith Wade, on Flickr

IMG_20180107_105851 by Keith Wade, on Flickr

IMG_20180107_105819 by Keith Wade, on Flickr


IMG_20180107_105753 by Keith Wade, on Flickr

I can't see any issue with that much clearance. The pad can't come out, and while braking will always be pushed against one end anyway.

Slightly off topic, but I would be interested to know where you bought the PFC pads and how much you paid as I'm thinking of changing to the same.

Mine have always been about that loose. The only time you'll notice it is when you brake in reverse you may hear a click when a pad slides to the other end of a caliper. Other than that they work fine.

Thanks for the reassurance guys.