Baer Pro+ / 6P Caliper brake pad 'noise' question

[carbuff]

Is there anyone out there who is running the Baer 6P caliper (in my case part of the Pro+ kit) with aftermarket / non-Baer pads? If so, do you have any kind of noise problems with them?

I replaced the Baer pads earlier this year with a set of the Hawk HP+ pads. They squeal some, I expected that. They dust up the wheels more, I expected that. But I think the pads are rattling (for lack of a better description) inside of the caliper. This I didn't expect.

The symptom is that I drive down the road, and I get a slight speed-dependent clunk from the rear. I've been banging my head against this for a while. It's been suggested that this could be a flat spot on the tires, but it sounds much more mechanical than that.

Well, the other day I finally realized that if I put the car in neutral (to get the exhaust quiet enough to really listen), and I started rolling (which is when I can really hear the noise), if I touched the brakes lightly, the clunk stopped. I've done this several times now, and it seems to consistently go away with a very light brake application.

Today when I had a wheel off, I grabbed the little tab in the center of the backing plate, and I can wiggle the pad up and down (with the caliper oriented vertically, so it's moving along the arc of the rotor). When I do, it will make a noise as it hits the caliper body top and bottom. So I'm surmising that friction from the rotor spinning may be causing the pad to move when no pressure is applied, and the contact is the "cluck" I hear.

I do not recall hearing this with the original Baer pads. Unfortunately I don't have time at the moment to swap them to experiment, but I will try to do that soon. These calipers use a C5/C6 backing plate, so it's nothing unusual I'm sure!

Has anyone else experienced this? This cluck is one of the last odd noises that I'm trying to cure.

[Vince@Meanstreets]

When you move it with your hand is it the same sound you are hearing?

You can use a rubber/plastic dead blow hammer on the tires and see what it does.

The last 2 that we did ran EBC and I had to sand the coating flash on it to fit. It was tight. Your stainless anti rattle clips are in there right?

[Sieg]

Compare the dimensions of the Baer & Hawk backing plates.......while you're checking for the anti-rattle clips.

[carbuff]

Originally Posted by Vince@MSperfab

When you move it with your hand is it the same sound you are hearing?

That's hard to say. When I'm inside of the car, things sound a lot different. And at 40-50MPH when I've been listening to this, I expect the rotor to be turning at a higher frequency then it seems like I hear this sound. But there's nothing else I can account for that would make it?

Originally Posted by Vince@MSperfab

You can use a rubber/plastic dead blow hammer on the tires and see what it does.

Hmm, I can try that.

Originally Posted by Vince@MSperfab

The last 2 that we did ran EBC and I had to sand the coating flash on it to fit. It was tight. Your stainless anti rattle clips are in there right?

Originally Posted by Sieg

Compare the dimensions of the Baer & Hawk backing plates.......while you're checking for the anti-rattle clips.

Now these are good questions. I actually don't recall either the Baer's or the Hawk's having them. I will go pull out the Baer's before I take off today and check, but it's been a while since I did this swap.

Strangely, I don't hear anything from the fronts, and I did this at the same thing. Just the rears. I'll take a look and post back.

[glassman]

Did you compare them when you swapped them out? "May" be a wrong part in a right box situation. And of course the anti-rattle clips....

They seem to stop just fine in the cone zone

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Originally Posted by carbuff

Strangely, I don't hear anything from the fronts, and I did this at the same thing. Just the rears. I'll take a look and post back.

Remember the rears are designed to float...sliding mount and fluid restricter. Might be normal.

The stainless clips at the outer ends of the pads where it contacts the caliper.

[carbuff]

For various reasons I haven't had time to pull a caliper and check the Hawk pads. I did pull out the original Baer pads, and they do have the clips at the end. I should have a chance before the end of the weekend to do it. THe more I drive it, the more I am sure it's a brake pad noise. But I do need to pull it apart and see for certain.

[carbuff]

This past weekend I pulled the rear calipers to see if I could determine what was going on. I took several pictures with my phone, and of course, my phone took a dump on Sunday. Replacement is arriving tomorrow, but that means no pictures.

Here is what I found though... There are 2 thin stainless steel (I think) pieces of metal which are stamped and slide into the top and bottom of the caliper, and the tabs on the brake pads lock those in place. I'm not sure what they are called, but they are present on both calipers.

Two of the pads themselves have a metal piece which extends outward about 1/2" on one end, and that goes into a hole in the caliper. So those pads will only fit in one way. The other 2 pads have no such tab, and there is no hole for them if they did on the caliper.

So it appears that everything is there and in place correctly on the brakes. I still have the slight clunk when coasting that goes away after I touch the brakes...

Maybe this weekend I will swap back in the original Baer pads. I don't have any events coming up where I will need the Hawks...

[Vince@Meanstreets]

did you try the hammer to tire test with it in the air?

[carbuff]

Originally Posted by Vince@MSperfab

did you try the hammer to tire test with it in the air?

I did not. I assume you are suggestion that I whack the tire with a dead blow hammer and see if I get some kind of similar sound? And perhaps a stupid question, but are you suggesting I hit the sidewall or the flat of the tread? I haven't heard of doing this before...