Why Are Good Brake Shims Important?
*Sponsored Video*
Brake shims are more important than you think. The help prevent noise for one, but if they aren’t of the correct type, they can cause damage to your braking system.
In this video I talk about the different types of brake shims and what to look for in a ‘good’ brake shim to avoid issues.
Special thanks to NRS Brakes for their help in producing this video.
NRS Brakes: nrsbrakes.com/...
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Пікірлер: 300
People need to understand even OEM parts are outsourced by "aftermarket companies". The manufacturer just pays the company to put their logo on the part and call it an OEM part. Just do your research and if you buy the cheapest pads, don't cry if you have problems down the road.
@jotu173
4 жыл бұрын
I think you have a typo... where you said "outsourced by" I think you probably meant to say "outsourced to"
@Motorsportsgeek
4 жыл бұрын
@B Watts Please explain the "lies" here? Anything really that can be argued, at this point your comment makes you look really dumb.
@Motorsportsgeek
4 жыл бұрын
@@jotu173 Yes exactly. I like Mercedes and we all know how the dealer rips people off, especially Mercedes... Most parts on the car are made by aftermarket suppliers, you take the part number and you will be able to find the original maker of the part which most of the time, isn't even the manufacture of the car. Especially electronics, they're was a Vanos sensor for my friends BMW that apparently only the dealer carried and wanted 300$ for a simple sensor. We were able to find the manufacturer of the part and sourced it directly from china for 20$.. and yes, it wasn't a cheap chinese knockoff, it was the exact same part BMW buys from china and sells it back to you for incredible profits.
@Luckingsworth
4 жыл бұрын
This is true. But it also is not. And it is frustratingly difficult to figure out when it is or is not. Yes almost all parts are outsourced. But that does not mean all parts are created equal. Purity, concentrations, quality assurance, all can make large differences despite being almost identical.
@snakeballs8965
4 жыл бұрын
Straight up lies. An oe won't buy parts from aftermarket companies. They commission them. They give specific instructions for the construction. They are almost always better than the generic whatever the manufacturer makes. BMW doesn't make a brake pad, test it and then order that from the aftermarket; they do the testing with that manufacturer. Best example is tires. The tires on a performance car generally have a custom compound, but a generic name.
as an acura tech i find its better to re use/ clean up the factory oem brake pad saddle clips ( not the shims ) as they are stainless where a lot of aftermarket ones are regular steel and will rust over time. im sure the majority of the domestic stuff is not stainless but i cant confirm, love your channel been watching for years and i actually heard BILL BURR the comedian name drop you on a pod cast as one of his favorite youtube channels. made a joke about watching it for hours !!!! thats awesome man!
Useful information. Never gave any thought to brake shims. I, definitely, will going forward. Thanks.
When I worked at a Nissan dealership we were urged to omit them. We used that orange anti squeal stuff on the pads and never had issues. Why did we do this? Road salt and road deicing chemicals were causing the shims to swell causing spoungy brake pedels and in some cases the shims would swell on rear brakes and burn the pads up because the parking brake mechanism would prevent the pistons from moving back.
I toss the shims into the filing bin. I religeously use CRC brake quiet. Yes, it can be messy, but I have learned to apply it the night before doing the job. In the few cases where I have used the shims, they actually curled up on their own (Raybestos Brute Stop pads) on C5 calipers. Never again, unless NEEDED.
Canada to the rescue again! Next, Maple Scented Brake Pads !!
@jeffreysidden1832
4 жыл бұрын
I have french fry scented exhaust, Maple scented brake rotors and poutine brake pads would be SSSUUUhhhhweeeeet!
Glad you're getting back to repair videos Eric. I always buy Akebono pads, and they come with shims. The problem is that I have to take my caliper off a lot to repair other things. Then I close the caliper, and it slightly bends or misaligns the shim. After that, I can never get the shim back on correctly again. Every time I try to put the shim back on, it always ends up getting stuck or sticking to the caliper and making scraping sounds, so I just take it off at that point. They aren't glued on like the ones in your video, but they had bent tabs to hold onto the pad.
