I was due for new brakes (pads and rotors) so I decided to "upgrade" to a set of Porterfield R4-S pads as I've read plenty of people mentioning that they are low dust and no noise. After installation they seemed to be just fine aside from dusting a bit more then I expected but figured that was only because of everything being new. I didn't use any grease or do any special break in procedure as I've read that normal street driving is recommended. After about 300 miles I started to get a very loud squeal at lower speeds as I came to a stop...

1) Figured maybe all the touch points did indeed need some grease so I figured I'd try that. Applied Brembo branded grease to all touch points. Worked for a few miles and then noise returned.

2) Took apart again but this time tried to slightly sand (150 grit) the pads and see if that helped. Nope, was even louder for some reason.

3) Took apart again and re-cleaned everything (rotors, pads, calipers) to use a different grease. Applied Permatex green. Noise came back after about a mile but wasn't nearly as bad and seemed to start at a lower speed (<30 mph).

4) Figured I'd attempt breaking them in as this is what I normally do with all my brake installations. Multiple 30-10 then 60-20 stops. Got them quite hot and even had some smoke so I drove around for the next 15 mins with minimal brake use to let them cool down. Noise appeared to be gone and seemed like this did the trick... well after letting them cool down the noise appeared once again at lower speed stops with semi-medium brake pressure.

So after multiple attempts I decided to throw back on a cheap set ($18 per axle) of semi-metallic Centric pads on the car... and no noise? Dusting is similar if not a little less. Didn't use grease on these and these aren't even chamfered or slotted down the middle? Puzzled to say the least. They do not bite as good so I'm still not sure what route I want to go. I hate to lose out on the expense of what the R4-S pads cost. I plan to reach out to Porterfield as well but figured I'd see if anyone else had issues. I did come across a few posts where people had similar results as well, some of which went away with more mileage, but less then the 300 I already have on these.

The attached image below is after 5 miles of driving on the R4-S after having washed the wheels inside/out. Finger swipe to show the difference.

 

I ad R4-S on my F-Type and also experiences squeaks. No clue why.

 

I should probably mentioned that "very loud" to me refers to being able to wake up part of the neighborhood when coming to a stop.

 

I had a set of Porterfields installed on my car about a year ago by a very experienced AM tech. No untoward noises, good stopping power and MUCH less dusting that OE. I recall my tech saying that the pads require a bit of modification (which I took to mean trimming of the edges) for proper fitment. He had notified Porterfield of this issue and was advised to continue with his practice of modification to fit. After installation, he also took the car out to properly bed the pads in, which he said was necessarily to assure proper function.

Others more mechanically inclined here may be able to provide additional information about this. I know that Rich at Redpants sells lots of these and might be able to help with your problem. HTH

 

I have the R4s. I do occasionally get a squeak and they definitely do make dust. They do stop well but I think there are better options. I'm going to keep using the Porterfields for now but I'm really not as impressed as everyone else seems to be and next time I'll be moving over to a ceramic pad like EBC reds. Anyway, I've got two suggestions for you. First, some folks claim to have found that the parking brake pads make noise. The fact that you aren't getting noise with the Centric pads indicates this isn't your problem but you might think about chamfering them anyway. Second, instead of grease, try the red goo brake material on the pad to piston interface. It might help if the pad is "stuck" to the piston as opposed to just greased. Both just suggestions but this may just be an issue with the Porterfields for you.

 

The pads themselves fit just fine so I also assume he just trimmed the edges (medially and laterally) as they already come with an aggressive chamfer.

Appreciate the suggestions. I should have mentioned it earlier but I had quickly driven the car around the block without any handbrakes pads to rule out that they weren't causing the issue, same noise, so defiantly the main pads. Generally not a fan of the "stick" on type but may try that as a last resort.

 

very satisfied after about 5000 miles using centric pads from e-bay. compared to OEM pads about an 80% dust reduction and quiet. no noticeable performance difference.

i'm not surprised... i've used run-of-the-mill disc brake pads on all my cars/trucks/motorcycles for over 40 years. they all generated much less dust than the OEMs on my vantage, never squealed and stopped much heavier vehicles using only one or two piston calipers without drama. they also cost about 20-40 per axle.

i should mention that i don't race or track my car, but if i did, there is no doubt in my mind (from first-hand knowledge) that under racing conditions expensive specialized parts are necessary, no question.

 

I have used Porterfield R4-S on a Honda S2000 and a Lotus Elise. I am not aware of any redeeming qualities.

They are fine for stopping power, but so is basically any street pad. They make a lot of dust in even mildly aggressive driving and they wear very quickly. And, as noted above, they are entirely unsuitable for track use. An aggressive canyon run (up and down hill) would likely have them smoking, at least a little. And this is on much lighter cars than an Aston.

Picking pads is always a balance between noise, wear, feel, temperature range, and (for some) dust. The Porterfields aren't really good at any of those.

 

@RamVA I put them on my Elise as well at the same time I did the Aston. As you say, they are just as dusty on a 2000 pound car as they are on a 3500 pound car. The sport pack wheels on the Elise are even harder to clean than the Aston sport wheels so it's more of a pain. The stock pads on both the Elise and Aston were more dusty, so it is an improvement, just not as much of an improvement as other options. They also squeal a little on the Elise but very rarely. Here too, next time I'm going with a ceramic. At least they are kind to the disks.