Need new brake pads!!

[Jeffsss]

Can someone recommend brake pads for a stock 1997 GTS? 21k

it's uses only for pleasure and spirited driving, I'd like them to be as noise and dust free as I can get without spending a fourtune. Also, I've changed brake pads before.. is there anything I should be aware of or is it pretty straight forward?

thanks!

 

[bluesrt]

make shure you bed them after you replace them, and install new rotors also

 

[DrumrBoy]

Its pretty straightforward. There is an illustrated guide somewhere on the site.....but I couldn't find it with a quick look. The only unusual tool you need is a very tiny punch (or an awl you don't care about dulling)....you need to tap out a pin....not hard to do.

FWIW I found stock rotors to be pretty good, even for high heat situations....so unless you're wanting to bling it up with 2-piece and crossdrilling, go with stock. I'll let someone else advise on low-dust pads, I have no idea.

 

[Jeffsss]

yeah, i'm going with stock. I'm not replacing the rotors. lol

I did a quick search and couldnt find that guide you mentioned though.. maybe someone will know of it and post it.

 

[bluesrt]

if you dont replace the rotors, you better machine them,and then there will be less metal core to them and will warp easy, the vpa has them for peanuts here, do it right and put on new rotors

 

[99 R/T 10]

Hawk HPS pads are great. Check your ***.

 

[Martin2000GTS]

I just bought EBC Reds reccomended by Jon B, should havethem any day. I use my car the same way as you described.

 

[chambers]

You know what I found out is that when you use some wheel cleaner's on the rims the brakes start to squeck. I stop using wheel cleaner and my brakes stop making noise and squecking .

 

[ACR_VP]

You know what I found out is that when you use some wheel cleaner's on the rims the brakes start to squeck. I stop using wheel cleaner and my brakes stop making noise and squecking .

+1 on this.

 

[plumcrazy]

EBC reds here as well. always work well and little dusting

 

[Jeffsss]

where is a good place to pick up EBC reds guys?

 

[Viper #53]

Jon B at PartsRack

 

[DrumrBoy]

yeah, i'm going with stock. I'm not replacing the rotors. lol

I did a quick search and couldnt find that guide you mentioned though.. maybe someone will know of it and post it.

I looked for it for you and since I kept a hard copy of the pix, I figured it'd be easy to find.....but Epson closed their PhotoCenter which is where the guy put the how-to. It be gone If I can find another one I'll post the link here; but its really quite easy to do, really, two bolts to get the caliper off, two pins and a clip to get the pads off and on.

 

[Voodoo Rob]

Hawk street pads here, very little dust, perform well. If you have done brakes before the only thing that is different on this car is the rear. To compress the rear caliper the piston has to be rotated into the caliper. Depending on how gunked up your caliper is it can spin in easy or be a test of patience. There are 2 dimples on the face of the piston where a tool can be inserted to start the rotation process. I used a solid pair of short needle nose pliers,spread open to catch the dimples, that did it. Remember your brake fluid is most likely original, now is the time to bleed it out, have a friend pump the brakes and work your way around the car, start at the farthest wheel from the master cylinder first.

 

[SoCal Rebell]

I'm sorry, I put a set of EBCs on my 2000 and took them off the same day, they were awful. It's been a few years since I put the EBC reds on and I hope they changed the compound and made them better, I use Brakeman 3 pads, the are a good "progressive" pad what works well on the non-abs Vipers.

 

[Mr. Mom]

Not sure if they make them for the Viper platforms, but on my LX vehicle I run R1 concepts rotors (slotted and dimple drilled) and ceramic brake pads. Rotors are great and brake pads give off almost no dust that I can tell.

 

[Grisoman]

Hawk HPS pads are great.

Ditto!! Not only great for HPS applications, but very clean (which is the main reason I went with them). My other choice was Carbon Metallic, but they didn't have an app for my '01.

 

[bluesrt]

i wonder wich pads he will now pic....lol

 

[DrumrBoy]

There are indeed a lot of opinions on pads out there!

 

[FrgMstr]

EBC Reds here from JonB. Do a great job. Little dust. No noise.

 

[JonB]

I'm sorry, I put a set of EBCs on my 2000 and took them off the same day, they were awful. It's been a few years since I put the EBC reds on and I hope they changed the compound and made them better, I use Brakeman 3 pads, the are a good "progressive" pad what works well on the non-abs Vipers.