@ua7pyro591
Жыл бұрын
Yep, same experience here
I always use the factory shims where possible. So much less headache.
That beard is getting awesome. You'll look like Humble Mechanic soon.
I just used copper paste on the back of my pads, never had issues. The aftermarket pads locally never came with shims.
@seeya205
4 жыл бұрын
Copper is no good. Cooper is not a lube and conducts heat. It will cause pins to stick as well. You should you synthetic brake lube.
@napalm3899
4 жыл бұрын
@@seeya205 He's not putting the copper on the slide pins, he's putting copper anti-seize on the back of the pads. He even said that outright. Copper anti-seize is a great product for what he's using it for. All lubes 'conduct heat', even the synthetic brake lube you tout. That's one of the properties that makes them useful in certain situations. You certainly don't want it insulating heat, especially on your brakes. Permatex (a manufacturer of copper anti-seize LUBRICANT) specifically states about their copper anti-seize product: "a premium quality copper anti-seize and thread LUBRICANT that may be used to prevent seizing, corrosion and galling where HIGH TEMPERATURE conditions exist. Contains a high percentage of micro-fine copper flakes in a semi-synthetic GREASE CARRIER and is fortified with high quality rust and corrosion inhibitors. Temperature range: -30°F to 1800°F (-34°C to 982°C)". www.permatex.com/products/lubricants/specialty-lubricants-anti-seize/permatex-copper-anti-seize-lubricant/
Tommy just sold half-a-million brake pads!!!!
@billbarker2078
4 жыл бұрын
Fat man in a little coat!
@keitho77
4 жыл бұрын
Brothers don't shake hands. Brothers hug!
@carlosrobles7608
4 жыл бұрын
@@billbarker2078 fat guy in a little coat
@BJ-uncensored
4 жыл бұрын
Ahhh beeeeees!
I have been using aftermarket pads for ages and never had shim issues
@sergeihanush2262
4 жыл бұрын
yeah...same for me!! Always used TRW,Textar or Bosch brake pads and always was happy!!
@seeya205
4 жыл бұрын
I think it's only a problem with the cheap pads. You pay for what you get. Eric is also being paid to endorse them so there is that.
@seeya205
4 жыл бұрын
@Not The Technician There is a reason-$$$!
@kappawear
3 жыл бұрын
@@sergeihanush2262 I am having problems with Bosch QuietCast pads on my SAAB 9-3. My shop added modified VW shims that they had less than a year ago. Now, they are making cracking noises again.
EE also did a brakepad video comparing the effectiveness of aftermarket brakes, OE and NRS, which showed OE is the best brake pads (with NRS just topping OE not by a wide margin). And as Eric mentioned, he never had shim problems with OE brake pads. Bottomline: just get OE pads
Good info, but interestingly at no point in the video did you say why shins are important; except where you introduced the caliper shin and casually mentioned ‘to help extend the life of the caliper piston and reduce noise.’ Not a big deal, but the video was titled The Importance I’d Brake Shims. I always assumed they were for the dissipation of heat and reduction of noise; did I assume correctly? Thanks again!
@johnh.blevins5927
4 жыл бұрын
Sorry for the fat fingered typos
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
I didn't want to make the title too long, but the main thing I wanted to address was what I mentioned at the beginning of the video where some brake shims can come loose and cause damage to the rotor. Thank you for the comment and input.
Err, okay, why does my car need brakeshims again?
@Szi90
4 жыл бұрын
To prevent noise.
@BJ-uncensored
4 жыл бұрын
@@Szi90 grand to prevent noise. But *WHY* does is prevent noise, I believe is the actual question here.
