My brakes squeak like crazy once the car warms up. Sounds like a truck slowing down. I have taken it to the dealership and they have tried doing their embedding (???) process and it has not improved. The dealership tried to replace the rotors for me but instead of ordering the 15" rotors, they ordered the 14" so they were not able to put it on. Once they called Saleen to have them replaced, Steve in the warranty department refused to replaced them as he said that it is normal for the brakes to squeak.
I am at a point that the noise is driving me nuts. I dont even care if I have to pay for them. Anyone have any recommendations for me?
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2006 S281Extreme Convertible - Satin Silver - #158 Saleen Watts Link Suspension ver. 2 - Pioneer AVIC-Z1 w/rear camera
I do not have anything specific to 15" brake bed-in, but here are the bed-in instruction Saleen sent me for my 14" brakes. They are similar to other bed-in procedures with which I am familiar. I probably added some of the emphasis (underlines, bold) to help me follow the steps exactly. Hope this helps somebody; I am not presenting this as expert advice, yadda yadda:
After completing the installation:
1 Make a series of 10 stops from 60 to 5-10 MPH. At the end of each stop, immediately accelerate to 60 again for the next stop. Run all stops in one cycle. During the 60 to 5-10 MPH cycle of stops, the exact speed is not critical.
2 Accelerate to approximately 60, then begin braking. As you approach 5-10 MPH, it is not necessary to watch the speedometer. Keep your eyes on the road, and approximate your speed at the end of each stop. DO NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP, WHILE LEAVING YOUR FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, AS YOU MAY IMPRINT PAD MATERIAL ONTO THE ROTOR, CAUSING A VIBRATION. (If racing or higher-performance pads are being used, add four stops from 80 to 5-10 MPH, and if full race pads are being used, add four stops from 100 to 5-10 MPH.)
3 There are several indicators to look for while bedding-in the system: On the 8th or 9th stop, there should be a distinct smell from the brakes. Smoke may also be evident after several stops. Also on the 8th or 9th stop, some friction material will experience “green fade.” This is a slight fading of the brakes. The fade will stabilize, but will not completely go away until the brakes have cooled.
4 After the bed-in cycle is finished, there will be a blue tint on the rotor, with a light gray film on the rotor face. The blue tint indicates that the rotor has reached the proper bed-in temperature, and the gray film is pad material starting to transfer onto the rotor face. This is normal!
5 After the first bed-in cycle shown above, the brakes will still not be operating at their best capacity. A second or third bed-in cycle is typically necessary before the brakes really start to “come in.” A “cycle” is a series of stops, followed by a cool-down.
6 After the final stop of each cycle, drive as much as possible without using the brakes, to cool off the system. Ideally, the brakes should be allowed to cool to ambient temperature before using them again.
My car has the 13inch brembo setup, that had a brembo race compound stock from saleen.I had the same problems with my car. It sounded like a Nextel stocker when coming to a stop.What ever you do, change the pads!My car makes no noise now that I installed new Hawk hps pads.Also use a really fine sandpaper to the front and back of the rotors and you should be ready to go.The problem with these hi-po brake setups is that Saleen,Roush or whoever wants one thing,and that is stopping power.Domestic manufacters like Ford etc. want something else,and that is the brakes to be quiet.Now of course not at the expense of safety,but the main thing is they want them be silent.Try changing the pads and I am pretty sure the noise will go away.
I do not have anything specific to 15" brake bed-in, but here are the bed-in instruction Saleen sent me for my 14" brakes. They are similar to other bed-in procedures with which I am familiar. I probably added some of the emphasis (underlines, bold) to help me follow the steps exactly. Hope this helps somebody; I am not presenting this as expert advice, yadda yadda:
After completing the installation:
1 Make a series of 10 stops from 60 to 5-10 MPH. At the end of each stop, immediately accelerate to 60 again for the next stop. Run all stops in one cycle. During the 60 to 5-10 MPH cycle of stops, the exact speed is not critical.
2 Accelerate to approximately 60, then begin braking. As you approach 5-10 MPH, it is not necessary to watch the speedometer. Keep your eyes on the road, and approximate your speed at the end of each stop. DO NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP, WHILE LEAVING YOUR FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, AS YOU MAY IMPRINT PAD MATERIAL ONTO THE ROTOR, CAUSING A VIBRATION. (If racing or higher-performance pads are being used, add four stops from 80 to 5-10 MPH, and if full race pads are being used, add four stops from 100 to 5-10 MPH.)
3 There are several indicators to look for while bedding-in the system: On the 8th or 9th stop, there should be a distinct smell from the brakes. Smoke may also be evident after several stops. Also on the 8th or 9th stop, some friction material will experience “green fade.” This is a slight fading of the brakes. The fade will stabilize, but will not completely go away until the brakes have cooled.
4 After the bed-in cycle is finished, there will be a blue tint on the rotor, with a light gray film on the rotor face. The blue tint indicates that the rotor has reached the proper bed-in temperature, and the gray film is pad material starting to transfer onto the rotor face. This is normal!
5 After the first bed-in cycle shown above, the brakes will still not be operating at their best capacity. A second or third bed-in cycle is typically necessary before the brakes really start to “come in.” A “cycle” is a series of stops, followed by a cool-down.
6 After the final stop of each cycle, drive as much as possible without using the brakes, to cool off the system. Ideally, the brakes should be allowed to cool to ambient temperature before using them again.
The dealership already did the embedding process to no avail.
teamgsxr - I am easy on the brakes. Actually being easy on the brakes is where the squeak comes from. Coming to a sudden stop produces no sound whatsoever.
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2006 S281Extreme Convertible - Satin Silver - #158 Saleen Watts Link Suspension ver. 2 - Pioneer AVIC-Z1 w/rear camera
I agree w/ 123fearit that if you drive the car that easy, you should probably go with a less aggressive set of pads, more of a street compound than race. The race compound pads will be a little noisy and thats even when your hard on the brakes.
That really stinks. I could see myself getting pretty upset. You shouldn't have to do ANYTHING to this new vehicle. How many miles do you have on the car?
7200 miles. I will ask for new pads when I take it in for its 9000 mile oil change and hopefully that will fix it. I have to say that the brakes work perfectly, I just wish they didnt squeak!
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2006 S281Extreme Convertible - Satin Silver - #158 Saleen Watts Link Suspension ver. 2 - Pioneer AVIC-Z1 w/rear camera
The dealership already did the embedding process to no avail.
You shouldn't have to deal with problems in the first place with a new car. That being said, however, unless you have absolute confidence that the dealership followed the recommended steps precisely, I would still try doing the bed-in process yourself. It costs nothing and may fix the problem, especially since the brakes otherwise work well, and don't squeal when you apply them abruptly.
Anyway, good luck, remember this is more of an annoyance than a serious problem, and I hope a pad change or something will fix your problem soon!
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Brakes squeaking - 
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