Hi, Just bought my first F-Car. A 1991 348TB. Red/Tan - wonderful condition. I bought it from Denver of Ferrari (quick plug for Derek and Mike over there). Driving it home, any time I pressed the brakes, they had a slight squeak in them. DoF posted on their buyers sheet, brake pads at 80+% The car only has 23K on it but curious to know is this normal? I have read through the various brake posts and seems like pads are farily easy to change but based on DoF's review, they don't need it?? Any help for the new guy is very much appreciated -chris
The pads can be removed, and a hi temp grease applied on the backs to reduce the vibration that causes the squeaking noise. That or change to a different pad material, or both. Choice is yours. Most 355's with stock pads have a similar problem...I went with new pads (even though my car has relatively new stock, oem pads), Porterfield R4S. No more squeaks, and the pads seem to work better too. Have not had them long enough (just installed yesterday), but they are supposed to dust about 50% less too.
Don't worry about it - my front pads (OEM) squeek a bit under light brake pressure. The rotors and pads were brand new when I got the car and the brakes work fine. The Pagid pads I put in the rears are pretty much silent.
Any tire shop should be able to "mic" your rotors to check for even slight warpage. It doesn't take much for your rotors to squeak. Also, some brake pads are more noisy than others, so it may not be your rotors, but might even be your pads. I'll probably get flamed for admitting this in public, but for non-track, pure street use, the Axxis Metal Master brake pads are the BEST for reducing brake noise, giving good stopping power, and minimizing brake dust on 348's. And they're only $40 a pair. http://www.buybrakes.com/axxis/apps-Ferrari.html
No flame....but the Porterfield street pad (R4S) seems to be the favorite for street going Ferraris. I have used Metalmasters for years....indeed they are a good pad, but are now being eclipsed by newer, better products. BTW, for my "daily driver" I have been using the Axxis Deluxe Plus pad, which (to me) seems to match the Metalmaster in performance, yet produce even less dust, and have better initial "bite" when cold. http://www.zeckhausen.com/axxis_pads.htm In fact, the performance quality of the Deluxe Plus pad is so good, that Zechausen no longer even carries the Metalmaster and says if you want to step up from the Deluxe Plus, you really need to use the Axxis Ultimate, to see a meaningful improvement.
I'm with Dave on this one. Axxis Deluxe Plus pads for my daily driver 740i are outstanding. ZERO dust, solid stopping power. Mine came from Zeckhausen too.
That is so cool. $31 per pair brake pads for Ferrari 348's are the ones getting recommended on the Ferrari forum. Wow! The Australians make great brake pads. I've only used their metal master pads on my 348 ($40 per pair), and I've been extremely pleased with them. That the cheaper Axxis Deluxe Plus pads work even better blows my mind! Life is good.
Had them in my 348 for a long time. Lasted through 3 track sessions, with pkenty of meat left. My *only* complaint was lots of dust. Braking power was rock solid.
Before I bought my Axxis pads, I did a web search on numerous brands. The ricers were verbose about EBC. They all complained about the dust. A few complained about the noise. But no one complained about the stopping power or the life of the pads (though lots of dust, to me, would indicate a limited lifespan).
and I don't Thanks for the recommendations. It will be a great weekend project for a raining day in Colorado. Wait, not too many of those around here. Such a great place to own a Ferrari!
Careful, I'm not saying the Axxis Deluxe Plus is "better" than the Metalmasters, I am claiming they are "equal" or "equivalent". The advantage is even less dust, and claimed better rotor wear. If you look at the charts carefully, you will see that the Metalmaster still has the some performance advantages over the Deluxe Plus. The point is that they are "almost" equal, but in a practical sense (on the street) seem very similar. I did install Deluxe Plus pads on my 87 328 GTS, along with Goodridge stainless steel brake lines, and was very happy with the result. Good pedal feel, and good brake modulation. For the 355, I checked a number of threads and consulted with several friends, who all seemed to agree that the Porterfield is the way to go. So just yesterday I had the Porterfields installed with new Goodridge ss brake lines. Awesome braking, with less effort, and a nice firm pedal feel. We'll see if they really produce less dust or not...
The EBC Greenstuff pads used to be the hot set up, and I heard a lot of good feedback initially. As more people used them there have been some complaints of noise and pad deposition on the rotors, which can cause some "shudder" which can lead you to believe your rotors are warped (they aren't).
I completely agree. The Axxis/Lucas Metal Max are "old technology"... use them for even one day at the track and you could end up with bad squeal after that. That being said, you *may* be able to get rid of the squeal if you re-bed your pads, as if you were breaking them in new.