@pontinha
Ай бұрын
They can also prevent heat from being transferred from the pads to the calipers' pistons, but it greatly depends on what the shims are made of, such as titanium or carbon fiber. But you probably don't need those materials if you don't take your car to the race tracks.
Thoughtful video, thanks for posting.
That beard is wild Makes u look older tho
@cannonball666
4 жыл бұрын
I thought this was Duck Dynasty by mistake.
@dw6503
4 жыл бұрын
Who wants to look younger and for what purpose?!
I am not getting notifications for your vids at all. But I went looking and it should start again.
You forgot and left out the most important part of the video. And that’s WHY it’s important and why we should use brake shims and what happens when you don’t use them and how they actually work
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
Right at the beginning of the video I showed a brake shim that had come loose and damaged a rotor. Full video is linked in the description. I also showed what happens when shims corrode and cause a spongy brake pedal. Thanks for your comment.
@jasonjackson329
4 жыл бұрын
EricTheCarGuy I must have missed it.
Shim shimminny shim shimminy shim shim sharoo our friend Eric will give you a brake tip or two!
I had a Toyota landcruiser in the garage, and the shim had actually sliced right through the the brake disc, so the rotor part was no longer attached to the hub, and there was no brake on that corner at all. Looked like someone had done it on a lathe, perfectly cut
Is it strange that I have never seen shims on the back of any brake pads that I have replaced? I'm 43 years old by the way. (Never worked on a Honda)
yes those things can be a real pain sometimes man thanks for the video on that Eric NRS has some nice stuff...
Caliper piston shims??! Definitely nutty 😂
Exactly what happened on my Honda Element front brake, was hearing a metal on metal grinding noise when applying brakes, pulled tire off and low and behold the brake pad shim had come loose and was grinding on the rotor hub.
This beard of yours is almost Santa Claus compatible ;-)
Eric! you forgot the birthday cake!
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
I do that on my ETCG1 channel, not this one. kzread.info
@tangneptune
4 жыл бұрын
cake is a lie
Eric, this is a great point but something even more egregius is the shoe material separating from the metal shoe on drum brakes....
Looking forward to the new series of ETCG infomercials...
Those kinds of shims for caliper pistons have been around at least since the 80s. Not sure if it was brembo or porsche that was the driving force behind them, but either way my 928 has them.
@lessummers5738
Жыл бұрын
What are shims for?
MAYBE i got it WRONG all along...I use a small flat screw driver and pop that little sucker right off ….louder music and you'll say what noise ?
Excuse my ignorance, but why are the shims needed on the pads in first place?? Seems like they would work fine without them as you've stated.
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
They do work fine without them. The main purpose of the shims is to help reduce noise. The point I was trying to make in the video was to avoid shims that come loose and damage brake rotors. Thanks for your comment.
I have always used the "blue goo" upon pad installation where the piston pushes on the pad and where the pad shoulders up against the caliper bracket, and have not experienced the brake noise issues. I did not consider braking heat transfer I guess...
They just glued the pads on to hold up to extreme stops and use but they can't glue thin shims that definitely don't hold up to anywhere the pads do.Chris Fix did that Canada brake place in his video recently.
Are shims Honda (or generally Japan) only? VW doesn‘t have them...
I didn't recognize you with the long beard. Good points on the shims
I dont use shims, I put a thin coat of high temp copper grease on the piston may be BS but I've never had a problem.
NRS Brakes? They're so close to my work!
I never use them and I have no noise except on a humid day at first braking.
What will happen if the mechanic did not remove the shims that comes with the aftermarket pad then put the old shim over it?
I had this problem. The shims were making a horrible noise. I took them apart and the shims fell out. (Tabs broke off) I reluctantly reassembled the breaks without the shims. That was 10,000 or so miles ago. I plan to replace them with my next oil change.
