[MrTea]

Just a reminder for myself to start working on this one.

feel free to drop whatever info and links you want while i slack on this...i'll clean it up. in the mean time, please use threads stickied at the top of the section or use the search function.

 

[posttosh]

QUOTE (MrTea @ Jun 17 2009, 12:54 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=1574114

Just a reminder for myself to start working on this one.

feel free to drop whatever info and links you want while i slack on this...i'll clean it up. in the mean time, please use threads stickied at the top of the section or use the search function.[/b]

MrTea, it's wonderful that you are doing this. I look forward to the result. I think the next post in this thread should be this one from Crossbow. Look also in the comments following Crossbow's post in the original thread.

 

[MrTea]

in all honestly, i never liked that article. i believe i got into with Crossbow a bit about it back then as well. There are MAYBE 1% of Mazda6 owners that will take their car to the point that cross drilled rotors will be an issue. Why write an article/thread in which the title seems to scare people away from crossdrilled rotors. there is one sentence in the article that says they are fine for street cars, and the rest is about how bad they are (can be).

i'm sure it will be linked, as it's good info, i just COMPLETELY disagree with it being of any use to Mazda6 owners. i ran drilled AND slotted (double wammy, i'm going to hell) on my car for 3 years and about a dozen track days with no issue. Anyone that has been on track with me knows i'm far from easy on my brakes....so did i have the magic set? i'm sure there are those that could crack them, but there are those than can crack slotted or drilled as well if they wanted....it's not that hard to overhead brakes to that point if you WANT to prove a point or don't understand what's happening when you pushing your pedal down.

again, a track guy should "always" opt for slotted when possible, but i don't even think we have had 10 members over the course of 6 years take their car to the track more than once a year. so this thread is for those 10 guys (at least 4 of which have aftermarket brakes already)?

 

[posttosh]

QUOTE (MrTea @ Jun 18 2009, 02:15 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=1574376

in all honestly, i never liked that article.

but i don't even think we have had 10 members over the course of 6 years take their car to the track more than once a year. so this thread is for those 10 guys (at least 4 of which have aftermarket brakes already)?[/b]

O.k., then my next comment is doubly relevant.

In the sticky about aftermarket brake pads, the first post is also by Crossbow, and it is a good one, but it is slanted to pads that resist fade when they get hot -- street pads that will get by for occasional track or Auto-X use. Of course, regular track racers will have real racing pads that they put on on track days -- and they should -- and will never use their racing pads on the street. However, the casual reader of that thread may well read that well-written first post, see that there are several more pages of posts and decide that it is too much trouble to read it all and stop right there, thinking that pads that resist fade are what you want n all circumstances. But for the Mazda6 owner in New England or the Upper Midwest or the Rockies who will be driving in the cold winter months, a brake pad biased toward the hot end, designed to resist fade under stress -- a pad like the Carbotech Bobcat, for instance -- could be downright dangerous in January up north.

So you really need a clear explanation that the most important consideration for any choice of brake pad is that the sweet spot of its effective operating range of temperatures match the kind of driving the car will see, and the weather it will be driven in. A pad that is great for Long Beach, California, may not be suitable for Minnesota.

 

[MrTea]

good points, it's one of the reasons i don't do much talking about pad compounds. Not only can the same pad not work between SoCal and Minnesota, i've seen the same pad be completely different, on the SAME car, SAME canyon..DIFFERENT driver. Pads, in regard to the enthusiast, are the fine tuning of the braking system.

Even daily drivers can treat their DD pads differently, some people think daily driving is the canyon run they do 3 days a week on the way home from work. however, most people should be "safe" with input from others on here as at least a basis that won't get them into trouble. if i buy Carbotech's cause someone said that, it drops to -10 here and i go out driving, i'll still have braking, but it's going to take more effort....and then i'll buy something different. If i buy Reds and decide they still dust too much for me, i'll clean my wheels a bit more....and then buy something different. i'm not going to fly off a canyon or into a wall at a track.

As with most DIY or performance related info, it should all be taken with caution. just because this guys says it's OK on the internet doesn't mean it is. do research, get as much feedback as possible, and in the case of brakes, take it slow, feel them out, how are they working....don't use blind trust, it can be scary.

i've never looked at any of the brake stickies, so i will as i do this i'm sure. but i'm hoping there's a list of what's out there somewhere, both pads and rotors....since we get those posts all the time, it might help eleviate those.

 

[badtlc]

So where is the DIY how to for changing pads, rotors and bleeding the brakes?

 

[MrTea]

Front

Rear

Bleeding Brakes

sorry, pulling the info onto this site takes a LONG time in some cases, as i don't have anywhere to store images, so i have to do a link....and do them ALL individually. I am trying to get as many of the DIY's on this site as possible, as i hate all the broken links when you NEED the info. i just don't have time to do it, but others are more than welcome and i'll put up the appropriate link when it's done. the links to the the 6tech archive won't last forever by any means.


...i didn't even look for a rotors, as other than the size of the caliper bolts, there's not really anything to it. take off the philips screw that holds on the rotor (sometimes easier to do it before calipers come off, while someone pushes on the pedal), remove calipers, remove disc and reverse. if the rotor is stuck, i put 1 lug nut on a bit, then beat the snot out of the rotor with a mallot until it comes off.

 

[vanib]

Rear


Hi

I hope this is the right place to post this question as I am new to the forum.

I just replaced my rear rotor and brake pads on my Mazda 6s wagon 2005.
However, I skipped steps 2 and 3 shown in the article above.

What are those steps for? Am I missing anything by not doing them?

