2004-2007 Cadillac CTS-V General DiscussionDiscuss everything about the first generation Cadillac CTS-V that does NOT fall into either the Performance or Appearance Modification category.
Got front and rear Hawk HPS pads inbound (thanks Luke) and am just curious as to everyones experiences with bedding them once replaced... it seems there are lots of different opinions on how to do it but i just wanted to get some clarification in regards to my specific scenario. I have around 30k on my 07 right now and am not going to be turning or replacing the rotors at all... so i'm only doing a pad replacement from stock to the HPS pads. How do you all best suggest i break them in so they arn't squealing like crazy in a few days... thanks !
bedding hawk pads it's recommended that you do this w/ no cars around... go about 70-80mph then brake heavy down to 40... do this about a dozen times.... then drive w/o using the brakes as long as possible to allow them to cool down. If you stop moving too fast you can fuse the two together.
Use the Hawk procedure on their website. I've done a couple of sets on my old '04, and they never did squeal. Be sure to use plenty of brake cleaner, and take the chance to clean out the back side of your wheels from left over brake dust.
Burnishing Instructions
After installing new brake pads, make 6 to 10 stops from approximately 30-35 mph applying moderate pressure.
Make an additional 2 to 3 hard stops from approximately 40 to 45 mph.
DO NOT DRAG BRAKES!
Allow 15 minutes for brake system to cool down.
After step 4 your new pads are ready for use.
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You may want to just scuff your rotors and clean em up a little to get any of the old brake pad residue off. Give you a clean metal surface to bed in your new pad material with.
Hmmm I thought for sure there was a step in there requiring more speed and hard braking to heat the pads up.... and that was reading the hawk box the pads came with... is it possible we had different series hawk pads?
Either way NateDog do a bunch of braking then drive for a bit w/o stopping to allow em to cool down and you'll be good.
another quick question.... is it good practice to open the bleeder slightly before you push the pistons back in, then once they are fully retracted close it back up... i saw somewhere that it prevents the fluid from getting pushed back which can do harm... thoughts?
no way man... leave it alone. The V caliper is well designed and you don't even have to remove it to change the pads... just push the pistons in a little bit to make clearance for the new pads w/ more meat on them... no bleeding needed. doing that just opens the possibity of adding some air to your lines....
^ What he said...they are VERY easy to push back, really don't even need a tool to do it and bleeding is not necessary. Just watch the reservoir to make sure it doesn't overflow.
Just made sure the rotors are clean, a soapy green scotch-brite with some Simple Green should take care of them. Use just enough anti-squeal grease on the back of the pads and the factory backing plates. I also cleaned them too, the factory grease is pretty nasty...so the scotch-brite and SG for them is a must too.
Did the fronts last night and it was way easier than i anticipated... Probably a 2 on the 1-10 scale... popped the old ones out and put in the new HPS pads... lightly sanded the rotors with 320 Fine grit automotive sandpaper to get any old residue off then wiped clean with some paper towels. did 6 moderate stops from 35mph-10mph then 2 aggressive stops from 45mph-10mph then coasted around some back neighborhoods for 15 minutes without touching the brakes at all... brought er back to my street and used the brakes and not a sound... feel great so far... i've got a trip to NC tomorrow and the car is spotless so i'll see how much they dust compared to the stockers.
After looking closely at my rear pads, they appear to be in fine shape. Probably 35-40% left on them... are people running through 2 sets of fronts before the rears need to be done?? I figure i won't need to do the rears for another 10k or so...
Also, i didn't use any of the grease they supplied in the Hawk box and so far i don't have any squeaks at all... is using the grease necessary?
