# Sooo I just installed new EBC brakes.... and they squeak BADD. PLEASE HELP



## MyNewFoundGlory (Apr 12, 2012)

Like the title says, I just put new EBC brake pads on my Cruze at 51,000 miles. I am doing this swap now because I am relocating to Phoenix in a week and making the drive out there from NJ, I will have zero tools in Phoenix for future cat maintenance.

Anyway. I noticed that the pads themselves have a redish soft coating on the top of the pads. this coating of which wore off in the 2 days that i had them on already. I am experiencing load squealing from both from brakes, as well has a lot of brake dust accumulating in just a short 2 days. My main question being, is this normal for these pads? Should I be concerned that I purchased crappy pads? Anyway to stop the squealing, use brake cleaner spray? Will the dust and noise stop after the initial "break-in" period? PLEASE HELP!!!


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

I noted on the box that the pads appear to be English and will fit several different cars? What concerns me the most is that they will fit both 1.8 and 2.0 TD even though the TD has bigger brakes. I would check this out before going too far. Lots of dust usually means soft pad material and will work OK at town speeds but could fade out if used hard at highway speeds. They also wear faster.


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## MyNewFoundGlory (Apr 12, 2012)

Thanks Aussie. Yea, I saw that box description and second guessed myself since mine is a 1.4T. I ordered them from JCWhitney.com and they needed specification on rotor size 10.9in or 11.8in, as did several other brake websites. I found on another cruzetalk discussion, the american models 1.4T's run 10.9in. So that's the model I ordered. Still second guessing my purchase tho, I wish I could send them back or resell them but they are used pads now :th_thumbsdownsm: I'm going to get my car washed today and see if the dust subsides before my road trip.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Did you put anything onto the backs of the pads, and did you make sure to re-install the shims? IIRC some EBC pads do dust like crazy, and are known to squeak/squeal due to the pad material. Just the nature of aggressive, high-performance pads. 

I would put some brake grease or anti-squeal stuff onto the backs of the pads where they contact the caliper, and make sure that any shims are on there and lubricated also. Any point of contact between the pad and the caliper should be greased up. 

Let us know how things go!


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## MyNewFoundGlory (Apr 12, 2012)

Yea I left the old shims on. EBC didn't come with new ones. I didn't put grease on any of the brake parts. Maybe I'll run to pep-boys and do that tomorrow afternoon. Although, it makes me feel better that you said you recall EBC dusting a lot, and high-perf pads do squeal. lol Thanks sciphi!


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## Chevyderek72 (May 16, 2011)

How long are you going to be in Phoenix? 

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## MyNewFoundGlory (Apr 12, 2012)

Moving out there with my girlfriend, she got a teaching job, first grade! We are in the Ahwatukee area. Looking at 2 years minimum, unless we really like it, then it will be much longer.


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## MyNewFoundGlory (Apr 12, 2012)

Derek, if you have any leads on places that are hiring let me know!


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

Welcome to Phoenix since I see you've been here a while. 

Be sure to submit your resume at monster.com and jobbing.com for the field you are looking for. I may have something for you that could be temporary if not in your field.
I'll pm you my number.

I've never had issues while changing brakes so I have no input but we can help when you get here. Just make sure they are stopping fine.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

One of the other Gearheads (NBrehm) had issues with EBC Ultimax brake pads being too large for the rotor on the US Cruze. That caused dust and squealing for him. Double-check the pad is not over the edge of the rotor. 

If it is, I have had luck with Pep Boys, Advance, and AutoZone house brand ceramic pads. Heck, any parts store ceramic pad is going to make a decent daily-driver pad. Ive personally run Pep Boys and AZ top of the line ceramic pads with good results, and installed Advance top of the line ceramic pads onto a picky drivers car. Nothing but good outcomes all the way around.


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## Chevyderek72 (May 16, 2011)

MyNewFoundGlory said:


> Moving out there with my girlfriend, she got a teaching job, first grade! We are in the Ahwatukee area. Looking at 2 years minimum, unless we really like it, then it will be much longer.


Oh nice! Well welcome to Phoenix when you get here! I'm actually right next to Ahwatukee, at Ray and the 10. Just watch out, I had family that we lost touch with from New Jersey come visit and they loved it so much from that week they ended up moving out here. I actually flew out and drove back with him. Non stop 48 hours, good luck with the drive!

Oh and I'll keep an eye out for any job openings.

Hope to see you around, we need more Cruzes at the meets. 

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## MyNewFoundGlory (Apr 12, 2012)

Mick, I got your message. Much appreciated! 

Sciphi, Yea I noticed the pad hangs over a bit toward the center of the rotor. I figured as long as it wasn't contacting the middle of the rotor it wasn't too big of an issue. F#*K! Looks like I'll be hitting up Napa soon to get pads that fit properly. 70 bucks out the window. Anyone want 3 day old P.O.S. EBC brakes?


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## MyNewFoundGlory (Apr 12, 2012)

Yea I made the drive out there with my gf, June 27th, in her car. (3 Days of driving, while she slept lol) I flew back cause I needed to finish up work here in NJ first, and save money. We were apartment shopping the first week of July and we loved it, finding some awesome places to eat. She's there now alone waiting for me, but not for much longer.  