I have also put brake/caliper grease between the shims and caliper bolt.

Brakes and rotors were changed at a local mechanic a few weeks ago. He used Wagner pads and rotors.
I am getting brake squeal (from the front brakes, I think, but the squeal became more prominent after I changed the rear brakes/rotors).
I also found that one pad was a little loose in the rear caliper. Could this be an issue? All other rear pads are pretty tight in the calipers.

What could I do stop the squealing? It does not squeal on hard stops, just slow stopping e.g. at a 3-way stop.

Should i use more grease on shim? Should I change the brake clips holding the pads to the caliper?
Any input is welcome cuz it's a little annoying.

Thanks

 

[MrTea]

i never use those steps either, no worries, just allows for easier movement of the caliper.


there are literally a billion things that can cause squeal....so it's hard to narrow down. step one, find a way you can easily, repeatedly create the sound. now do that over and over again with someone OUTSIDE the car, have them jog next to it (or you can while they drive) and listen....find out EXACTLY where the issue is.

now, keep in mind brake squeal is cause by vibration typically, so you just need to find out what's vibrating.

-2 places the shims can vibate; shim/pad or shim/caliper (be it piston or caliper body)....so antisqueal can be place on the pad side of the shim, the section where the shim hits he piston on the inside and where it hits the caliper cage on the outside, as well as the edges that butt up against the caliper.

-pad to disc. when replacing both pad and disc, it's a bit less likelly, but possible. as there are variances in terms of grooves on both pieces, and when "played" just right (low speed in your case) that harmonic is amplified using the rotor and suspension. you'll notice our front suspension, like many other cars has an odd shaped knob on it, things like this help remove resonance from suspension pieces. the other part with the pad/disc swap, many disc suppliers coat thier disc with a film to prevent rusting, if that isn't removed before install, that layer can be effectivly obsorbed by the pad material, creating a bit of glazing and some sound.

those are the only things you have control of when it comes to noise....after that you can just go to a different brand of pad and hope that its' better. pads are the hardest part of brake tuning, it can be trial and error unfortunately, so i'd look around to see what others like in their cars.

too long, sorry

 

[vanib]

Thanks MrTea.

one REAR brake pad I took out was loose; the replacement was loose too unlike the 3 others which are tight in the caliper mount.

I am really starting to think that it might be from the rear brake pad which is a little loose on the caliper clips. The squeal only happens at slow stops.

Has anyone had such loose brake pads? How do you fix this? Do you need to change the rear caliper mount or the clips? Can you even change the clips on the rear?

Like you said, I need to locate which brakes/rotors are causing the noise.

I'll keep you updated.

Thanks

Vani

 

[MrTea]

been a while, but aren't there metal clips inside the caliper housing, along with the springs that go into the pads? make sure all those are good, or you can try pricing out a new clip for that side if you do narrow it down to that corner at least....should be cheap.

 

[vanib]

QUOTE (MrTea @ Aug 6 2009, 12:59 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=1589401

been a while, but aren't there metal clips inside the caliper housing, along with the springs that go into the pads? make sure all those are good, or you can try pricing out a new clip for that side if you do narrow it down to that corner at least....should be cheap.[/b]

Just called the dealer; the kit comes to $13. It comes with shims and the clips for rear brakepads.
I did not have springs on my old rear brakes nor did I find any holes to put any on the new Wagner brakes [or I did not look well enuff ].
Is it normal not to have springs on the rear brakes of Mazda 6s wagon 2005?

Thanks

 

[disjointedimages]

Would it be helpful (and allowed) to convert some of the How To's to PDF form and post them?

I'd be willing to do that. Been a lurker as a guest for a while, (thank you!) and would be happy to give back.

 

[MrTea]

i know someone did that for the older Mazda6tech articles, you are more than welcome to do it, others have posted them on here in the past. I remember when i did my Eibach install a billion years ago now it seems, the site just happened to go down right after i started the project....no DIY access for over a day, ended up taking like 20 hours for a job that now takes me like 2.

....moral of the story is, a quick download of a pdf to keep would be nice and handy. if you follow the above links to the Mazda6tech site, i believe you can still access the pdf's from there as well...for now at least. luckily our servers have come a LONG way since back then, haven't been down in a while...but you never know.

 

[jd42]

QUOTE (disjointedimages @ Aug 7 2009, 02:07 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=1589784

Would it be helpful (and allowed) to convert some of the How To's to PDF form and post them?[/b]

Look here:
http://forum.mazda6club.com/index.php?showtopic=113048

 

[MrTea]

what about the How-to's not from 6tech? that would be cool too, no?

 

[vanib]

QUOTE (Vani @ Aug 6 2009, 04:27 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=1589477

Just called the dealer; the kit comes to $13. It comes with shims and the clips for rear brakepads.
I did not have springs on my old rear brakes nor did I find any holes to put any on the new Wagner brakes [or I did not look well enuff ].
Is it normal not to have springs on the rear brakes of Mazda 6s wagon 2005?

Thanks[/b]

Hi,

I did the bedding-in of my brakes today and i can't believe that the squeal is gone. I did only 1 set of 8 hard stops without locking the wheels from 100km/h to 15km/h.

 

[badtlc]

QUOTE (MrTea @ Aug 5 2009, 07:26 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=1589151

Front

Rear

Bleeding Brakes[/b]

Thank you very much but I can't get the links to work. Am I the only one?

 

[MrTea]

works for me still

..again, these are being hosted at an archive site, so they won't be there forever

 

[5isiX]

What exactly do those metal "springs" do? Are they needed? Is this something that should be replaced with new if the brakes are done?