Brake drag reduction clips

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Bob McDonald

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Anyone here have any info, experience, thoughts about these Brake Drag Reduction Clips I recently heard about?



The idea seems like it might be a good one but my worry would be that the clips could cause the pads to retract enough to have an adverse effect on brake response and maybe even rotor wobble. The thought being that if the clips allowed the pads to maintain full open clearance, the rotor could float around too much plus the extra millisecond(s) it took to close the gap in an emergency stop might make a critical difference in stopping in time.



Just playing the devils advocate here.
 
I would say NO I would not use them as pushing the pads open further then designed would cause a Lower pedal and to me possible loss of braking and pedal feel..

Todd Z
 
Sounds like a good idea, but how it will effect brakes is the unknown. If they don't pull the pads too far off the rotor, they should work fine. You should not get any rotor wobble since it's really not the pads that are keeping the rotor in line...It is part of the hub, bolted or screwed to the hub.



At about $40 for a set of front brake clips, it's kind of expensive even if they do work. There are some newer vehicles that have No-Drag brakes, but I don't know if they use spring clips or some other means to keep the pads off the rotors?



I think the key lies in the words "Reduced Drag" which probably means the clips push the pads back just enough to reduce drag, so that probably would probably not cause a noticably low brake pedal.



...Rich
 
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At about $40 for a set of front brake clips
Click to expand...



???

The catalog lists them at $6.35



Lower pedal and to me possible loss of braking and pedal feel..
Click to expand...

Don't know that the pedal would be lower, but my thought that the extra gap would cause the pedal to depress a little further before feeling any reaction of the friction of the pads. Basically the same as I was trying to say in my original post.



The info claims this...



How it works

The springs provide positive pressure to the brake friction keeping it separated from the braking surface when the brakes are not applied. This applied pressure is light enough that it has no effect on the braking system when the brakes are applied.
Click to expand...



Of course, we all know about marketing claims.



I checked my pads earlier week when I put on new tires and that still had a lot of pad left after 30K, so I don't have to decide right away if I want to try these things.
 
Anybody worried about the 'extra' brake fluid that would back up in the reservoir? Could it overflow the top? I dunno just a thought. Bob
 
Anybody worried about the 'extra' brake fluid that would back up in the reservoir?
Click to expand...

Had not thought of that at all, but after I did, I don't think it would be an issue at all.



First, a couple of assumptions: 1, you install during a brake pad replacement and the brake fluid condition and level are good; 2, the spring clip really only provides just a tiny assist to lift the pads off the rotors and do not fully push the piston back into the caliper.



Given that, unless you would be concerned about the fluid moving back and forth in and out of the reservoir, there shouldn't be any fluid loss.
 
I don't see how they could cause problems. They actually look familiar, maybe I have seen them on cars in the past.
 
Uncle Bob,



???

The catalog lists them at $6.35



I could not find a price on the link you provided, so I did a search on Raybestos Reduced Drag Clips and the only places I found with a price listed were selling them from $35-$39??? Perhaps they were selling the gold plated ones..:grin:



I agree that most people would probably install these springs during a brake job and the fluid level would not be an issue since you should not push the pistons back in without opening the bleed valve....don't want that old nasty fluid going backup into the ABS servos.:banghead:



...Rich
 
A number of manufacturers use these on their setups but they are more of an anti rattle clip than anything. They do not provide anywhere near the amount of force required to actually push the caliper piston back in its bore.
 
Richard,



The price I quoted was actually from the Rock-Auto online catalog. It was reached from a link in their newsletter where I had first read of the clip.

Sorry. I should have made that reference in the first place.



..Bob
 
Uncle Bob,

I know you posted a link to RockAuto and I went there, but there was no price posed on that page when I viewed that page??....at least not on my computer. That's why I did a search for them and found several web-sites that sold them, but they all wanted nearly $40 and they were sold as sets of two for the front brakes or a set of 2 for the rear brakes.



...Rich



 
Rich.



The following is the link from an email to their newsletter...



http://www.rockauto.com/Newsletter/index.html



Inside the newsletter was this...



Look for "Brake Pad Drag Reduction Clips" under the "Brake/Wheel Hub" category in the RockAuto catalog.



The last two words were hyprlinked to this...



http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php?a=NewsletterLink



and it took me to where I drilled down (with appropriate year, make, model, etc.) and found the clips.



I tried to just go straight to the RockAuto web site to duplicate what you found but was unsuccessful. It only took me again to the $6.35 price. Maybe my browser history was interfering with my attempt. I don't know what you found. Sorry.



Bob
 
Uncle Bob,

I did not drill down that far...since I thought it was a page from the RockAuto Catalog? I just assumed it would have a price on that page? What I saw appeared to be a description of the item without any pricing info? If they are only $6.35 for a (front or rear) set, then it's probably worth giving them on shot on the next brake job. At the $35-$40 price that other web-sites wanted, I would have to pass.



Like I said, there are some newer vehicles that have "Reduced Drag" brake systems designed in...mostly foreign cars like my Mercedes. They pay a lot more for gas in Europe and Japan and they have decades of experience in milking out every mile they can get from every drop of gasoline. :grin:



....Rich
 
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Mike,



I know that if I decide to try them on my next brake job, it would be for the supposed (hopeful?) lengthening of the pad life. I wouldn't expect to see any measurable difference in MPG performance.



Bob
 
IIRC, Those look exactly like the anti-rattle clips from a '93 dodge shadow. I cant say they were very strong.

I had trouble with them draging on the rotor..
 

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