For sure, I'll be at all the meets I'm able to attend. Girlfriend in the passenger seat and dog in the back... Or vice versa 
(previously used joke)


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## 2013LT (Jul 3, 2013)

I agree with sciphi. Ceramic pads are just superior to metallic or semi metallic because they don't create a lot of dust, and they work great for DD. I think they last longer too. I like Napa brake parts to be honest and they usually carry a pretty good warranty.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Use them as skeet targets? 

NAPA ceramic pads will be just fine. Really, going wrong with any parts-house ceramic pad is hard to do these days.

Oh, remember to put some brake grease or Sil-Glyde on the backs of the pads and on the tabs where they sit in the caliper. That will help with noise and the pads retracting sufficiently.

You may have to grind down the tabs on the pads. I find that the paint on the tabs keeps the pads from sliding easily, and can cause noise and excessive dusting/premature wear if not removed before installation.


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## Poje (Aug 2, 2012)

The only pads that are good for the Cruze coming for EBC are the Greenstuff. They dont make any noise and they are an upgrade over stock.

But personaly, i wouldnt install anything else then Hawk pads.


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## Chevyderek72 (May 16, 2011)

MyNewFoundGlory said:


> Yea I made the drive out there with my gf, June 27th, in her car. (3 Days of driving, while she slept lol) I flew back cause I needed to finish up work here in NJ first, and save money. We were apartment shopping the first week of July and we loved it, finding some awesome places to eat. She's there now alone waiting for me, but not for much longer.
> 
> 
> For sure, I'll be at all the meets I'm able to attend. Girlfriend in the passenger seat and dog in the back... Or vice versa
> (previously used joke)


Well cool, don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything while you're here, especially since I'm not too far away at all.

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## Roccityroller (Jul 7, 2013)

Grease the back of the pad. That always did the trick for me. And make sure you follow the procedure for pad break-in


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## prince_bigd (Jul 16, 2013)

proper cleaning of the rotors and greasing the pads always done the trick for me. I will say ive used both ebc and hawk products. Hawk makes some awesome pads and ebc rotors cured the rotor warp that plagues hhrs but never liked ebc pads. had green stuff pads on my vibe and they under performed in my opinion compared to other high performance pads id used in the past


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## 2013LT (Jul 3, 2013)

Don't Hawk pads wear out fast and create a lot of dust? I know Hawk HP+ do .. or was it HPS. I can't remember now.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

IIRC HPS pads have that reputation.

The OP's problem is that the pad itself is hanging off the rotor since EBC did not make sure it would work before selling it. It works fine on the Euro Cruzes with larger brakes, but not the N. American Cruzes with smaller front rotors.


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## 2013LT (Jul 3, 2013)

Fail. Hopefully I remember not to buy their products.


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## Poje (Aug 2, 2012)

2013LT said:


> Fail. Hopefully I remember not to buy their products.


Nah, HPS are the equivalent of Greenstuff of EBC.

Its the HP plus that make alot of dust and are gone fast, beleive i know, i have those pads on my car right now. 

The positive ? They bite like crazy, they are the most performant pads the Cruze can equip.


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## MyNewFoundGlory (Apr 12, 2012)




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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

Are those the new pads ?


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## MyNewFoundGlory (Apr 12, 2012)

Long story short. I put my old pads back on, accompanied by napas brake quiet on the pads metal backings. Thanks everyone for their posts. I hope I learned my lesson of buying high performance products first, than posting questions. I'll post my questions first on cruzetalk. Very quick responses. Although there are no more noises once I put on the old pads, I did enjoy the grip of the EBC pads, excessive dust... Not so much. I can really tell the difference in pads softness, after switching back to harder. Photos posted of the 3 day old softies. Large grooves Unhappy with EBC ultimax pads. Thanks again!!!!


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

2013LT said:


> Don't Hawk pads wear out fast and create a lot of dust? I know Hawk HP+ do .. or was it HPS. I can't remember now.





Poje said:


> Nah, HPS are the equivalent of Greenstuff of EBC.
> 
> Its the HP plus that make alot of dust and are gone fast, beleive i know, i have those pads on my car right now.
> 
> The positive ? They bite like crazy, they are the most performant pads the Cruze can equip.


This is what you deal with when you go with any pad. The only way to improve braking performance on the Cruze is to go with a pad that bites harder, and a high performance semi-metallic will always win over the best ceramic you can get your hands on if you're going for sheer stopping power. The flip side of course is that they will dust up like crazy and will not last you very long. It's a compromise. You trade pad life and low noise for traction and high cost. 

If you want to improve your braking and don't want to make those compromises, go with a ZZP big brake upgrade. Increasing the rotor diameter is the only way to do it. 

There's a reason I didn't mention drilled/slotted/dimpled or otherwise machined rotors. They provide no measurable performance benefit while compromising the integrity of the rotor, cast or drilled doesn't matter.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

MyNewFoundGlory said:


> View attachment 26625


Looks like the pads are too wide... there appears to be grooves cut on the inside and maybe the outside as well? Hard to tell exactly, but the pad should wear evenly from edge to edge with no steps or grooves.


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