550 brake sqeak | FerrariChat

550 brake sqeak

Discussion in '456/550/575' started by ata6996, Nov 20, 2003.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. ata6996

    ata6996 Rookie

    Nov 20, 2003
    3
    The Brakes on my blue 550 sqeak really bad. I have had Harris Imports in Salt Lake look at the brakes and they can't find any problem. They informed me that other 550's have the same problem. If you do have the same problem and have a soultion to this problem please give me a suggestion because the noise to really buggin me.
     
  2. dwood1969

    dwood1969 Karting

    Nov 1, 2003
    67
    Charlotte, NC
    Full Name:
    David Wood
    ata6996,

    Check the archives on this - there have been plenty of previous threads about squealing brakes on 550s. It is especially bad if you have the Fiorano Handling Package. I am taking mine in this weekend to switch out the pads and let my mechanic try some things. I will let you know how it goes. Doesn't it suck when you pull up to a stoplight and your car sounds like a stuck pig????
     
  3. Bart

    Bart Formula 3

    Nov 1, 2003
    1,522
    Orange County, Calif
    Full Name:
    Bart
    My 550 brake's squeak ever now and then. I have had a couple of different mechanics look at them and found nothing. It is something I have learned to live with.

    Oh, well.
     
  4. bobafett

    bobafett F1 Veteran

    Sep 28, 2002
    9,193
    I think it might be attributed to the pads?

    Mine don't squeek normally, but they do from time to time. Really doesn't bother me...the CG is the noise I pay attention to! :D

    --Dan
     
  5. richard

    richard Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
    1,404
    Los Angeles
    Full Name:
    Richard Thompson III
    Most high performance brakes squak until they are warmed up to operating temp.
     
  6. WCH

    WCH F1 Veteran
    Owner

    Mar 16, 2003
    5,180
    The only solution I've heard is to switch to a softer compound pad - a solution which, I'm told, Ferrari does not recommend. I'll give my car a few more miles, then try a pad change.

    In the meantime, I find that threshhold braking for stoplights, while disconcerting for passengers, at least minimizes the squeal.
     
  7. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jul 14, 2003
    60,788
    In front of you
    Full Name:
    BCHC
    True, the Fiorano breaks squeak far more than the standard brakes.
    But hey, it is just part of the gig. I don't mind them while slowing down from the upper 100's.

    DL
     
  8. mike550

    mike550 Formula Junior

    Aug 20, 2003
    859
    California - LA & SF
    Full Name:
    Mike G
    mine squeak so loud it is embarrassing. Every time I get the "hey idiot look" and many even comment about the noise.

    I may change my pads out too.
     
  9. rob lay

    rob lay Administrator
    Staff Member Admin Miami 2018 Owner

    Dec 1, 2000
    59,404
    Southlake, TX
    Full Name:
    Rob Lay
    Are you sure there just wasn't enough anti-squeal on the backside of the pad or more needs to be added?

    I made a rookie mistake and didn't put any anti-squeal on my new rear pads. It squealed like Paris Hilton cold or hot. I finally got to putting anti squeal on the backside of the pads and not a single peep.

    The pads have a little movement and they twist a little on the piston.
     
  10. steves

    steves Rookie

    Nov 5, 2003
    2
    Yorba Linda, CA
    Full Name:
    Steve Stearns
    Mine were squeaking worse when I got the car. My local Ferrari dealership told me this was typical, but the harder I used the brakes, the less they would squeak. The car squeaks less now after driving it more.
     
  11. mw575

    mw575 F1 Rookie

    May 30, 2001
    2,924
    Lake Oswego,Or
    Full Name:
    Martin J Weiner,M.D.
    My 575 brakes squeek about every 20th application,much less than when I first got it.I complained-the dealership used some non-Ferrari application on the pads which completely eliminated the squeek for about 2 weeks-then it returned.Now that I'm up to 5k miles it happens much less.
     
  12. richard

    richard Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
    1,404
    Los Angeles
    Full Name:
    Richard Thompson III
    If you are never going to lay a beating on your car and only drive it on the street, by all means switch to a softer compound. EBT Greenstuff are awesome pads for the money (no noise, low dust) and Hawk makes good ones as well. I'm sure they will squeak less.

    The reason your pads squak is because they are not heated up! They will stop doing that at 100+MPH breaking. If someone gives you the "hey idiot" look, they are retarded and obviously do not understand that you drive a high performance car with high performance brakes. To the untrained ear it may sound gross, but people who actually know what they are talking about will not mind.
     
  13. mike550

    mike550 Formula Junior

    Aug 20, 2003
    859
    California - LA & SF
    Full Name:
    Mike G
    Richard - I drive my 550 daily and unfortunately rarely have the opportunity to get over 100 mph on the way to coffee or lunch. :) On the rare occassion when I get on the brakes at over 100 I have noticed a temporary respite from the squeak. When this happens I immediately drive through the neighborhood showing off my quiet brakes.

    Fact of the matter is that 99% of the people strolling in my neighborhood do not care or know that they are high performance brakes - all they know is when I stop it sounds like a stuck pig.

    My next door neighbor can hear me stop from his third floor and has commented about it. Even people that actually know that some brakes squeak loudly still dont want to hear it. I don't like it.

    Thanks for tips about Greenstuff pads! I think I will try those.
     
  14. TCM

    TCM Formula Junior

    Nov 10, 2003
    552
    Tyngsborough, MA
    I am not very familiar with this issue on 550s. But does it help when braking aggresively every now and then? Maybe the car is just building up a glaze on the rotor surface from constant daily braking. By slamming on the brakes, the pads break through this glaze and get to the hard rotor surface again. Also, are your drill vented holes filled with pad deposits? If so, that is not letting the heat escaped like it is supposed too (this is very common on MB AMGs, Brembos, and Audi S4s).
     
  15. dwood1969

    dwood1969 Karting

    Nov 1, 2003
    67
    Charlotte, NC
    Full Name:
    David Wood
    I am going to have a set of Ferodo pads put on the car tomorrow. I will let all know how they work. As I do not track the car I doubt that I will notice the braking difference - I just hope the squeal goes away!!!!
     
  16. ata6996

    ata6996 Rookie

    Nov 20, 2003
    3
    Please info. us about the noise because as some of us can put up with the noise others can't. I'm exidited to hear about the difference.
     
  17. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    9,252
    I have brakes on my F355 that become squeaky when I do 'runs' on the local back roads. However, there is a quick, fun and easy way to 'desqueak' them!

    You simply sign up for a day at the track, use the living snot out of the brakes, and drive home with no squeek! If you can avoid using them hard on normal roads, the squeak will not return. When it invariably does, take the car back to the track and use the brakes as designed.

    Works for me. (I've gone through 4 sets of pads and a set of rotors this year). No squeek!
     

Share This Page