Hey Reb. EBC reformulated the "low dust Greens" back in July 2007, and they are no longer low dust. Kevlar, they never were a good track pad anyway. The newer low-dust EBC variant is the Reds, a ceramic pad, can handle 1-2 novice track days OK, but a primary choice for low-dust-street-drags-AutoX. Claim is "80% less dust than stock" as many happy owners attest....

Like you, I have Brakeman 3 on my ABS and Non-ABS cars.....dont care about dust, I care about predictable braking at wide temp ranges.....

 

[SoCal Rebell]

EBC Reds here from JonB. Do a great job. Little dust. No noise.

Someone told me they changed the compound after I blew through a stop sign, the EBC Reds at the time would not stop my Viper and was down right dangerous, I'm guessing they needed to be heated up this was back in 2001.

 

[Jeffsss]

thanks for the input guys..

 

[GTS Warp]

Hey, for you Brakeman #3 guys, what about #3's up front and #2's on the rear? I'm doing the pads/rotors and got some good info from Woodhouse and Snake-Oyl. From Snake-Oyl:

"We have recently acquired all of Woodhouse Performance’s parts and would be happy to help you out. First I want to confirm that you are installing these brake pads in OEM calipers for your 1997 GTS. As I understand it, the #3 compound is good for street and track, and will not wear as quickly as the #2 compound. However a 1992-2002 Viper has a weak rear brake system. Therefore a more aggressive (#2) compound is suggested for the rear brakes in order to properly contribute to stopping the car. The drawback of the #2 compound is that it will wear quicker – the brake pad and the rotor both. In street only use this is a factor to a lesser extent. To decide; have you ever felt that the rear end was loose in heavy braking, then go with the #2, if not then go with #3."

To get the system balanced, I'm willing to have a bit more wear in the rear. Anyone try this yet?

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Someone told me they changed the compound after I blew through a stop sign, the EBC Reds at the time would not stop my Viper and was down right dangerous, I'm guessing they needed to be heated up this was back in 2001.

Similarly here. The reds were worse than the greens for the street. I'm not the most overly safety conscience kind of guy but my reds glazed over and became downright dangerous. And yes, I always scuff the rotors between pad replacement. I've got greens now and they do dust up but not too bad.

 

[SoCal Rebell]

Hey, for you Brakeman #3 guys, what about #3's up front and #2's on the rear? I'm doing the pads/rotors and got some good info from Woodhouse and Snake-Oyl. From Snake-Oyl:

However a 1992-2002 Viper has a weak rear brake system. "

To get the system balanced, I'm willing to have a bit more wear in the rear. Anyone try this yet?

I was running the Stoptech 4 wheel Big Brake setup, out of the box well balanced.

.

 

[JonB]

92-2000 has a 'weak' rear caliper.....the best upgrade is Toms Rear Caliper upgrade. After that, adding stainless lines, better rotors, will help that car, a non-ABS Viper. I recommend and use Brakeman 3 all around.... But, yes, you can alter BIAS by adding a grippier rear pad. But why have a "weaker" front pad? And a differnt temp range?

Hey, for you Brakeman #3 guys, what about #3's up front and #2's on the rear? I'm doing the pads/rotors and got some good info from Woodhouse and Snake-Oyl. From Snake-Oyl:

"We have recently acquired all of Woodhouse Performance’s parts and would be happy to help you out. First I want to confirm that you are installing these brake pads in OEM calipers for your 1997 GTS. As I understand it, the #3 compound is good for street and track, and will not wear as quickly as the #2 compound. However a 1992-2002 Viper has a weak rear brake system. Therefore a more aggressive (#2) compound is suggested for the rear brakes in order to properly contribute to stopping the car. The drawback of the #2 compound is that it will wear quicker – the brake pad and the rotor both. In street only use this is a factor to a lesser extent. To decide; have you ever felt that the rear end was loose in heavy braking, then go with the #2, if not then go with #3."

To get the system balanced, I'm willing to have a bit more wear in the rear. Anyone try this yet?

 

[GTS Warp]

I forgot to mention I was also considering Tom's rear upgrade. Good info Jon. Sounds like Tom's and Brakeman #3 all the way around for me. Thx.