NEW type of Camaro SS Caliper Brake Noise Dampener "Weights" implemented

[JICPerformance]

Originally Posted by MisterCamaro69

DO NOT PUT ANY TYPE OF LUBE ON YOUR BRAKES!

Please research before posting incorrect information. Traditional caliper pins are always lubed. While the external pins on the brembos do not require lubrication, applying high temperature brake grease to the back of the pads is recommend to help with noise and aid in piston to pad wear.

[JICPerformance]

Originally Posted by MisterCamaro69

As long as it doesn't contaminate the braking surface it's fine. Should be specific with your audience tho, never use lubricant on pads or rotors.

...Remember the guy that flushed his engine with a water hose?

Actually, there are products designed to be applied to the face of new pads to reduce break in noise. You typically do not find it on your local parts store shelf, but it is made and used.

[jacques]

Originally Posted by JICPerformance

Quite far from. You can apply grease to the back of the pads to help smooth vibrations between the pads and the pistons to reduce or eliminate brake squeal.

You will find that many of your aftermarket brake pads will come with a small packet of grease in the package.

Absolutely! When I replaced my brakes in my vette (with a GM ceramic product) it came with special grease to apply to both the back surface of the pad where it contacts the piston and where the backing plate moves along the caliper surfaces. No brake dust problems anymore.

[AngelPharmD]

I barely started to hear my brakes squeak when slowly coming to a complete stop....I wasn't sure if this was common with other Camaros or if my brakes were already going out... should be covered under our warranty no?

[Supermans]

Originally Posted by AngelPharmD

I barely started to hear my brakes squeak when slowly coming to a complete stop....I wasn't sure if this was common with other Camaros or if my brakes were already going out... should be covered under our warranty no?

It could mean your brake rotors need resurfacing. That definitely wouldn't be covered. However if they don't, take it in and perhaps you can get these dumbbell harmonic dampeners put it

[franknbeans]

glad i have the wheel weights on mine now.

[Sstac]

Originally Posted by ibznu2010

should be a recall. my brakes squel from the beginning and now at 8800 miles. vin 12550. WTF Have had 6 camaros in the past and none like this performance & style but come on GM lets get some results here on noisey brakes. My old camaros did not have this problem.

yeah mine make noises too and i'm at 1800 miles... has done it from day one. I just think its embarassing when people are checking out my new car and hear that loud noise.

[Russell James]

Mine was built last week of Nov and has neither type of weights and no squeel yet. I'm sure it will squeel eventually, and I will be doing the lubing all contact points strategy. I've had many performance cars with agressive brakes and they all squeel eventually,lubing them up correctly always helps.

The trouble is - it is labor intensive, doesn't last for years... so just not a solution for the masses who want to buy a noise free, maintenance free car. So I think that is what these band-aid efforts are - trying to keep the brakes acceptable quiet to stay away from frequent maintenance or warranty work. Me - I don't mind popping the wheels off once in a while and perfecting things.

Brake squeel is two hard surfaces vibrating against each other at a very high speed. You can either clean and lube those surfaces or hang enough weight on them so even when they are dry and itching, the mass slows down the harmonics to a point it doesn't generate a noise.

[zen]

I could be wrong but I believe that the rotors on the LT's are steel and the rotors on the SS's are aluminum. The aluminum would be softer than steel and could that be the cause of the noise.

[Mod007]

That is ugly... Someone should be fired that.

[Chris_B]

Originally Posted by zen

I could be wrong but I believe that the rotors on the LT's are steel and the rotors on the SS's are aluminum. The aluminum would be softer than steel and could that be the cause of the noise.

Actually, the rotors on both cars are 1-piece cast iron. Rotors do play a large role in brake noise as they can act a bit like a bell and "ring" at certain frequencies and speeds. Sometimes you can make them stronger and stiffer and just make the problem worse! 2-piece rotors with aluminum hats might be a solution (due to the large change in the rotor's natural frequency modes), but each brand would have to be tried out to be sure. It is entirely possible that one design might make things better and another might make it worse.

The calipers on the SS are nearly identical to the CTS-V (3-piece modular). They look a lot like several other Brembo applications, many of which also have dampers (not dampeners ) to reduce squeal and other NVH issues. Side note: When I hear the word "dampener", I think about things like wet t-shirts, which seriously distracts me from thinking about brakes.

When using a large, squarish pad shape and a large contact area between the pad back plate and the caliper abutment surface, low speed, low pedal effort (like just coming up to a stop sign) squeal are very difficult to eliminate. If you've ever been in or around a Subaru STI, Mitsubushi Evo or many Mercedes-Benz AMG's you'll often hear a squeal from the factory pads in those Brembos.

The squeal comes from the pad vibrating at a certain frequency within the caliper. The actual problem frequency is a function of the pad, caliper, rotor, wheel bearing, wheel, tire, suspension bushings, suspension geometry and maybe a dozen other things. The solution cannot only come from the brake supplier as they do not control all the factors involved.

My understanding on the Camaro is that GM was slow to inform Brembo of the problem, so the stick-on weights were the only quick fix available before the launch. Now they have moved to the pad damper weights, which are found on many other Brembo-equipped vehicles (Porsche, Land Rover, etc.). I doubt any complaining to the dealer or GM would make a difference as it has not helped with any other car that sports the same solution.

Chris

[CanadianCamaro]

Originally Posted by Chris_B

My understanding on the Camaro is that GM was slow to inform Brembo of the problem, so the stick-on weights were the only quick fix available before the launch. Now they have moved to the pad damper weights, which are found on many other Brembo-equipped vehicles (Porsche, Land Rover, etc.). I doubt any complaining to the dealer or GM would make a difference as it has not helped with any other car that sports the same solution.

Chris

This is actually not true. Brembo was aware of this from the start but a permanent solution (such as these so-called "training wheels") was not implemented on the Camaro brembo calipers prior to the SORP. The process for official GM approval of manufacturing techniques is quite long. There was a period where these "weights" were put on my GM but there was also a period when the brake assemblies came from Brembo with the stick-on weights installed (anyone who toured Martinrea in October will remember seeing the brake assemblies from Brembo Italy with the weights installed already). There's another thread somewhere about this where I posted the whole sequence for evolution on these from the CTF cars to present - sorry no VIN cut-offs.
Again, as Tran and others have said, these are not their for weight purposes, but rather are designed for harmonic dampening. Interesting though, I looked at mine when I pulled the wheels to wax them and added them up. If I remember correctly there's something like 12-13 ounces of lead on each one! So anyone looking to shave some weight off their car....

edit: Another quick point that I don't think anyone has mentioned. Even though it's tight, I can slip my wheels wash mit between the calipers and the 20" stock rims with the "old style" weights. I'm guessing that's impossible with these. Minor point except for those of us crazy enough to loose sleep over that 6" dirty patch on the inside of our rims.......

[Georgie]

i think it looks better... are they glued on? that was my big problem with the weights in the first place

[mjorgensen]

The spec pad for the Camaro was surely picked for ultimate stopping power for a heavy performance based car. The pad would need to be extra aggressive for this duty. Most track pads (aggressive) will squeal something fierce on the street so these are no different. If you are not worried about stopping as hard changing to a more soft streetable pad would eliminate most of the issue.

Each manufacturer designs their brake system the same way and the pad they determine to be the most affective for them will be worked around in the final design of the car. You can change that but the change will be very noticeable.

I love a good track pad so the noise is nothing to me but I could see how a lightly driven car could be irritating with all the noise so go ahead and change the pads to eliminate the ugly additions.