Never had this problem with hawk brake pads
Thnx for making a informative video about this I recently had this same problem with my 04 suburban audtozone duralast gold pads The glued on shim separated and dug a gouge into my rear rotors....pissed I tell you... from that day on I remove all shims from pads when installing pads on vehicles hopefully Autozone and all auto parts stores will start selling camper shims that’ll definitely help
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
I got into that habit also for the same reasons. Sorry you had to deal with that. If you find shims like the ones in the video, you likely won't have to worry about them. Thanks for the comment.
Hold on... I just went and looked at their website cause I am going to need breaks eventually. $110 for front pads (at least in my case) and it said... "Product will be available within 6 weeks upon order placement" are they made to order or what? Cause that's crazy!
@StayPositiveLLC
4 жыл бұрын
Wouldn't doubt it, that's how Dell markets and produce their products. It saves money.
@NRSBrakes
4 жыл бұрын
Hi Bill! Only out of stock orders are currently at a 6 weeks lead time due to the holidays. It normally takes 4 weeks to manufacture. We have several other part #'s that are currently in stock.
@4BillC
4 жыл бұрын
@@NRSBrakes I very much appreciate you clearing that up. Thank you!
would it be funny if i say guys i need more videos on automotive engine overhauling,power train ,suspension and electrical and accessories including tire servicing ... every thing you got will be helpful
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
I have videos about all of that. 😉
The only thing that sucks about nrs is that they dont have for every make and model I tried for both of my cars and no dice😔
many european small cars that i service here come with caliper piston shims...usually a set of pads comes with a set of those on some cars... i never had problems with shims but here there is no salt on the roads and very mild climate
Well howdy freakin' doody man, great info. As someone who's constantly swapping brake pads for track day, bro, this is super useful to know.
Eric with the beard you are looking like the car wizard. all great mechanics have beard. I guess I will try to grow one myself. great video as always
Eric, thanks for the info !!
I thank you for sharing with me
Why would break pad slid out ? I've put everything on right three times in a row same one keeps falling out almost caused a wreck.thanks for any tips.
Nutty about Shims
Shimy Shimy yaw shimy yam shimy yay, give me the keys so I can drive it away.....
@KISSTHECLOWN1
4 жыл бұрын
I so hope this comment gets a 1000 likes. So underrated!
@lacuca18
4 жыл бұрын
Lol u got my vote 😂😂😂😂
@supermonkeycollider
4 жыл бұрын
CLASSIC!
@kappawear
3 жыл бұрын
@Camaro 1968 This Boomer doesn't either.
do all cars have shims? I never noticed any on my Tahoe
I have had this issue at times.
Great info, thanks Eric the beard guy!
Great tips here. Makes you wonder how the aftermarket gets away with making these crappy products.
I checked out the NRS website after seeing ChrisFix's video, They did not have anything for either of my cars :( I live in the rust belt and every aftermarket pad i have ever changed has had loose shims. I usually give them a healthy dose of silicone brake lube when I install them too.
@NRSBrakes
4 жыл бұрын
Hi James! What is the year, make and model of your vehicle? we can look into this for you :)
@jamespalmer7629
4 жыл бұрын
@@NRSBrakes 1997 Honda Civic EX Sedan and 1999 Lexus LS400
@jamespalmer7629
4 жыл бұрын
@@NRSBrakes I stand corrected, There must be new product offerings, I found both car I own
@NRSBrakes
4 жыл бұрын
@@jamespalmer7629 Amazing! Feel free to call us at anytime and we can assist you :)
Bring back tool reviews Eric!!!
Good talk!
I have a 2004 Honda Odyssey and the cable for the power operation to open and close the door broke, I was looking for the cable alone and Honda will only sell me the full power sliding system. What can I do to fix this.
@breikowski
4 жыл бұрын
radames alvarez-rivera go to junk yard. Or remove cable and use door in manual mode.
@radamesalvarez-rivera6719
4 жыл бұрын
@@breikowski I have been using it that way for now. I have to look and see if any junkyards have it. Small town junkyard only keeps up to a certain year and I don't know if they will have something that old. Thanks for your advice I really appreciate it.
