Brake pad life

[mlefev]

Just a quick question. I have 36kish miles on my 2010 and the rear brake pads are worn completely through, metal to metal. I told the dealer to replace them since it's already in for some warranty work. I just wanted to know if that's typical, and also am a bit curious why the back would wear out before the front. I'm sure they need replaced soon but I thought the front usually took the brunt of the force in braking. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[Dizzy82]

52k miles on my stockers so far.

[mlefev]

52k...hmmm I wonder why mine wore out so quckly, especially since most of my mileage has been highway driving. I guess I'll have to ask the dealer a few questions when I get there.

[strych9]

Originally Posted by mlefev

52k...hmmm I wonder why mine wore out so quckly, especially since most of my mileage has been highway driving. I guess I'll have to ask the dealer a few questions when I get there.

Just one side, or both?

[Synner]

Its all about how you drive it. Mine are mostly melted down to nothing at 3k. Got some new track pads going in soon.

[mlefev]

Originally Posted by strych9

Just one side, or both?

It ended up both sides, although one was worn to being paper thin and the other had a couple of mm's left. They also adjusted a few things because they thought it was a bit soon too, especially considering the lack of comparable wear on the front brakes. I guess I just get to keep an eye on it and see if it it starts eating through brake pads.

[mlefev]

Originally Posted by Synner

Its all about how you drive it. Mine are mostly melted down to nothing at 3k. Got some new track pads going in soon.

I'm pretty nice to it. I'm still running original tires in good shape (well decent shape) but the brakes were shot. I expected the tires to go long before brakes.

[Ponykiller511]

Brakes work with the traction control and stability. I have tons of dust on rear wheels normally. Drove like a grandma for a couple of days after i detailed it.......a lot less dust on rear wheels.

[Redemption]

Worn out rear brakes= too many power brake burnouts!! And no, I'm not kidding.

Or there is something seriously wrong with your brake bias.

[was619]

The Above post is right on the money with the problems. Mine are about 1/3 to 1/2 warn at 28k miles but i have done a few autocrosses and drive a little on the agressive side haha

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by mlefev

I just wanted to know if that's typical, and also am a bit curious why the back would wear out before the front. I'm sure they need replaced soon but I thought the front usually took the brunt of the force in braking. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Front brakes normally do take the brunt of the braking effort - when you are trying to stop the car. It is possible that with ABS that the brakes are biased a little more toward the rear than they should be without ABS, but in a properly engineered braking system this shouldn't result in vastly different front vs rear pad wear rates.

But . . . most traction control systems use the rear brakes as one of the strategies for reducing/eliminating wheelspin. So if you tend to launch hard, or power through or out of corners hard enough with the TC left on, the TC will be working the rear brakes while the fronts are just taking it easy. If you aren't actively looking for indication that the TC is working to suppress wheelspin, chances are you won't notice and won't know that your rear pads only are getting beat up on.

Let me suggest doing a brake pad bedding process similar to what Hawk recommends for their performance street pads. Get in the habit of shutting the TC off, and using your head and your right foot to keep wheelspin under control. Check back in 12,000 miles or so with your pad wear rates.


I suppose that TC is a useful enough system for the moron drivers that we're stuck sharing the road with, but it isn't really necessary once you've developed a little skill concerning throttle modulation. Cars never used to have it - We never had TC on any car in the first 45 years of my driving and the first 38 of hers. Most other people coped just fine, too.


Norm