Quote Originally Posted by silver View Post
Lisa, to the best of my memory, when I did the research a while back, the reason that the Kool Stop pads were recommended to help with the problem was because they were made of a softer material. Is that right?
I have not heard of KS pads being recommended to stop squeaky brakes. They are made for gripping better under wet conditions- that is why they are softer....like snow tires! But maybe they do help with brake noise- I don't know because I haven't had squeeky brakes. I do notice that the KS pads grip better and stop me faster- I had to be careful the first week to not brake too suddenly.
I do know that one can usually stop squeaky brakes (of any kind) by toeing-in the brake pads.
It is true that ALL brake pads tend to get hard and brittle over time and then they do start to squeal, and should be replaced every few years regardless, because they can't grip as well once the rubber has hardened from age.