[Bullfrog]

I'm not surprised. That's the price you sometimes pay for having slots and holes in the rotors to may your brakes look good. Also, I believe the pads are higher performance than OEM, and that tends to mean "noisier" too.

Anyway, it will go nicely with the faint "wub-wub-wub" from at least one of my tires at 30-45mph. They're not cupped, as far as I can tell, and there is no vibration. I've been doing some reading, and it seems to be a fairly common issue with uni-directional performance tires. There are also reports that these particular tires (BF Goodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S) get loud as they wear, and I concur with them. I can't complain, though. I knew there would likely be trade-offs with putting a tire classified as "ultra high performance all-season" on a daily driver, and for the incredible performance that these tires deliver, it's worth it. For me, anyway. Other people are apparently completely unreasonable, and they want an ultra high performance tire that is perfectly silent and lasts 80,000 miles.

Im fine with different noises as long as I know what/where they are coming from. So have you decided/purchased your replacements? Are you going to post pics of how bad the rear rotors are?

 

[jsblanch]

Im fine with different noises as long as I know what/where they are coming from. So have you decided/purchased your replacements? Are you going to post pics of how bad the rear rotors are?

The pads need to be removed to capture the true glory of corrosion inflicted upon them. I will try to remember to take pictures when I do get around to replacing the brakes. I haven't taken the rotors off the car, but I can also feel that the back sides are in rougher shape that the visible portion. Corrosion and debris seems to be a bigger problem on the inboard side of the brakes than the outboard side, and unfortunately, that's the part you can't easily see.

I haven't ordered the replacements yet, but I will probably opt to have them shipped to my door and eat the shipping/customs broker fees. It turns out my passport is expired and I don't feel like renewing it right now just to pick up brakes in Niagara Falls. I also have to confirm at the local parts store how their tool loan program works, because I'm not doing this without a proper brake rotor puller. Not only is that the correct way to remove rusted-on rotors without risking damage to the hubs and bearings, but I'm trying not to injure myself. Needless to say, anti-seize compound will be used liberally with the new rotors, like I've successfully done with my wheels. I'm also thinking of painting the calipers and brackets while I have everything apart. I'm thinking gloss black for the brackets and red for the calipers. That, or perhaps all matte black. I have to decide if I want "stealth" or "pop," I guess. I know you painted your calipers (yellow, as I recall, which would look pretty cool with a dark blue car). Did you smooth out the casting seams and other imperfections, or just clean and paint them in place as-is?

 

[Bullfrog]

@jsblanch
When i painted mine i took a wire wheel to the whole thing and knocked down the large casting marks, and yes i did yellow on blue and they pop with the wheels i have on now. I didnt go overboard, but if i had a 2nd set of calipers i would have dissasembled them and probably taken them to get powder coated instead of using paint. I think some areas i made to smooth and the paint didnt have anyplace to 'bite' into real well and chipped. Bright colors also show every bit of dirt and imperfection of your painting process. If you want to paint them i suggest gloss black.

 

[jsblanch]

@jsblanch
When i painted mine i took a wire wheel to the whole thing and knocked down the large casting marks, and yes i did yellow on blue and they pop with the wheels i have on now. I didnt go overboard, but if i had a 2nd set of calipers i would have dissasembled them and probably taken them to get powder coated instead of using paint. I think some areas i made to smooth and the paint didnt have anyplace to 'bite' into real well and chipped. Bright colors also show every bit of dirt and imperfection of your painting process. If you want to paint them i suggest gloss black.

Yeah, I'm leaning toward all black as well. While I'm at it, I should probably paint the chrome bits (like the badges) black, as well as the gray trim in the fog light bezels, and get smoked license plate covers (not sure how legal those are, though). I do like the "murdered out" look with a black Dart. The dirt showing up on all the shiny black parts is contrast enough. :crazy:

 

[josh16]

@jsblanch if you're painting the calipers I'd recommend getting G2 caliper paint. They sell it at garage16 in Mississauga it's more expensive than the caliper paint sold at Canadian tire ($70 vs $30) but I know people that have had it on for 5+ years and it looks brand new. I originally did mine with duplicolour from CT but it flaked and chipped after a year. Especially considering the time it takes to properly prep them I'd rather do it right the first time

 

[jsblanch]

@jsblanch if you're painting the calipers I'd recommend getting G2 caliper paint. They sell it at garage16 in Mississauga it's more expensive than the caliper paint sold at Canadian tire ($70 vs $30) but I know people that have had it on for 5+ years and it looks brand new. I originally did mine with duplicolour from CT but it flaked and chipped after a year. Especially considering the time it takes to properly prep them I'd rather do it right the first time

Thanks for the heads-up! $30 did seem to be suspiciously cheap. I still haven't decided if I'm going to paint them. It's kind of a shame that Dodge put in so much effort making the Dart a sexy, visually-appealing car, and then opted to put ugly bare cast metal calipers and brackets on it.

 

[josh16]

Thanks for the heads-up! $30 did seem to be suspiciously cheap. I still haven't decided if I'm going to paint them. It's kind of a shame that Dodge put in so much effort making the Dart a sexy, visually-appealing car, and then opted to put ugly bare cast metal calipers and brackets on it.

