I've recently replaced my brake pads in the front and rear with a new set of Hawk HP+ pads. Now I get the feeling that they are dragging very slightly. I first noticed my fuel efficiency dropped a few mpg. Then I noticed the other day with my windows down that my brakes were squealing a tad while I wasn't applying any pressure to the brakes (after they had warmed up from driving around a bit).

Thinking my emergency brake cable needed to be re-adjusted, I loosened it a lot and got on a slight downhill stretch of road and put my windows down and turned my engine off (so I could hear better) and let it coast. I could hear the brakes dragging on the rear wheel, but the fronts didn't seem to make any noise unless I pressed down the brake pedal. Then I tightened the emergency brake cable a little higher than what it should be at and it didn't seem to make a difference. So, I don't think that the emergency brake cable is the problem anymore.

Now I currently have about 400 miles on these new brake pads. Could it just be because they are new and still getting acquainted with my rotors? Driving around normally didn't seem to have any noticeable affect on performance, just fuel efficiency. And coasting at higher speeds doesn't seem to have a noticeable higher deceleration. So, this leads me to believe that they are dragging only a slight amount, but enough to affect fuel efficiency. Thoughts or advice?

 

Did you have your rotors turned? Were they still in spec?

 

did you depress the piston all the way back into the caliper?

 

On the rear caliper of the FC,you cannot Depress the caliper.
You can sit there with a One Ton press and it should NOT move!..haha!.
But,there is a Small set of Dimples in the Cup of the Piston face that allow you to Screw the caliper's piston back into the Caliper body.Some people use a Special Piston Caliper Block Tool,and some guys just use a set of needle nose pliers and stick the pliers into the little holes and Screw the caliper back in,to allow the pads to Go onto a 'supposedly" new Rotor(which Is OK though,If your rotors were not scored or warped,or physically OK to use again).

This is usually Done when you put on a New set of Brakes,Which you most likely overlooked.
There ya go,That should help your Dragging problems.
EDIT: this is the tool I am talking about,It attaches to Maybe a 3" extension on your Rachet. http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

 

The car should roll ever so slightly when at a stop and on a slightly unlevel road.
Try coming to a stop on a flat level parking lot, clutch in and no brakes. If the brakes are dragging you'll feel it when the car stops, if not, the car will roll easily and glide to a stop.
If you had an infrared temp gun you could check the rotor temps.
Jack up the car and try each wheel to see if it turns freely. If LSD the rears will be difficult to turn even if the brakes aren't dragging.

 

ok sorry depress wasn't the correct term. Yes I know it screws in I just did my brakes a few weeks ago. I think we all got the point though....not sure why you need to point that out.

 

easiest way for me anyways is to push the car lol

You can also turn each wheel when its in the air. For the rear, even if you have lsd, it should go back and forth just a tad. If it does then the rear brakes are fine. If anywheel doesnt move freely, its smost likely your caliper needs a rebuild or replacement.

 

Yes, I warped a C-clamp trying to push that piston back in so I could get the new pads in the caliper and around the rotor. I eventually figured that it shouldn't be that hard to get it in more and found out about twisting it.

Rotors seem fine with little to no warping. I ought to try letting it coast in a flat parking lot and see how it goes. Last time I let it coast at a very slow speed it had no sign of stopping. Maybe my fuel gauge is just acting up in this cold weather. I think I'll just drive it around normally for awhile longer and get more numbers to see if it really is affecting my mileage.