Quote:
Originally Posted by 1_2Many
You are incorrect. Let me explain:
This has nothing to do with "harmonic imbalance". Something doesn't have to be spinning to have a resonant frequency...and everything has a natural resonant frequency. If the brake calipers have a natural frequency in the range of the vibration caused by the friction of the rotor against the pads then they will "squeal".
Brake calipers must be an engineering nightmare because not only are they very light compared to the massive rotor...they are actually shaped like a tuning fork which is exactly what you don't want when trying to control vibration.
I should know...I'm a vibration test engineer! I've worked here for the last 8 years and my whole job is to control resonant frequencies. http://www.baughneng.com
Using lead weights to control noise is a very feasable idea. Lead is very dense and relatively soft which is great for noise dampening. We use what we call "Q-Damp" to dampen vibration and although I'm not at liberty to tell you what it is made of I can tell you that it basically does the same job as the lead weights appear to be doing.
In my opinion, GM should not replace these calipers. They do not need to spend anymore wasted money, but instead they should have a solid painted lead weight to replace the generic wheel weights. |
Looking at how many small weights are being glued on, a larger solid piece of lead is probably too heavy to simply glue on so this would not work.. Welding one solid piece on is an alternative but would take longer to implement at the factory.