Put a pair of new tires (Dunlop D208's) on an '02 VFR I picked up over the winter and wanted to also swap out the stock brake pads for EBC HH sintered ones. I swapped out the pads as per the factory service manual, and after reinstalling the front wheel, it spun quite freely with a very small shushing sound as the disc would contact one of the new pads. After applying the front brakes to reset the pads and get rid of the spongy feel, the wheel definitely drags a lot more on the new pads. The Honda manual states that there should be 0.7mm feeler clearance on both sides of the disc, but there's almost no clearance at all. I presume that, after applying the brakes, the motion of the disc between the pads is what pushes them away somewhat between applications.
I don't know if the EBC pads have more meat to them than the OEMs did when they were new, or if a bit of dragging is normal until it's been ridden a bit (which, with the lovely spring snowfall we just had here north of Toronto, is going to be several days away).
When the wheels were off I checked the discs for warpage, and they were quite flat. (I work as a quality engineer and have access to a nice QA lab and measuring instruments).
When the wheel is in the air you'll notice a slight drag as you give it a spin. Very slight, you might want to try and figure why you don't have that clearance.
The caliper pistons may have a touch of rust on them since they were exposed to the eliments and are now squished in farther. Do a search here I believe somebody who knows what they are doing had a solution. John
Wargoose, Apr 3 2005, 10:01 PMPut a pair of new tires (Dunlop D208's) on an '02 VFR I picked up over the winter and wanted to also swap out the stock brake pads for EBC HH sintered ones. I swapped out the pads as per the factory service manual, and after reinstalling the front wheel, it spun quite freely with a very small shushing sound as the disc would contact one of the new pads. After applying the front brakes to reset the pads and get rid of the spongy feel, the wheel definitely drags a lot more on the new pads. The Honda manual states that there should be 0.7mm feeler clearance on both sides of the disc, but there's almost no clearance at all. I presume that, after applying the brakes, the motion of the disc between the pads is what pushes them away somewhat between applications.
I don't know if the EBC pads have more meat to them than the OEMs did when they were new, or if a bit of dragging is normal until it's been ridden a bit (which, with the lovely spring snowfall we just had here north of Toronto, is going to be several days away).
When the wheels were off I checked the discs for warpage, and they were quite flat. (I work as a quality engineer and have access to a nice QA lab and measuring instruments).
Just looking for feedback from others.
Thanks!
Wargoose
Are the pads still just installed or do you have them bedded in ? Did you do the detail work to clean up the pistons ? Did you throw in a complimentary fluid change out ? I am just finishing up sets of EBC's - bout the same performance and a little quicker wear rate as stock. I have just bedded in a pair of DP's on the rear, and will fit fronts soon. Curiously they are spec'ed differently for fr and rr pads ( OEM call for same part # for all (98 - 01 )). They are touted as making no brake dust which I do not find to be true. That's why I leave my rims black w/ red rimstriping.
One trick you can do is to lift up the front end so the wheel is not touching, loosen the axle bolt, then loosen the left fork pinch bolt (or bolts on earlier models) on the bottom of the fork. Then you can spread the fork legs apart or together till the wheel spins free. This is actually spelled out in your owners manual under "if you have a flat tire".
How much drag is too much? There will always be a certain amount of drag, due to the design and not having anything pulling the pads away from discs. But how do you know that you have too much drag? I have a similar query... my wheel rotates about 2.5 - 3 revolutions and then stops from "friction". I have checked the clearance from the pad "holder" (as stated in the manual) and have more than the 0.7 mm it requires. Any input? Were lucky, this forum has some pretty amazing minds... Thanks.
Dave
End of thread · 6 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 1 May 2005