Horrible Grinding Brake Noise
Discussion
I've only had the car ten weeks and don't know much about brakes. It had pretty much brand new Pagid brakes when I picked it up. Since then I've done about 2500 miles and the other week noticed a horrible grinding sound when I was braking, which was coming from the front.
I took it down my local Lotus dealer and the mechanic pointed out that the pads I have on there are now scraping against the circular disc that sits in front of the brake discs - you can actually see where the metal has been ground down during braking. His explanation was simple - when the pads were new they were thick enough so that the 'blue piece' on them was kept away from the disc piece. Now that the pads are less thick this 'blue piece' is now making contact when I brake as it sits closer to the wheel. He's suggested it's because they are non-OEM pads and that the fix is to file down these 'blue pieces' so they no longer scrape in this way. Has anyone else experienced this problem and is this really the best solution?
I took it down my local Lotus dealer and the mechanic pointed out that the pads I have on there are now scraping against the circular disc that sits in front of the brake discs - you can actually see where the metal has been ground down during braking. His explanation was simple - when the pads were new they were thick enough so that the 'blue piece' on them was kept away from the disc piece. Now that the pads are less thick this 'blue piece' is now making contact when I brake as it sits closer to the wheel. He's suggested it's because they are non-OEM pads and that the fix is to file down these 'blue pieces' so they no longer scrape in this way. Has anyone else experienced this problem and is this really the best solution?
[The car has only done 2500 road miles with them on so they shouldn't have worn down that much should they?]
On the outside of the pads it looks like there is a lot left. On the inside I am not sure - I assume this would be harder to look at? Unfortunately I really know very little about these things. The mechanic's opinion was that there was plenty left on the pads, but that now they were thinnner the 'blue bit' was touching/scraping when braking due to it being a different size to an OEM part.
On the outside of the pads it looks like there is a lot left. On the inside I am not sure - I assume this would be harder to look at? Unfortunately I really know very little about these things. The mechanic's opinion was that there was plenty left on the pads, but that now they were thinnner the 'blue bit' was touching/scraping when braking due to it being a different size to an OEM part.
RHY 11S said:
[The car has only done 2500 road miles with them on so they shouldn't have worn down that much should they?]
I think that you may want to insert the word ALLEDGELY in the paragraph. Old trick to change the outside pads that the punter can see and have run out pads on the inside. As below with the info/description your unlikely to get far ...
If pagids are properly installed then nothing but the pad face will be rubbing against the disk. The metal backing plate on the pagids is actually slightly smaller than the oem pads, so there is noting it should contact. Most of the trackday enthusiasts use pagids with no sutch issues.
Possibilities:
1) The inside pads (the ones you cannot see) are worn as per hbaumhardt
2) There is a stone or something else caught between the pad and the disc
3) Some idiot put the pad on back to front with the backing material against the disc. Don't laugh, it has happened.
Get it sorted ASAP or you may need new discs. PS, discs and pads are not generally warranty covered items.
Cheers
Andrew
Possibilities:
1) The inside pads (the ones you cannot see) are worn as per hbaumhardt
2) There is a stone or something else caught between the pad and the disc
3) Some idiot put the pad on back to front with the backing material against the disc. Don't laugh, it has happened.
Get it sorted ASAP or you may need new discs. PS, discs and pads are not generally warranty covered items.
Cheers
Andrew
doesn't seem adequate! hbaumhardt said:
... unless your mistaking the brake pedal for a footrest 
Good point - add that as point 4 then.
RHY 11S said:
The mechanic's opinion was that there was plenty left on the pads, but that now they were thinnner the 'blue bit' was touching/scraping when braking due to it being a different size to an OEM part.
I waffled on earlier, but I think your mechanic is talking cr*p. Take the wheel off and check the pads - not a hard job to do. If you have something caught under the pad eg a stone, you will quickly trash the discs. Try to work out which wheel the noise is coming from as well.
