Brake Squeal

[AG Assassin]

Guys,

First time post. I've had my GT350 for over a year and took her to the track for the first time about three months ago. Within the last few weeks, I have noticed an annoying level of brake squeal that is driving me crazy (no pun intended). I know this is common for high-performance brakes but are there any solutions out there to significantly reduce or eliminate this noise? At my wits end!

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[mattlqx]

If it's loud enough to annoy you, are your pads at the wear indicator (which is a noise maker)? The OE pads are really quiet otherwise, but you'll definitely know it when they're about done.

 

[Tank]

Welcome AG.

Good point by Matt. You've had it over a year... Drilled rotors eat up pads.
How many miles, how aggressive with breaking?

 

[mattlqx]

Depending on the track, the OE pads can wear pretty fast in one day. When I had the 3 track days back-to-back in August, the first day pads wore about 10% at Sonoma. Second day on Thunderhill east they wore about 50%. Third day on Thunderhill west about another 10%, just above the noise maker. After a couple hundred more miles on the road, they started squealing. I got about 3000 miles out of them total. For $200 for the set, I can't really complain.

 

[Trackaholic]

Mine are still going strong @ almost 16,000 miles but only two track days. And one was at Laguna where I couldn't really push the car.

Mine are still far from the wear indicators, but they do squeal just a bit under light braking. Probably time for a good burnishing to see if that quiets them down.

-T

 

[ARS1]

Mine are doing it but I have less that 200 miles on it and it's cold out right now. I'm hoping it will go away with miles but if not I'll be replacing them with something better hopefully addle:

 

[Sammy]

Mine squeal terribly as well. Small sacrifice for such a badass car. You could always put some WD-40 on them. :cheers:

 

[Varekai]

Mine always squeal once warmed up, very embarrasing at drive thrus and going thru shopping centers with lots of people because the squeal is constant. 2k miles, no track events, they always did it.

 

[ARS1]

I try to use engine braking as much as possible and you have to admit that the popping from the exhaust is a wonderful sound in itself But when I have to hit the brakes I pray they won't squeal. My prayers are generally unanswered though :frusty:

 

[GT_Dave]

One thing that I found to help with the squeal . . . When I remove the wheels to clean them, I blow compressed air into the rotor vents around the periphery of the rotor to remove the buildup of loose dust. Be careful, you will get a large dust cloud from the vent holes from that clean out. I do this before I wash the car and find I get less brake squeal.

 

[Tank]

One thing that I found to help with the squeal . . . When I remove the wheels to clean them, I blow compressed air into the rotor vents around the periphery of the rotor to remove the buildup of loose dust. Be careful, you will get a large dust cloud from the vent holes from that clean out. I do this before I wash the car and find I get less brake squeal.

Thanks for the info Dave. Have you tried vacuuming simultaneously? Probably too much to capture...

 

[Hack]

I've noticed they squeal more when it's below freezing...

 

[Norm Peterson]

I try to use engine braking as much as possible and you have to admit that the popping from the exhaust is a wonderful sound in itself But when I have to hit the brakes I pray they won't squeal. My prayers are generally unanswered though :frusty:

Maybe you just need to brake harder more often . . . lack of following traffic permitting. Have you bedded the pads?

I run entry- to mid-level track pads on my car and I do brake a lot harder than necessary from time to time. I get a little noise on low energy stops, but only some of the time, I'd guess maybe 10% of the time. No from-the-depths-of-Hell screeching.


Norm

 

[AG Assassin]

Gents,

Appreciate the timely replies. I had four very intense track sessions during my one day stint at Summit Point racing, so I would think they were definitely bedded. Agree, that my pads are more likely 75% gone and thus it's time to invest in new ones. Thanks again for your recommendations and I will keep you apprised of my progress. :clap2:

 

[altjx]

Mine always squeal once warmed up, very embarrasing at drive thrus and going thru shopping centers with lots of people because the squeal is constant. 2k miles, no track events, they always did it.

Same here man. Mine had been squealing since I bought my car, and I finally got around to hitting up Ford around 2k miles. Got tired of rolling up in the nice and quiet drive thrus, only to crash the peace. It happened once they were warm so after a few minutes of driving, I'd hear that throughout the remainder of the day.

Actually took my car to Ford, let them replace the brake pads and rotors, and now it's just an occasional squeal, which I think is normal now. Much more tolerable, lol.

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