Brake pads catching?
Discussion
Nearly every time I set off from home in my 111R there is a regular light catching/rubbing noise which seems to come from the front wheels (or even just the near side one). The frequency of the noise increases as speed increases. It tends to disappear after heavy braking. I've assumed its a spot of surface rust, but its even doing it following dry conditions. This can't be normal can it? Do the calipers need to be rebuilt?
I used to suffer this on my 111s, its more than likely corrosion between the pads and discs, which makes a noise everytime this area passes under the pads. Elise's seem to be prone to this more than other cars maybe due to exposed discs or corrosion build up when the car is left?
The noise would go away on my car when the pads cleaned of the discs.
Not sure what the solution would be....prob going to get worse in winter though...
The noise would go away on my car when the pads cleaned of the discs.
Not sure what the solution would be....prob going to get worse in winter though...
The pads are prone to sticking to the disc, and the discs rust slightly even if stored in a dry garage (the moisture in the air causes the corrosion). The noise goes after a few miles, as you say. It shouldn’t be a problem as long as the car is used every couple of weeks or so, otherwise it can get quite bad.
Mike…
Mike…
Mine lives outdoors, and if it hasn't been driven for a while in rainy / humid conditions, I get the same effect. Even goes as far as the brakes seizing to the discs...
Usually an italian tune-up does the trick (warm up the engine, find a quiet straight road, thrash through the gears to 100 mph, brake as hard as you can down to 20-30, accelerate back up, brake back down, until the pedal feels smooth). If even this sort of treatment doesn't do the job, then skimming the discs or even replacing both discs and pads is required.
My old 993s used to be an absolute nightmare for this. Corrosion would get so bad that I had to replace discs and pads each year, regardless of wear.
Usually an italian tune-up does the trick (warm up the engine, find a quiet straight road, thrash through the gears to 100 mph, brake as hard as you can down to 20-30, accelerate back up, brake back down, until the pedal feels smooth). If even this sort of treatment doesn't do the job, then skimming the discs or even replacing both discs and pads is required.
My old 993s used to be an absolute nightmare for this. Corrosion would get so bad that I had to replace discs and pads each year, regardless of wear.
Yep get the same here - my car is kept in an underground car park so no moisture / damp etc - always get a rubbing sound from the pads / discs for the first couple of miles. If I have been driving in the rain and don't drive the car for a week or so after usually find the pads bind to the discs.
EK993 said:
Yep get the same here - my car is kept in an underground car park so no moisture / damp etc - always get a rubbing sound from the pads / discs for the first couple of miles. If I have been driving in the rain and don't drive the car for a week or so after usually find the pads bind to the discs.
Hi 
Have you chosen an exhaust yet? I'll be at Brands on Weds if you're doing that trackday. Things have died down a little now so if you want to have a listen to mine, maybe sort something out in the next few weekends...
cyberface said:
Hi
Have you chosen an exhaust yet? I'll be at Brands on Weds if you're doing that trackday. Things have died down a little now so if you want to have a listen to mine, maybe sort something out in the next few weekends...
Hi mate,Have you chosen an exhaust yet? I'll be at Brands on Weds if you're doing that trackday. Things have died down a little now so if you want to have a listen to mine, maybe sort something out in the next few weekends...
No not yet - I managed to have a passenger ride in a Lotus stage 2 Exige S this weekend, still want to hear a 2bular and Larini to compare. Unfortunately I have a lot of business travel coming up the next week or so - will be in Dublin for the rest of this week followed by Germany next week (glamorous lcoations eh??
). Definitely try and catch up when I get back. Glad things are a bit quieter for you now, and hope you had good news with the other stuff you had going on.
EK993 said:
cyberface said:
Hi
Have you chosen an exhaust yet? I'll be at Brands on Weds if you're doing that trackday. Things have died down a little now so if you want to have a listen to mine, maybe sort something out in the next few weekends...
Hi mate,Have you chosen an exhaust yet? I'll be at Brands on Weds if you're doing that trackday. Things have died down a little now so if you want to have a listen to mine, maybe sort something out in the next few weekends...
No not yet - I managed to have a passenger ride in a Lotus stage 2 Exige S this weekend, still want to hear a 2bular and Larini to compare. Unfortunately I have a lot of business travel coming up the next week or so - will be in Dublin for the rest of this week followed by Germany next week (glamorous lcoations eh??
). Definitely try and catch up when I get back. Glad things are a bit quieter for you now, and hope you had good news with the other stuff you had going on.
Lost both of 'em. Trying a second cycle in October / November.The Lotus stage 2 is pretty obnoxiously loud isn't it? And there's a real difference in timbre between the heavy 'sports' OEM exhausts and the lightweight stainless steel jobbies Jim makes. I'd have thought that the full titanium Quicksilver zorst would sound unique too. You don't have a lot of choice if you want to retain the ability to do most trackdays - given the volume (space, not sound) available behind the engine for piping and silencers (very small compared to front engined cars), most aftermarket exhausts get well over 100 dB without much effort.
There's always the 'lairy as hell for the road plus bolt-in inserts for the track' option - like my old Fabspeed Supercups on my last 993 (before I had it supercharged, when I swapped to Cargraphic pipes because the Supercups were just *too* mentalist). I'm not sure how good these can be - the aesthetics of the exhaust tips will be compromised by the fittings for the inserts, and IIRC some tracks don't like these 'bolt-in' silencers as they have a habit of popping out into the car behind you...
Anyway I can say that my 2bular has definitely 'settled in' and whilst it's got a bit noisier, it's mellow and consistent. If I didn't know better I'd say that the car has got tangibly more powerful (which in the fat 1-tonne Exige, would have to be 10 bhp or so for me to feel it). Now the exhaust isn't *meant* to release more power on the Exige S (I'm going to start another thread on this because it's off topic) but Paul Parkinson from Lipscomb had a go in my car after the zorst was fitted and *he* was surprised too - he said that it's either a very strong standard engine or the zorst has improved the power output. He reckoned there was nothing in it between my car and his 240 performance pack demo car - mine is meant to be a base model 217 (or whatever Lotus claim, which is meant to be optimistic too...). He's instructed me at Brands when my car was standard, so knows that it's not some special 'base engine, nudge nudge wink wink' special.
I'm at Brands on Wednesday so I'll get the noise testers to give me a firm figure then, and I'll post it up here (even though it's slightly O/T)
Its interesting to compare to the T350 I had before - that would get surface corrosion after driving in the wet, or washing the car, but you'd only notice it once you braked, and then you'd hear and feel it. A couple of mild stops or "slows" from medium speed would sort it. Of course if it was very wet and didn't get used for a couple of weeks the pads would bind solid to the discs, which was a real er bind... Don't want to be in that position in the Elise, so will just have to drive it more
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