Front brake knock sound when pressing pedal

Technical Area Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
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  1. My model of MX-5 is: NC PRHT

I see this has been asked a few times before, but when I brake a low speeds I am hearing a single knock sound from the front wheels immediately as I press the brake pedal. Sounds to me like the pad tapping into the disc.

I am going to raise the front and take a look at the brakes this weekend - is there anything specific I should look out for? I’ve purchased a fitting kit to replace the clips in the carrier in case that’s the issue, but I read elsewhere it could also be the sliding pins - what should I look out for with those?

Just after some hints/tips, guidance, words of wisdom really ahead of taking a look.

Brakes work fine by the way, nice and sharp stopping power, and the noise doesn’t seem to occur at speeds over 30 mph.

Thanks in advance.

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Has it recently had pads/discs replaced and were the replacements aftermarket ?

I have known two NC’s where aftermarket pads were slightly shorter than OEM pads and both had a similar knock.

One went back to oem pads - knock went away.

One went with Mintex std road pads - knock went away.

I currently use Rodders pads - no knock at all.

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Thanks for the reply. Yeah, the discs and pads were all replaced about 2 months ago using a kit from MX-5 parts. They are definitely not OEM so perhaps you’re right. Although oddly, the noise has only manifested in the last couple of weeks, they were fine to begin with.

Ironically I changed everything because I was hearing the knock before and the pads were squeaking so I thought they may need replacing but actually the previous ones had quite a bit of life left when I removed them.

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Any chance that kit came with new guides/springs ?
If no - new guides/springs might sort out the issue

These - Front Brake Pad Fitting Kit Anti-Rattle Shims For Mazda MX5 MK3 (2005-2014) | eBay

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Cheers, I’ve got a set of fitting springs to install this weekend so fingers crossed :crossed_fingers:

6

+1 on using Mintex. I changed mine recently and it cured the little knock on which I had tried various fixes.

I did also add the Genuine Mazda shims and the two combined seemed to have shut it up for good. The Mazda shims are three different materials and the one for the outer pad is textured so that might also assist in avoiding any movement.

Genuine Mazda Shims

Thankfully, the very detailed guide in the downloads tells you which of them goes where!

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