@breikowski
4 жыл бұрын
Car-part.com
@breikowski
4 жыл бұрын
Under electronic
Good information Eric.
I am very often seeing corrosion being one of the number one failures on cars that don't run through the friction material very much over a long period of time. I was considering brake pads from NRS but I wonder if they have street pads with the type of bite and performance that I like from a EBC redstuff pad. I don't mind dust but going from an Acura TSX to a Lexus GS made me really want to get some more aggressive pads for that stopping confidence. Thanks for the video Eric! I'm curious as to what rotors you would recommend to go with these NRS brakes? My sister's 15 year old car with 50k miles needed new pads because the edges of the rotor were rusted and putting grooves in the pads.
Great video Eric. Do you have the video when you went to Canada?
Thanks, for your information. Sir.
I wonder if you leave out the shims will that cause the pad to slide out when material gets thin?
Sadly, more auto parts should be galvanized. Vehicles are subjected to some of the harshest conditions....rain, salt slush, dirt, vibration. But then again, manufacturers don't want their product to last indefinitely....corporate greed and additional sales. J K
Wow! $149.99 for front pads and a 6 week wait! Forget about it! I got Raybestos E3 for $40 a set and shipped in 2 days from Rock Auto and I am in Canada. I highly recommend Raybestos E3 by the way. Great pads!
@NRSBrakes
4 жыл бұрын
Hi! Not all our brake pads are a 6 week lead time. Only a couple of part #'s are due to the holidays. Normally out of stock items take 4 weeks to manufacture. Thanks!
@clauderivet7745
4 жыл бұрын
Man $150 is the going price on steak dinner. Don't go out much do you ? From Edmonton.
@seeya205
4 жыл бұрын
@@clauderivet7745 What does that have to do with brake pads? Lets compare apples to apples shall we.
@clauderivet7745
4 жыл бұрын
@@seeya205 Granny Smith or Macintosh ?
@seeya205
4 жыл бұрын
@@clauderivet7745 A Mac for sure!
A pastilha de freio vem colorida mesmo fica bastante bonita
But why are shims needed? What happens if I do not install one? Serious question
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
Their main function is to help reduce noise.
@terrysahnow9978
4 жыл бұрын
@@ericthecarguy So that's why...
Great video Eric nice and informative
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
Here in MA we see alot of that - pads and shims rotting out long before the friction material is worn out. The cheaper the pad, the worse this seems to be. I stay away from bargain brand brakes, even though I'm the cheapest guy you'll ever meet, for that reason ... and the fact that most won't come with bracket "clips". I refuse to do a half-assed brake job. 😊
NRS have brake shims that has teeth which get attached to the back side of shoe which never comes off and wont rust, i think u missed to state that
Eric welcome to CANADA Eh! did you try our awesome beer, enjoy a Montreal steak spice sandwich or Poutine, back bacon Eh! We as well have some of the world's best grade AAA rib eye beef, really hope you enjoyed ETCG. Good videos Ol'school
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
Been drinking Molson sine I was 19. Probably my favorite beer. I grew up in western NY. As for the rest, I’m a vegetarian. 😉
Eric, how did you get those shims separate from their pads? I have a real good set of pads for autocross that I'd like to keep using, but want to put the NRS shims on. On the NRS website they only sell the complete set of pads, no shims separately.
I ended up with a hardware kit from TRQ that didn't fit my brakes. The pads fit well, but not the shims. I bought another set from a local parts store and they fit perfectly. TRQ also didn't provide new boots so I got some of those as well. I wonder if whoever loaded the box plucked the wrong bag of hardware when they were packing it? The pad backing shims are clipped on so I'm not concerned about those failing, but I am concerned about reusing the old, rusty, worn-out shims. I'm going to change them out so I have new ones.
