What metric do you use to estimate remaining brake pad life on a typical economy sedan?
 

On 11/8/20 4:10 am, N8N wrote:
> On Sunday, August 2, 2020 at 12:28:48 PM UTC-4, Steve W. wrote:
>> Arlen Holder wrote:
>>> On Fri, 31 Jul 2020 14:04:50 -0700 (PDT), trader_4 wrote:
>>>
>>>> Every pad I've installed for decades has had them, including the ones that
>>>> use electric wear sensors.
>>>
>>> How many miles do you get per front pads, in general?
>>>
>>> As for mechanical sensors, my bimmer has only one wear sensor per axle
>>> o No mechanical sensor; only electronic (front left and rear right).
>>>
>>> Although electronic is essentially mechanical, since it's a stub of plastic
>>> that wears on contact, exposing the wires embedded inside that plastic.
>>>
>>> One issue is removing the sensors often breaks them if you're not careful.
>>>
>>> Since we rotate so frequently, checking brakes are easy; but this question
>>> was for estimating miles for someone else who doesn't rotate as frequently
>>> as I do (due to mountainous terrain causing specific "camber scrub" wear to
>>> the inboard corners of the front tires).
>>>
>>> At the moment, with the data we have, it's about 4,000 miles per pad mm.
>>
>> There is no rule of thumb for brake wear because it depends more on the
>> driver, vehicle location and the pad materials than anything else.
>>
>> Drive out in the plains where the only hills are long and low and the
>> brake wear is going to be much different than if you live in the
>> rockies. Same with driving in New York City versus San Fransisco.
>>
>> Another factor is the vehicle itself and how it is set up. Some will
>> chew through brakes fast while others barely nibble. Some will go
>> through brakes in 40K or less while others might make it to the junkyard
>> on the OEM rears pads.
>>
>>
>> The Journey we have had all the brakes done by the dealer with OEM
>> parts prior to our purchase, They have about 55K on them and the fronts
>> are worn maybe 1/2 way. The rears however were just replaced, but not
>> for wear, the rotors rusted into junk and damaged the pads. So it got
>> new NAPA coated rotors and premium ceramics to see how they work on it,
>> have had very good service from them on many other vehicles.
>>
>
> Another factor is riveted vs. bonded linings, you can run a bonded lining a lot thinner than a riveted one. 5mm might be thiiiiiis close to grinding the rivet heads.
>
> nate
>
Rivets? In this era? Bonded shoes are all I have seen for *decades*.

--

Xeno


Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing.
(with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

What metric do you use to estimate remaining brake pad life on a typical economy sedan?
 

On Mon, 10 Aug 2020 11:10:15 -0700 (PDT), N8N wrote:

> Another factor is riveted vs. bonded linings,
> you can run a bonded lining a lot thinner than a riveted one.
> 5mm might be thiiiiiis close to grinding the rivet heads.

That's a good point I hadn't remembered as I haven't seen riveted pads for
a long time, although I do remember them from the past.

They would groove a rotor in no time.

What I'm seeking is how long do YOU get on a set of front pads?

What metric do you use to estimate remaining brake pad life on a typical economy sedan?
 

On Sun, 02 Aug 2020 12:28:47 -0400, Steve W. wrote:

> There is no rule of thumb for brake wear because it depends more on the
> driver, vehicle location and the pad materials than anything else.

That's like saying there's no average lifespan for a person or vehicle.
o It's a copout (in my humble opinion).

Yes, there _is_ a rule of thumb.
o For example, no front disc pads last the life of the vehicle.

And as another example, no pads likely last only 10,000 miles either.

There's an AVERAGE.
o That's what I seek.

What metric do you use to estimate remaining brake pad life on atypical economy sedan?
 

On 8/17/2020 6:46 PM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Mon, 10 Aug 2020 11:10:15 -0700 (PDT), N8N wrote:
>
>> Another factor is riveted vs. bonded linings,
>> you can run a bonded lining a lot thinner than a riveted one.
>> 5mm might be thiiiiiis close to grinding the rivet heads.
> That's a good point I hadn't remembered as I haven't seen riveted pads for
> a long time, although I do remember them from the past.
>
> They would groove a rotor in no time.
>
> What I'm seeking is how long do YOU get on a set of front pads?


I have traded-in my cars at 60,000 for the last 30 years.Â* Never had a brake job.

What metric do you use to estimate remaining brake pad life on a typical economy sedan?
 

Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Sun, 02 Aug 2020 12:28:47 -0400, Steve W. wrote:
>
>> There is no rule of thumb for brake wear because it depends more on the
>> driver, vehicle location and the pad materials than anything else.
>
> That's like saying there's no average lifespan for a person or vehicle.
> o It's a copout (in my humble opinion).
>
> Yes, there _is_ a rule of thumb.
> o For example, no front disc pads last the life of the vehicle.
>
> And as another example, no pads likely last only 10,000 miles either.
>
> There's an AVERAGE.
> o That's what I seek.

Not a cop out just a fact. I know of people who do burn through front
pads in under 10K and I know of others with 60K on fronts. They drive
differently and use different parts. The only time you can make a guess
is on your own vehicle, because you know how you drive.

There really is no average when it comes to brakes unless you know how
that person drives, where they drive and the parts they used. I never
gave a guess on pad life, I would however measure the pads and tell them
what was left. If it was a new car then you have a mileage to use, but
even that wouldn't matter much if the car had been setting for a while
and now it's driven 6-800 miles a day.

--
Steve W.

What metric do you use to estimate remaining brake pad life on a typical economy sedan?
 

On 8/17/2020 6:46 PM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Sun, 02 Aug 2020 12:28:47 -0400, Steve W. wrote:
>
>> There is no rule of thumb for brake wear because it depends more on the
>> driver, vehicle location and the pad materials than anything else.
>
> That's like saying there's no average lifespan for a person or vehicle.
> o It's a copout (in my humble opinion).
>
> Yes, there _is_ a rule of thumb.
> o For example, no front disc pads last the life of the vehicle.
>
> And as another example, no pads likely last only 10,000 miles either.
>
> There's an AVERAGE.
> o That's what I seek.
>

I've gone through pads in 10,000 miles. The rule of thumb you seek
depends on driving conditions.

When you first brought this up I mentioned my experience from city
living to rural living the the difference is huge. AVERAGE is
meaningless unless you know where you stand on the parameters. .

What metric do you use to estimate remaining brake pad life on a typical economy sedan?
 

On 8/17/2020 7:00 PM, Roger Oveur wrote:
> On 8/17/2020 6:46 PM, Arlen Holder wrote:
>> On Mon, 10 Aug 2020 11:10:15 -0700 (PDT), N8N wrote:
>>
>>> Another factor is riveted vs. bonded linings,
>>> you can run a bonded lining a lot thinner than a riveted one.
>>> 5mm might be thiiiiiis close to grinding the rivet heads.
>> That's a good point I hadn't remembered as I haven't seen riveted pads
>> for
>> a long time, although I do remember them from the past.
>>
>> They would groove a rotor in no time.
>>
>> What I'm seeking is how long do YOU get on a set of front pads?
>
>
> I have traded-in my cars at 60,000 for the last 30 years.Â* Never had a
> brake job.
>

From that, I can conclude you don't use you car as a taxi in NYC or
Chicago.