so i finally got around to getting my car to mazda to have the brakes checked out...the rotors need to be resurfaced, and i bought some Hawk brake pads from the tire rack...Hawk HP Plus Sport Pads for the front, and for the rear Hawk HPS Street Pads. hopefully ill have everything resurfaced and replaced by friday because i have an auto-x on saturday at ripken stadium, and a track race on sunday in carlisle.

question(s): do rotors always need to be resurfaced when brake pads need changing?

and should i have just bought new rotors instead of resurfacing the old?

 

i use Hawk HP Plus Sport Pads for the front, and for the rear i have Hawk HPS Street Pads. the front brakes squeak like a city bus! i noticed today that the rear brakes have a shim/clasp that mounts on the back of the pad. however, the fronts do not and i am thinking that that could be the cause for the obnoxious noise...the brakes could be moving around on the caliper, as evident from paint wear on the backside of both front pads.

could anyone with the HP Plus Sport Pads check and verify that they do not have have a shim/clasp on their pads. thanks!!!

 

bump

 

i got verification from someone on the mazda3forums that the hawk hp sport pads should have a the shim/clasp on the backside of the pads.

 

If you are really having some weird sounds coming from there, bring it in for a oil change and they can check them for you.. no charge

 

i just got my 6-disc cd changer replaced at a mazda service center...while there, i asked acouple mechanics about it and they said it was really strange that my pads dont have shims. they said its not a safety issue at all. but they said that the shims would most likely quiet down the ride a bunch. they also recommended the use of anti-sieze.

 

Does anyone know what the min rotor thickness is for the rear discs?

 

It's usually embossed in the rotor backing somewhere, but I haven't actually had mine off to look at/for it.

 

If your car shims or grinds when you brake, YES, I would just buy new rotors which is a rule of thumb for all cars. If you haven't ground into the rotor and there is no shimming, then NO resurfacing should be needed.

 

In almost all cases you should either resurface or replace the rotors before installing new pads. Hot spots build up and scoring can occur that all need to be removed via turning. Rotors also get worn past the point that they are safe, commonly known as underspec.