Big brake install…what have I done?

[Badbossed]

So I went with the Steeda 13inch rear brake kit and the Hawk HT 10 race pads. Install seemed to go well, taking the axles out was easier than I thought, The biggest PITA was cleaning the old seal of the differential cover. Anyways, I take it out and follow the brake in procedure on the pads and everything seems fine. I do notice the rear wheels, and pads are much hotter than the fronts after the break in drive. I park the car with out the brake to allow everything to cool. Next drive I notice a slight groaning in the rear end of the car at slow speeds, so I put the car up on the stands, double check everything, it looks good so I go for another drive thinking maybe the pads aren't broken in yet. Take it up and down a awesome mountain road a few times aggressively, everything seems fine brakes seem stronger than stock! Bring it home and the groaning is worse. Could these new rotors be warped? Could running racing pads in the rear and stock in the front cause the rear rotors to warp in less than 100 miles?

Any thoughts appreciated...

 

[VoodooBoss]

FWIW the larger rear rotors on the rear are known for moaning. I had that on mine with custom caliper mounts and Stoptech 13" rotors. It's why I removed them and went back to stock. I have no idea what causes this.

 

[06mach1]

"groaning" is not a sign of warped rotors. A moderate to severe pulsation in the brake pedal is a sign of warped rotors. I have the steeda 13" rear brakes and have never had any groaning noises. When you installed the rear brake pads, I assume you had to rotate the pistons back in. Did you make sure the pins on the piston lined up with the recess in the pads?

 

[Flyboygsxr]

"groaning" is not a sign of warped rotors. A moderate to severe pulsation in the brake pedal is a sign of warped rotors. I have the steeda 13" rear brakes and have never had any groaning noises. When you installed the rear brake pads, I assume you had to rotate the pistons back in. Did you make sure the pins on the piston lined up with the recess in the pads?

Yes, make sure you do this ^^^^

Also be aware that on some pads there are the wear tabs that stick out letting you know when the pads need to be changed. Those have to go on the inside and if you put them in the wrong location it will cause the pads to drag on the rotors and will overheat your rear brakes. I always cut that tab off since I inspect my brakes so often anyway and it allows me to use the pad on the inside and outside. Hope that makes sense.

 

[576]

My experience with the larger rear rotors has been quite different. I purchased some rear caliper adaptors from another BMO member and used stock Ford Gt500 rotors with some Hawk pads (a step below the 60's). The adaptors retain the use of the anti-moan brackets. During the installation I made sure to clean/ scuff all contact surfaces and tighten adaptor brackets prior to the anti-moan brackets. So far no moan at all. With the same brake pads and stock Ford rotors I would get the reverse moan frequently. A nice surprise along with the visual factor of the larger rotors. Performance advantage? I did not notice any braking difference after completing a track day at Sonoma yesterday. But the larger rotors definitely look cooler. 8)

 

[VoodooBoss]

Performance advantage? I did not notice any braking difference after completing a track day at Sonoma yesterday. But the larger rotors definitely look cooler. 8)

Same here. What was interesting about my setup was they didn't make any noise when hot and at the track. They only made noise when cold and it was very loud.

 

[F.D. Sako]

I think you'd notice the advantage when you swap to the 302S ABS module. Extra heat sink might help with rear rotor longevity.
I may do this mod this winter (rear GT500 rotors + 302S ABS module).

 

[Tri-bar]

When I did mine, I noticed much less pad wear. Pads don't have to work as hard for the same brake bite. With Hawk HP+'s mine moaned very loud backing up, swapped out to street pads and I get nothing. Stoptech, EBC's yellow and blue stuff's did not moan. so far it's been just the Hawks.

 

[dmichaels]

I also did the relocation brackets and GT500 13.8" rear rotors. I no longer have heat issues in the rear brakes and I also have zero surface cracking after about 10-12 track days this season. With the OEM rear rotors, I had surface cracks and also cracked a rotor. I don't have any of the noises described above either... couldn't say why though.

 

[Dig-It]

I had this problem as too after coming off the track last fall with larger (upgraded) rotors in the rear. Did some searching around and found a Ford TSB for a similar issue. It recommended installing a "Brake hardware kit" p/n 5U2Z-2321-H. The kit is just new stainless steel brake pad clips and the rubber boots that go around the caliper slide bolts. I can't remember how much it cost, but is was less than $12 or so. I installed the kit about a year ago in both rear brakes and they haven't made any noise since.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Did the Ford upgrade kit not come with the hardware kits for the Calipers??