Yes the duplicolour is crap. I got my first chip in it after 6 months. I prepped them a lot better this time. I got a wire brush attachment for my drill and took off all the old paint and cleaned it really well. Some people take the calipers and everything off the car but I found that taping everything off properly and then taking out the bolt to lift the caliper off worked really well

 

[jsblanch]

Yes the duplicolour is crap. I got my first chip in it after 6 months. I prepped them a lot better this time. I got a wire brush attachment for my drill and took off all the old paint and cleaned it really well. Some people take the calipers and everything off the car but I found that taping everything off properly and then taking out the bolt to lift the caliper off worked really well

I think I use my drill more with a wire brush than I do with drill bits! It's great for cleaning cast iron BBQ grills. Yeah, I'm hoping not to remove the calipers, because I like to keep all of the corrosive brake fluid right where it is, inside the braking system. But those rear calipers sure don't have much freedom of movement when you unbolt them, that's for sure.

 

[Bullfrog]

Could also flush your brake fluid system for better performance when you take them off, get a pair of good-ridge brake lines as well, thats what I did. I have the G2 paint on mine and i have some chips but the weather didn't co-operate and it was less then idea when i did them. i would still want them off the car to do it properly. the G2 paint was pretty runny, maybe put it in a hobby sprayer and do it that way but i dunno.

 

[douglasgrant]

Hi @jsblanch just curious, after how many years ownership and driving did you replace your brakes? I am debating whether its time to replace mine? Did you do the Brembo's or did you get parts from Chrysler directly?

 

[jsblanch]

Hi @jsblanch just curious, after how many years ownership and driving did you replace your brakes? I am debating whether its time to replace mine? Did you do the Brembo's or did you get parts from Chrysler directly?

I haven't replaced the brakes yet. I've owned my Dart since May of 2013 and have 72,000kms on it. The brakes are working fine. I'd love to be able to rebuild my rear calipers, but a nagging arm injury has made that challenging. Pro tip: Don't rearrange heavy stuff in your garage when you're really angry.

 

[dad's dart]

My Avenger brakes started making the sound of heavy sandpaper rubbing against bricks at about 30,000 miles. Dealer said lots of pad left and rotors fine. I couldn't stand the noise. It just creeped me out everytime I did not have the radio on blasting. Dumb, perhaps, but I had them resurfaced and new pads at about 33,000 miles. Curious thing about dealers: I was willing to pay more for an "upgraded" package of brakes on all four but they said they would only install oem parts. Not sure why. Seems odd that you have to go to a tuner shop or other independent to get upgrades like Brembos or whatever. I've never had luck with independents years and years ago. I remember one of them replacing an oem muffler on a Buick I had with a generic muffler. The replacement hung way lower and seemed almost comical that they would use such an item. It rattled like hell too. Never did get it corrected after four visits. Took it to another independent and they said they would have used the same muffler. Said getting a look alike muffler or oem would be too expensive for an "older" car (about 10 yrs old) . Asked that indy about "upgrades" and they more or less said "Bring your bigger wallet".
And since I don't fix my own stuff... well..... whatever. So much for upgrades.
But back to the brakes..... I probably should have just lived with the noise since it was "safe". This is why I used to trade out or go with lease cycles. I really really hate repair/replace car work. If it weren't for the comfy ride and V6 power I'd probably be leasing something cheap again.
Sorry for the rant.

 

[jsblanch]

My Avenger brakes started making the sound of heavy sandpaper rubbing against bricks at about 30,000 miles. Dealer said lots of pad left and rotors fine. I couldn't stand the noise. It just creeped me out everytime I did not have the radio on blasting. Dumb, perhaps, but I had them resurfaced and new pads at about 33,000 miles. Curious thing about dealers: I was willing to pay more for an "upgraded" package of brakes on all four but they said they would only install oem parts. Not sure why. Seems odd that you have to go to a tuner shop or other independent to get upgrades like Brembos or whatever. I've never had luck with independents years and years ago. I remember one of them replacing an oem muffler on a Buick I had with a generic muffler. The replacement hung way lower and seemed almost comical that they would use such an item. It rattled like hell too. Never did get it corrected after four visits. Took it to another independent and they said they would have used the same muffler. Said getting a look alike muffler or oem would be too expensive for an "older" car (about 10 yrs old) . Asked that indy about "upgrades" and they more or less said "Bring your bigger wallet".
And since I don't fix my own stuff... well..... whatever. So much for upgrades.
But back to the brakes..... I probably should have just lived with the noise since it was "safe". This is why I used to trade out or go with lease cycles. I really really hate repair/replace car work. If it weren't for the comfy ride and V6 power I'd probably be leasing something cheap again.
Sorry for the rant.

Dealerships make money selling you OEM parts, that's why they want to use OEM parts. Also, they may not want any liability hassles if they install low-quality aftermarket parts from an unknown source. If you insist on dealership service, you don't really have much choice but OEM parts.

 

[Bullfrog]

Pro tip: Don't rearrange heavy stuff in your garage when you're really angry.

what did you try to hulk smash?

 

[jsblanch]

what did you try to hulk smash?

Nothing quite so violent. I was pissed off that I got basically zero notice that all of the driveways in our townhouse complex were being torn up and replaced and that garages needed to be fully accessible to be able to back paving equipment into them. Instead of being a sensible person and waiting for some assistance to pack stuff up like tools to bring into the house and to move heavy stuff to the back of the garage, I used adrenaline and bullheadedness. Since then, my right elbow and forearm have been frequently inflamed, sometimes to the point where it's hard to use a computer mouse. It's almost certainly "tennis elbow" or something like it. Cranking a wrench on my car is not really something I want to do these days. I'm not looking forward to changing the oil in my Dart, because I can't use my ramps (not enough clearance). Rebuilding my rear calipers is just not something I want to tackle right now, much as I dislike not having my parking brake available. Just thinking about squeezing pliers to compress springs/clips hurts.