Hawk+ brake squeal

[bliu6757]

Hi all,

Attended my first mx5 club event yesterday - great day, thanks Keith and Blake. Anyways, after a great day on the tracks, drove the car home. I was on the highway for approximately 2 hours, towards the end of it my brakes started squealing. Sounds like a 5 year old girl whistling/screaming.

I am aware that the hawks plus are known to squeal. However, this is the 2nd track event and 3rd Motorsport event since installing them a month ago. Absolutely no sounds prior to yesterday (although bloody dusty).

So I’m thinking there’s absolutely no solution for this except changing them out for streets and back on for track days. I still want a good set of biting street brakes. But without the dust and sounds. Any recommendations?

Driving a mx5 nc 2006. Pic for attention.




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[Red_Bullet]

PFC-11 good crossover pad, ok on the road great on the track. You won't find a performance pad that doesn't dust. Dunno if PFC-11 is made for NC though. Maybe try QFM A1RM, they work ok and are reasonably priced.

[greenMachine]

Carbotech (or whatever they are called these days) 8s and 10s dust pretty badly, but clean easily and don't eat wheel finish. 12's dust is 'stickier' and harder to clean, but like the 8/10s doesn't seem to harm the finish. 12 is pretty much a race pad, but I am running them on my dual-duty SE.

You would not need 12s, 10 in the front and 8 in the rear would work for you I reckon.

[bliu6757]

I’ll look into both the carbotech and the QFM. However, I’m thinking maybe just to revert back to street pads for daily use (bendix).

I have been washing the car 3 times a week since getting the hawk plus. It’s weird because I talked to Peter from road and race in Rydalmere - he swears by the plus and says that he hasn’t seen them so dusty before.

Additionally, I do not think I can stand this squealing for any longer.


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[Roadrunner]

If you can't stand the squeal of the HP+ definitely don't use the Carbotech XP on the street I've had XP10 and now use XP12, Waiting after work I can hear the wife coming from 2 blocks away and scares small children and adults alike when stopping at pedestrian crossings. Plus they make noise when you aren't even on the brakes at all (makes long drives unpleasant).

HP+ is the closest thing you'll get to a dual street/track pad that doesn't squeal like a demented seagull.

[greenMachine]

RR, that is interesting, not my experience. This on Wilwood slotted rotors (racecar) and stock rotors (NB8A and SE). I get a little noise when cold as the rotors slow to a stop, but other than that no squeal at all.

OP, swapping pads is certainly doable, but it will get to be a pain. I suggest you keep researching, and when a vendor says 'no squeal', ask if a refund is available if that happens. Start by asking the forum sponsors what they recommend, Deckspeed and Mania are both in Sydney.

[Blesif]

I did the swap routine religiously for at least 3, maybe 4 years in my NB. The Hawk HP+ squealed and were dusty so that was my reason. There is no satisfactory answer and most just put up with it. I found the squealing varied from day to day and was certainly no worse than carbotechs. The dust washed off easily. Now I only swap out when there are long periods between track days. The problem with swapping is that the Hawks won't work as well when you put them back in. Some people (not many) swap discs and pads as a unit to prevent cross contamination. This becomes very boring. I'm sure you have looked at these options already and nothing I am saying is helping. One member I know uses Carbotech XP8 in the front and XP6 in the back and this has worked really well with little squealing on the road and excellent track performance. If you commit to Carbotechs you have to get new discs as cross contamination is a big no-no.

[Roadrunner]

RR, that is interesting, not my experience. This on Wilwood slotted rotors (racecar) and stock rotors (NB8A and SE). I get a little noise when cold as the rotors slow to a stop, but other than that no squeal at all.

I run plain dba rotors and have shocking squeaking with xp10 and xp12. Even after a long hard drive it’ll squeal like mad under 30kph unless you stand on the brakes. On track not a noise.

[manga_blue]

I've used Hawk HP+ for years As a track/street combination pad. I've never had problems with either noise or dust with them. They're just a great compromise pad.

I moved to XP10s for the track when competition started getting a bit more serious. Track performance was significantly better but I couldn't stand their harshness for street use.

I'd suggest that if you're having trouble with the HP+ pads then you might look for causes other than just the pads. Glazed rotors, dry slider pins, sticking calipers and missing shims or inadequate grease or silicone on the pad backing plates can all lead to the sorts of problems that you describe.

[bliu6757]

I've used Hawk HP+ for years As a track/street combination pad. I've never had problems with either noise or dust with them. They're just a great compromise pad.

I moved to XP10s for the track when competition started getting a bit more serious. Track performance was significantly better but I couldn't stand their harshness for street use.

I'd suggest that if you're having trouble with the HP+ pads then you might look for causes other than just the pads. Glazed rotors, dry slider pins, sticking calipers and missing shims or inadequate grease or silicone on the pad backing plates can all lead to the sorts of problems that you describe.

Thank you for your comment!!

I’m currently still running stock rotors. I’m wondering whether that may be why. It may be too soft the pads and creates more dust. I also wonder if it’s glazed (not too sure what that looks like). Anyways, I’m going to install dba t3 this saturday. Hope it helps..


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[manga_blue]

Yes, I used DBA T3s on the front. They were really good. I terminally cracked and glazed a set of front RDAs in one session.

Rear rotors don't really matter, even with bias adjusters. I used one set of chinese cheapies for a few thousand laps.

[bliu6757]

Did the change last Saturday. The two screws that hold the rotors in were a bloody pain to get off.

Anyways, the DBA rotors are amazing (and I haven’t even tried them on the track yet).

The dust hasn’t gone away but the noise has (at most it’s a very faint squeal, definitely bearable). I suspect the old oem rotors were actually glazed.

Thanks for everyone’s input. Happy Easter!


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[manga_blue]

The old pads may also be slightly glazed and sharp-edged from being used on glazed rotors. If the squeak is annoying you then you can take the pads out again and scuff the surface of them with some coarse sandpaper. About 80 grit is fine. They only need a few seconds each. Then use the sandpaper or even an angle grinder to chamfer the edge of the pads all round by about 1mm. This is a permanent fix when the rotors are good quality.

[shirtz]

slight hijack but my understanding that standard rotors were good enough and t3 or anything drilled slotted was overkill on stockish cars?

[bliu6757]

slight hijack but my understanding that standard rotors were good enough and t3 or anything drilled slotted was overkill on stockish cars?

Not sure if that’s true. When I first put on the hp+ there would be dust + rotor metal particles all over my wheels. Damaged my wheels because that sh*t bloody rusts!!!!! Someone suggested that it may be because the rotors were too soft for the pads. Yes on the track it still felt ok - allowed me to do 80 or so laps at luddenham. But like I said, after driving to marulan and back, it started a squeal that was ridiculously loud, and i mean loud. Once I replaced the rotors the sound disappeared or at least became very very faint. Dust is still present but not as thick and definitely none of that rusting rotor sh*t.


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