Wagner brake pads that I have purchased always came with mechanical shims
I put silicone caulking on my pad areas and shims, never had a sqeek or squeel or loose shims "ever" !!!! I swear by it !!!!!!
not monday... not friday... this video is brought to you by...!!!!
Hey Eric, can you do a video on what causes rotors to warp? I have a 2009 Honda Accord LX. I replaced the front pads and rotors approx 3 months ago. The rotors are warped. Very frustrating! I may not be the best driver around but.... :D My best excuse is Houston traffic forcing occasional hard stops and 40000 miles a year commute. Thanks!
Caliper shims are basically horseshoes for your calipers.
Why do brake pads have shims? What do they do?
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
They help reduce noise.
Question. Why did my brake pads come with 6 shims? I got 2 copper looking ones, and 4 black ones.. Even though i only needed 2 for each side? Btw no rotors in the rear.. Just wondering, maybe extras?
Well I dont recall really hearing the main importance of the shims... so any other info ? Thanks
Have some premium napa brake pads that the shims shifted. Should I just peel them off or buy some new ones ?
when i get in an airplane i dont care how the paint on wing is holding ,but i care how the wing is holding.. you need to worry how pads are put together (glue or not) and whether they been heat treated or not ..
another helpful video, keep up the good work!
My car OE part does not comes with any shims...
Mr. EricTheCarGuy other than reducing noise, why do you need shims on the front and back of your brake pads? Personally I just rip the damn things off and don't worry about it. It's already a compression fit anyways why do you need that extra hundred 200-300 of an inch? Sir.
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
They're mainly just for noise.
How are these any different from the other tabbed shims that failed?
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
They stay on the brake pad and don't corrode.
@seeya205
4 жыл бұрын
@@ericthecarguy Have you tested this by using a set for the whole length of their life?
Forgive my ignorance, but you showed a pad that had a failed mechanical shim attached, and the fix was yet another mechanical shim with the tabs oriented differently? Won't the tabs on the new shim fail the same way regardless of where they are seated?
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
Actually, no. It's not just the placement of the tabs, which is very important, it's also the material that the shim is made from. Sadly I couldn't really show that in the video. Some manufacturers just stamp out the shims and don't do any testing to see if there are any problems. NRS does just the opposite from that I've seen. They do extensive testing on their designs before putting them out to market. Thanks for your comment.
@TazarZero
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the clarification.
Eric, what's the deal with all the fancy "noise reduction" junk being sold by nrg and the likes? after hundreds of brake jobs over the years the main things I've found causing noise if any was typically only brake dust causing issues but for only a brief time after replacing, as a matter of fact I haven't had brake noise in so many years I can't remember the last time it was an issue and the last time I bought brake silencing goo was over 20 years ago. So is all this extra crap existing solely to drive up the cost?
Muito suas dicas
Eric The Car Wizard!
❤️ That Integra.
Sorry Eric, can't watch without closed captions, it makes it unwatchable for me. Wondered if you included it? Thanks!
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
Sorry about that. I thought all of my videos were CC. I’ll look into it.
@AP9311
4 жыл бұрын
@@ericthecarguy thanks :)
my 06 ml 350 fuel pump keeps running with the ignition turned off and the key is out,.. can you help thank you
Wow, these pads are pricy I mean, they look very high quality, but still rather expensive $110 for the rear pads on my '06 Camry Now if you've ever bought brakes from Toyota, you need pads, "shim kit" which is the backing plates and low pad sensors, and "fitting kit" which is the caliper hardware kit These are priced comparable to me buying all 3 parts separately at the Toyota parts counter I do appreciate a high quality made in NA part, but that price is just a little hard to justify $220+ just for a pad slap all around I'd like to hear some long term feedback from people driving on these pads, how's the bite (especially cold)? How's the dust? How's the noise?
Why brake need shims. If shims is lost, what happen? Please tell me! Thanks
@ericthecarguy
4 жыл бұрын
Noise reduction.