[Silver BLT]

I am in the process of rebuilding the suspension on the front end and have pulled the rotors and calipers off. When the brake pads came out they had small cages / hats on them? They fit inside the pistons. Are these anti-squeal or self centering devices?

My new pads do not have them (the hats), do I need to pry them off of the old pads and install them with the new ultimates?



I Powder coated my first piece of scrap metal, it came out good to fair. Calipers next week after I practice some more. I'll post pics. PC is cool!



Koni strut inserts not too difficult, sweated for what seemed like hours before I cut the tops off the stock struts. LOL, sissy. They look GREAT painted Koni yellow instead of black.



Flash. Your asked what the spring rate was for the B&G progressive springs, I did not ignore you, I didn't know. Still don't exactly. I'm waiting for a graph from Sweden of the progressive spring rates. I asked the Sales person from B&G and was told that their springs are "a little softer than stock and then progress to about 25% stiffer". I'm not really sure what that means but it's got to be better than they were. Shocks were totally shot. No dampening only rebound. Leaked like a pig.



Silver BLT

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[rustech]

When the brake pads came out they had small cages / hats on them? They fit inside the pistons. Are these anti-squeal or self centering devices?

My new pads do not have them (the hats), do I need to pry them off of the old pads and install them with the new ultimates?

Yes, they are your anti-squeal shims. You will either need to get a new set, or do probably what most do and pry and reuse. You should get some of that sticky anti-squeal gue at the autostore to coat in between the shim and the back of the pad.

I Powder coated my first piece of scrap metal, it came out good to fair. Calipers next week after I practice some more. I'll post pics. PC is cool!

Look forward to seeing them. Everyone might start sending you their calipers. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/tongue.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

Flash. Your asked what the spring rate was for the B&G progressive springs, I did not ignore you, I didn't know. Still don't exactly. I'm waiting for a graph from Sweden of the progressive spring rates. I asked the Sales person from B&G and was told that their springs are "a little softer than stock and then progress to about 25% stiffer". I'm not really sure what that means but it's got to be better than they were. Shocks were totally shot. No dampening only rebound. Leaked like a pig.

The stock front spring rate is 160#. That would put you in the 155-200 range which is quite soft considering the rate most go with.

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[Silver BLT]

Thanks Rustech,

I am waiting for the "graph" of the spring weight response from Sweden to finish putting the car back together. H&Rs were my first choice but I could not find any from any of the retailers, Paragon has had them on B/O since before Thanksgiving. Here are the spring rates for 944s, our cars are about the same weight, I think the 968 is a little heavier thou. Still they are close.

944 normal stock rate

140 lbs



951 stock/M030 rate

150 lbs.



Turbo S rate

150-175 progressive rate



Cup car springs

375-410 progressive rate



The wifee likes to go for Sunday drives in the car so I don't want it too stiff.

I am hoping to do a DE about twice a year.

Input is requested and welcomed.



Thanks

Silver BLT

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[Brian]

since you guys mentioned brake squeal...

i have a 92 cab. i just had the front brake pads and rotors replaced.

i'm still hearing some squealing from time to time. is this normal, or do you think it's just part of the break-in (brake in?? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> ) period.

if it persists, is there something you can do to prevent brake squealing? some kind of spray you can put on the rotors?

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[rustech]

Silver: I would try to avoid going any softer than stock. I have a 200lbs linear rate and am quite pleased. For a pleasant street ride for your wife, I would dial the shocks all the way down so that the coil can oscillate a bit more rather than stopping suddenly. Of course if you went with the koni rears, this requires removal to adjust.

The difference between the initial rate and the progressive rate seems quite large on the springs you're considering. I wonder how that will impact driving when there is a sudden change in spring rate that large. When you find the specifics, please let us know.





Brian:

Breaking in the pad proper is a good idea. You never want to put anything on the rotor surface itself. Brake squeal happens for a few reasons:

1. Don't have anti-squeal shims in place (and proper)

2. Using a hard brake pad composite

3. Positive pressure exerted on back of pad due to warped stainless liners pushing pad forward at all times in which case corrosion needs to be removed from behind the liners.

4. Positive pressure exerted on back of pad due to pistons in caliper not moving freely in which case the calipers need a rebuild.

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[Brian]

rustech, thanks for the advice.

the mechanic replaced the pads and rotors with oem parts. i'm not sure how they're supposed to sound?

should i give them a week or two to break in and then worry if they still are making noises?

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[rustech]

I too would wait till the pads and rotors are no longer green. Since you had both pads and rotors changed, it is twice as important to break in the braking system properly. If it doesn't go away within 100miles or 2, then I would have them look into whats making the squeal.

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[Brian]

thanks again for the tips. funny thing, after driving mostly expressway miles this weekend (wow, this thing will fly!) i noticed only itermittent squealing in the brakes. no rhyme nor reason. maybe they're getting situated.



i asked the mechanic about breaking them in, and he said to just avoid rapid stops and track conditions for a while. is there anything special i need to do to break these things in? just casual driving?



one more thing, kind of off topic. the car drives straight as an arrow. i can take my hands off the wheel and it's still straight and true. no pulling. but... only at highway speeds have i noticed that the steering wheel is at about 1:00 position in order to go straight. does this mean i need an alignment? or is it possible that the wheels are true and the steering wheel is just a little off? is it cause for concern?



thanks for all the help

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[Greimann]

[quote name='Brian' date='May 31 2005, 07:41 AM']one more thing, kind of off topic.  the car drives straight as an arrow.  i can take my hands off the wheel and it's still straight and true.  no pulling.  but... only at highway speeds have i noticed that the steering wheel is at about 1:00 position in order to go straight.  does this mean i need an alignment?  or is it possible that the wheels are true and the steering wheel is just a little off?  is it cause for concern?

[right][post="5249"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

The wheel being off center just means that the tie rod adjustment is slightly asymmetric. The alignment may be fine, but tire rods are pulling the wheel off center. A good alignment guy can fix it.

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[rustech]

I believe it could also be because the last alignment guy put equal castor on both front wheels.

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[Brian]

rustech, the p.o. did have the tires aligned to street driving. from what he told me, the original alignment was for racing and since he was just a street driver, he had the wheels straightened out so he'd wear out his tires less often. how does that affect the steering wheel???

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[rustech]

Typically, to get better wear on your tires, the shop will put less negative camber and less positive toe. Having slightly different castor up front is also for the street. It is to compensate for the "average" crowns in the road so that the car pulls straight. If you have equal castor on a crowned road, it will tend to pull towards the lower elevation unless you compensate with the wheel. If it bothers you much, then you'll have to take it into an alignment shop.

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