>> Edited by shangani on Monday 22 May 00:04
Upload the picture to a website - www.imagecave.com for example
paste the URL between the two sets of square brackets in your post like this, typing the [pic]etc exactly as shown:
[pic]put the url in here[/pic]
paste the URL between the two sets of square brackets in your post like this, typing the [pic]etc exactly as shown:
[pic]put the url in here[/pic]
If the pad is hitting the centre of the disk, the only explanation is that the pins that hold them in place have been left off. In this pic you can see the two pins through the caliper and pad:
And here you can see how far the pad should be from the centre of the disk (they're MMCs but AFAIK the disks and pads are the same dimension and the caliper is the same)
And here you can see how far the pad should be from the centre of the disk (they're MMCs but AFAIK the disks and pads are the same dimension and the caliper is the same)
Thanks for the pictures Cuzza. Here is mine:
[pic] www.flickr.com/photos/25312911@N00/151154707/in/set-72057594142014655/ [/pic]
The finger is pointing to the scraping that is causing the noise - same on both front wheels. The mechanic reckons it is the 'blue piece' that sits above the pads that is doing this - as the pad has got thinner then this blue piece has got closer and closer to the centre of the disk (or is it the actual wheel?) until it is now sittng on top of it and scraping it when the brakes are hot and things have expanded. At least this is the explanation I was given, but it just doesn't quite add up - even to someone who knows nothing about brakes.
Do you think the position of the calipers looks wrong??
Thanks alot for all inputs so far!
[pic] www.flickr.com/photos/25312911@N00/151154707/in/set-72057594142014655/ [/pic]
The finger is pointing to the scraping that is causing the noise - same on both front wheels. The mechanic reckons it is the 'blue piece' that sits above the pads that is doing this - as the pad has got thinner then this blue piece has got closer and closer to the centre of the disk (or is it the actual wheel?) until it is now sittng on top of it and scraping it when the brakes are hot and things have expanded. At least this is the explanation I was given, but it just doesn't quite add up - even to someone who knows nothing about brakes.
Do you think the position of the calipers looks wrong??
Thanks alot for all inputs so far!
Are those disks right? The bell (silver bit in the middle) looks big - could be Ali Belled ones but I don't think they look like that.
Need someone who know the S2 disks better than me really.
Are theose pins in the caliper? If they are, then the pads are fine, loads of people run Pagids and Ali belled disks with no issues so my money would be on the disks being wrong.
Need someone who know the S2 disks better than me really.
Are theose pins in the caliper? If they are, then the pads are fine, loads of people run Pagids and Ali belled disks with no issues so my money would be on the disks being wrong.
A couple of things about that setup.
1) They look like some sort of aftermarket ali-belled brake disc. Not the eliseparts ones. ?Plans
2) The Brake pads are meeting the disc well away from the edge of the disc. This could be due to the disc diameter being slightly bigger than standard. Bigger discs can be used, but you need spacers where the caliper bolts on, so that the entire caliper is moved outwards relative to the centre of the disc. Spacers would solve the problem, but the discs are not new, so there might be issues with uneven wear if you do that at this stage.
3) The disc rotors are usually mounted so the grooves run the other way - is the left front would swap over to become the right front etc.
4) Check if the rear discs are the same size.
The problem does not seem to be the pads, though it would be a good idea to check that they have been fitted correctly.
I recommend cross-posting this on Seloc technical, there are a lot of knowledgeable blokes on there. Tell you what, I will post a link there and link it here.
1) They look like some sort of aftermarket ali-belled brake disc. Not the eliseparts ones. ?Plans
2) The Brake pads are meeting the disc well away from the edge of the disc. This could be due to the disc diameter being slightly bigger than standard. Bigger discs can be used, but you need spacers where the caliper bolts on, so that the entire caliper is moved outwards relative to the centre of the disc. Spacers would solve the problem, but the discs are not new, so there might be issues with uneven wear if you do that at this stage.
3) The disc rotors are usually mounted so the grooves run the other way - is the left front would swap over to become the right front etc.
4) Check if the rear discs are the same size.
The problem does not seem to be the pads, though it would be a good idea to check that they have been fitted correctly.
I recommend cross-posting this on Seloc technical, there are a lot of knowledgeable blokes on there. Tell you what, I will post a link there and link it here.
Hmm, this is getting interesting. I knew things were too good to be true when I bought this car. So far the indicator has fallen out and now it looks like some monkey has just shoved any old brakes on. I've got no idea what they are.
I do know, however, that the guy who sold it to me got them fitted at Speedway, Finchley Road. Does anyone know this garage? They also did a pre-purchase check for me which I wasn't particularly pleased with.
They seemed lie a Pimp-My-Ride/Max Power garage dealing with all cars, rather than a Lotus specialist. Looks like they've Pimped My bloody Ride right up. Bunch of monkeys.
I do know, however, that the guy who sold it to me got them fitted at Speedway, Finchley Road. Does anyone know this garage? They also did a pre-purchase check for me which I wasn't particularly pleased with.
They seemed lie a Pimp-My-Ride/Max Power garage dealing with all cars, rather than a Lotus specialist. Looks like they've Pimped My bloody Ride right up. Bunch of monkeys.
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