I've given up with Hawk Ceramic Pads

[SnowyCamaro]

For the last couple of weeks ive been using hawk ceramic pads and I am very disappointed with these pads. I decided to share my story cause it may help people who are on the fence about the hawk ceramic pads.

So I needed new brakes for my 1lt I bought new centric rotors and hawk ceramic pads since many people have recommended them for this car. However my experince with these pads has been incredibly frustrating.

I am not a certified mechanic but a have done a fair bit of brake jobs before. Ive been working on cars and motorcycles as a hobby for the better part if my life. Anyway I installed the brakes myself, no issues that I could tell. Go for a drive and get wicked brake judder, worried that I bedded the brakes improperly I took the brakes apart a second time sanded the pads, cleaned the rotors and re bedded again. Judder continued, felt as bad as having warped rotors. I hoped maybe mileage would help after 3 weeks and 5000km, I decided to inlist in some pofessional help, called a friend of mine who was a certified mechanic, checked the rotors and he still found nothing after taking it apart. Judder continued... after taking the brakes apart together for a fouth time we finally figured out that the pads didnt fit ! The pads are too short, they fit width wise but jiggle up and down. Im pissed. Neither of us thought of that. Assumed since I paid 100 bucks with shipping for a pair of "premium" pads they would at least fit properly. They arent hugely out of spec but enough to judder like crazy. Hard to see unless you physically grabbed the pad once assembled, grease covered the small gap. The rear pads fit perfectly too, just the fronts, very surprising. For now the pads are on my car since I will need to order new ones.

I've used bendix, centric, akebono, even chinese brands that are better than these things. Ive taken the brakes apart 4 times, I should have picked up this issue before the 4th time apart but driving has become a nuisance. On top of that in my opinion dust is no better than stock could because I dont have a lot of miles. All the other ceramic pads ive used = instant improvement, these not so much.

If you are interested in hawk pads, dont waste your money. Buy any of the brands I listed above, they will do a better job for half the price. I'll be removing these hunks of junk soon and replacing them with some akebono pads once they arrive. This was my first experience with hawk performance and it will likely be my last.

Sorry about the long rant but I wanted to paint the hole picture. Does anyone have experience returing used parts ? With hawk performance specifically. Cause I want my money back but I dont know how to go about it. Never had to return parts.

[Rico]

What specific type did you get? I was looking into getting the new HPS 5.0 from hawk.

[Deke736]

Did you contact them to get a replacement set? If this truly is as you describe I would think they would be replaced under warranty pretty easily. I've had Hawk ceramic pads on both my SS and my ZL1 and never experienced an issue, but I believe Hawk is a good company and will stand behind their product. I would recommend you contact the vendor where these were purchased asap.

[Mean Green Z28]

I doubt what you describe would cause shuddering. if its slightly sort, all it would do is cause a clunk sound when you first press the pedal, then be up against the bracket until you take your foot off pedal. this is why you see the little metal springs on both sides of the pad; its to center the pad and reduce noise. are the rotors drilled/slotted?

Typing fat fingered on my GS3...excuse any sfelling mitcakes

[SnowyCamaro]

Originally Posted by Deke736

Did you contact them to get a replacement set? If this truly is as you describe I would think they would be replaced under warranty pretty easily. I've had Hawk ceramic pads on both my SS and my ZL1 and never experienced an issue, but I believe Hawk is a good company and will stand behind their product. I would recommend you contact the vendor where these were purchased asap.

Vendor was jcwhitney problem is they need me to ship the pads back to them to approve of any refund. Except I need pads in order to stop my car lol. So its not like I can just pull them off and send them back. Dealing with their customer service department is awful. Did you contact hawk directly ? If so do you have any contact info?

[SnowyCamaro]

Originally Posted by Mean Green Z28

I doubt what you describe would cause shuddering. if its slightly sort, all it would do is cause a clunk sound when you first press the pedal, then be up against the bracket until you take your foot off pedal. this is why you see the little metal springs on both sides of the pad; its to center the pad and reduce noise. are the rotors drilled/slotted?

Typing fat fingered on my GS3...excuse any sfelling mitcakes

They clunk but its hard to notice. Its the only explanation I have for the judder, rotors were checked, and were perfect, rotors are smooth ive had drilled before and they do make noise. Used brake lube etc

[Destructo09]

Don't talk to JC Whitney, you need to talk to Hawk, I doubt JC Whitney will help you after you installed and used them. Hawk should have some customer contact info on their website and may be more willing to work with you on a RMA.

My brother has the Hawk Ceramic pads and he's had no issue with them on his SS, they've been great for brake dust but that's about it, they are certainly not a "performance" pad.

[SnowyCamaro]

Originally Posted by Destructo09

Don't talk to JC Whitney, you need to talk to Hawk, I doubt JC Whitney will help you after you installed and used them. Hawk should have some customer contact info on their website and may be more willing to work with you on a RMA.

My brother has the Hawk Ceramic pads and he's had no issue with them on his SS, they've been great for brake dust but that's about it, they are certainly not a "performance" pad.

Sent hawk an email, no reply. Yeah JC Whitney can't do anything since I actually used them. New Pads should be here by the weekend, so we'll see what happens.

[rtcat600man]

Sorry to hear about your issue. I have the hawks pads and have no issue with them at all. Contacting Hawks directly is the only way to get thru the issue you are having, start there first. Good Luck.

[Destructo09]

I'm running Hawk HP+ pads right now since my stockers were too thin to bother switching back out. They've been awesome pads for autocross, they tend to get pretty hot on big track for HPDE but have been great for me so far.

The downside is on the street they make some terrible noises lol. Price to pay for running a grippy pad though.

[Rainbow1616]

I run hawk also, No problems and 99% less brake dust!

[hrpiii]

I also have Hawk Cermics on my SS for about 15K miles, zero issues. Very sorry to hear about the issue and hope you can get it worked out.

[SnowyCamaro]

Judder is gone. No reply to any of my emails from hawk. Cleaned the rotors up and swapped out pads instant fix.

[TommyTheCat]

Originally Posted by SnowyCamaro

Judder is gone. No reply to any of my emails from hawk. Cleaned the rotors up and swapped out pads instant fix.

What did you pay for the new pads? I don't understand why not just pay for some local aftermarket pads at autozone. Their duralast golds are made by bosch and I never have any noises or problems with their pads whatsoever on the hundreds of cars I've put them on. And no way you can beat their lifetime warranty...

part # DG1404 from autozone, lifetime warranty. I'm not sure of consumer price and too lazy to check but I'd guess $45 ish
and those are ceramic