NRS Brake Pads Incorrect Application List

[GoreMaker]

EDIT: Turns out NRS' application list was wrong. They apologized for the error, are resolving the issue, and issued me a full refund.

ORIGINAL POST: I just did a complete brake job on my 1999 Suburban K1500 gasser a little over a month ago. Front pads and rotors, rear shoes, new master cylinder. I spent some extra money and splurged on the best Raybestos rotors I could find in stock as well as some NRS brake pads.

Mostly went well, though the front brake pads gave me some minor grief. The studs on the backing plate that are supposed to fit inside the caliper piston were spread a little too far apart. They ended up sitting on the rim of the caliper piston, which I thought was weird. A little grinding to knock off a section of each lower stud was enough to get them to sit flat against the caliper piston, and I figured all was well. They've been braking well since then and I was happy.

Fast forward to today, I needed to do an upper ball joint before a long road trip on Wednesday. While getting ready to do the job, I noticed something weird on the brand new brake rotor:

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That's a deep groove all the way around the rotor hat. It's 1/8" deep, and it's caused by the outer brake pad. I kinda freaked out at seeing this, so I checked the other side. Sure enough, same thing was happening there. So I pulled a caliper off to figure out why this was happening. I confirmed that the brake pad is inserted and secured properly. It was definitely topped out into the brake caliper, it couldn't possibly sit any higher in there, and the spring clips were tight.

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I thought maybe the brake rotor had an oversized hat that interfered with the pad, but it slips over the hub exactly like it's supposed to. So I brought the outer pad and the brake rotor to my local Advance Auto and asked to see a rotor and brake pad set. Sure enough, the rotor hat diameter was spot on compared to the Car Quest one they had in stock, no issues there. But the brake pads... holy crap:

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The NRS brake pad is at least 3/16" taller than the Car Quest one. This is why it was digging into the rotor hat. I brought home the new brake pads and rotors and I compared the inner pads. Sure enough, the NRS inner pads are also taller than the Car Quest ones, even MORE than the outer pads, and the studs on the back end up being 1/8" too low, which is why they didn't fit inside the caliper piston without grinding them down:

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I tried calling NRS to discuss this issue. What I got was an automated message asking me to leave a voice mail. The voice mailbox is full, so I can't leave a voice mail.

I'm pretty angry about this. There was never any noise to indicate that this was happening. The calipers bolted back in without issues, and I had no trouble turning the rotors by hand after installation. Any noise I heard at that point could've been attributed to the typical sound of new brake pads on new rotors. Either one of my brake rotors could've sheared off at any moment, most likely in a panic braking situation, potentially killing my entire family and innocent bystanders.

 

[SUBURBAN5]

That's crazy. Makes me want to double check mine

 

[454cid]

My first guess is that the NRS pads are the SRW 3/4 and 1-ton pads. They're often used as an "upgrade" on the 1/2 tons, but sometimes there is a clearance issue of some sort, and I wonder if that's what's going on here. I've never done that swap, since it doesn't apply to my truck... I have a 1-ton.

 

[Komet]

Looks like you bought the wrong pads for your application.

 

[Hipster]

Went to tweaking to get them to fit and not a any point did it dawn on you to stop proceeding. Totally agree with what's been said, wrong parts. Whether wrongly packaged or by choice. Nobodies fault but yours. You own this chit-show

 

[GoreMaker]

Disc Brake Pad Set NRS Brakes NS845

NRS Brakes offers the best brake pads in the USA and Canada. The NRS Brake Pad is an innovative, patented design with a steel backing plate and coated surface. With over 30 years of experience, NRS is able to provide brake pads that outperform all other brands on the market. Shop today!

nrsbrakes.com

Those are the pads I ordered, and the ones I received based on the part number on the box. There's no distinction between 5.7 and 6.5 engines on their site. There's no alternative part numbers for that application

 

[GoreMaker]

Note the "Buyer's Guide" tab, they list "Suburban K1500 - Engine: All"

So I did not order the wrong part, I ordered exactly what they told me to order. Their application list for those pads is wrong.

 

[GoToGuy]

Before I do any reassembly I compare new parts with old. Like they say " trust but verify " . This your moment, had you looked at parts, " hmm that's different, huh don't fit ? " .
STOP
Something is wrong. Whether the company packaged incorrect, the parts coverage is incorrect, it was in your hands.
You modified a criticality important part. Why ? This alone should have rung alarm bells.
In Aviation we call it "Complacency". There were multiple opportunities for this not to happen.
A learning experience.

 

[Schurkey]

NRS is a brake-parts brand I've never heard of before.
www.nrsbrakes.com/

NRS Brakes | Best Brake Pads | Longest Lasting Brake Pads

NRS Brakes offers the best brake pads in the USA and Canada. The NRS Brake Pad is an innovative, patented design with a steel backing plate and coated surface. With over 30 years of experience, NRS is able to provide brake pads that outperform all other brands on the market. Shop today!

nrsbrakes.com

I thought for awhile you were using "NBS" pads but misspelled it. (I really despise that abbreviation!) Had to research NRS.

Yup, one way or another, you bought the wrong pads. How were they not dragging on the rotor when you installed the caliper, yet they dragged enough in use to gouge the "hat"?

 

[GoreMaker]

Before I do any reassembly I compare new parts with old. Like they say " trust but verify " . This your moment, had you looked at parts, " hmm that's different, huh don't fit ? " .
STOP
Something is wrong. Whether the company packaged incorrect, the parts coverage is incorrect, it was in your hands.
You modified a criticality important part. Why ? This alone should have rung alarm bells.
In Aviation we call it "Complacency". There were multiple opportunities for this not to happen.
A learning experience.

Sorry but that's an idiotic take. The pads for 1500 and 2500+ applications look nearly identical, with a very slight difference in height that's not noticeable unless you stack them on top of each other and look very closely. Aftermarket parts frequently have slight errors in design that require some "massaging" to get to fit, and the tiny bit of filing I had to do to the backing plate was insignificant compared to other aftermarket parts (even brake pads) I've had to modify to fit. Also, that filing wasn't even necessary to make the pads fit, they would've gone on there just fine if I hadn't done that. I just happened to notice that they weren't sitting completely flush against the piston. Most people wouldn't have spotted that in the first place.

NRS failed to realize that C/K1500 vehicles with a gas engine use a different brake pad than every other C/K vehicle. I finally got in touch with them and they apologized for the error, will update the application page and have fully refunded my purchase. I'm still out a set of rotors, but this is probably the best outcome possible considering what could've happened. I'll update my original post to reflect this.