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Brake life expectancy



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 20th 05, 06:51 AM
LurfysMa
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Default Brake life expectancy

What is the life expectancy of the brakes on a 1999 Lexus LS400 under
normal or average driving conditions?

I bought the car in 2002 with 21,000 miles on it. At 48,000, the
service department at the dealership said the front brakes were at 2mm
and replaced them. The rear brakes were still at 5mm.

What is the "mm" reading of new brakes?


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  #2  
Old June 20th 05, 06:56 AM
Ray O
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"LurfysMa" > wrote in message
...
> What is the life expectancy of the brakes on a 1999 Lexus LS400 under
> normal or average driving conditions?


Depending on how you brake, driving conditions, vehicle payload, etc,.
probably around 40,000 miles.

>
> I bought the car in 2002 with 21,000 miles on it. At 48,000, the
> service department at the dealership said the front brakes were at 2mm
> and replaced them. The rear brakes were still at 5mm.
>
> What is the "mm" reading of new brakes?
>

mm = millimeters of lining thickness. 2 mm is the minimum safe pad
thickness.
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  #3  
Old June 20th 05, 07:35 AM
Jyrki Alakuijala
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Default

LurfysMa wrote:

> What is the "mm" reading of new brakes?


Asking for an '"mm" reading' sounds equally strange for us Europeans
as an '"inch" reading' would sound to you. It is customary to talk
about thickness, and, for Lexus brake pads, the value is naturally
expressed in mm units.

For a 1994 Lexus LS 400, standard brake pad thickness is 11 mm
for front brakes, and 10 mm for rear brakes. Minimum recommended
by the manual is 1 mm, but 2 mm is probably a slightly better
idea, since some rumors claim that brake pads may shatter if they
get too thin. Consider 1 mm as the absolute minimum where you should
have changed the pads yesterday.

Also, you do not want to burn the brake pad wear detection circuit,
since it is an unnecessary cost to replace that, too. In other words,
if you wait for the warning light to appear, you have waited somewhat
too long.
  #4  
Old June 21st 05, 07:17 AM
LurfysMa
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Default

On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 00:56:46 -0500, "Ray O"
> wrote:

>
>"LurfysMa" > wrote in message
.. .
>> What is the life expectancy of the brakes on a 1999 Lexus LS400 under
>> normal or average driving conditions?

>
>Depending on how you brake, driving conditions, vehicle payload, etc,.
>probably around 40,000 miles.
>
>>
>> I bought the car in 2002 with 21,000 miles on it. At 48,000, the
>> service department at the dealership said the front brakes were at 2mm
>> and replaced them. The rear brakes were still at 5mm.
>>
>> What is the "mm" reading of new brakes?
>>

>mm = millimeters of lining thickness. 2 mm is the minimum safe pad
>thickness.


I worded that poorly. I meant to ask what the thickness (in mm) is of
new brake pads? That is, if they took a reading right after installing
new pads, what would they get? 10mm? 15mm? ???

--
  #5  
Old June 21st 05, 07:21 AM
LurfysMa
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Default

On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 09:35:26 +0300, Jyrki Alakuijala
> wrote:

>LurfysMa wrote:
>
>> What is the "mm" reading of new brakes?

>
>Asking for an '"mm" reading' sounds equally strange for us Europeans
>as an '"inch" reading' would sound to you. It is customary to talk
>about thickness, and, for Lexus brake pads, the value is naturally
>expressed in mm units.


Sorry, I worded the question poorly. I actually knew that "mm" meant
millimeter.

>For a 1994 Lexus LS 400, standard brake pad thickness is 11 mm
>for front brakes, and 10 mm for rear brakes.


It's a 1999, but probably the same values, right?

Is there someplace online where you looked that up?

>Minimum recommended
>by the manual is 1 mm, but 2 mm is probably a slightly better
>idea, since some rumors claim that brake pads may shatter if they
>get too thin. Consider 1 mm as the absolute minimum where you should
>have changed the pads yesterday.


Kinda like the tourist on a bus who asked a local where to get off for
Elm Street. The reply was, just watch where me and get off one stop
before I do.

>Also, you do not want to burn the brake pad wear detection circuit,
>since it is an unnecessary cost to replace that, too. In other words,
>if you wait for the warning light to appear, you have waited somewhat
>too long.



--
  #6  
Old June 21st 05, 07:56 AM
Jyrki Alakuijala
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Default

LurfysMa wrote:

>>For a 1994 Lexus LS 400, standard brake pad thickness is 11 mm
>>for front brakes, and 10 mm for rear brakes.

>
>
> It's a 1999, but probably the same values, right?


My guess is that you can give or take 1 mm. The maximum
thickness depends on the material physics of the break pads.
I assume that much thicker pads would have problems with either
heat transfer or physical durability, or both.

> Is there someplace online where you looked that up?


No. I looked from the repair manuals, which I only have for
the 1994 model.
  #7  
Old June 21st 05, 04:23 PM
Ray O
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Default


"LurfysMa" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 00:56:46 -0500, "Ray O"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>"LurfysMa" > wrote in message
. ..
>>> What is the life expectancy of the brakes on a 1999 Lexus LS400 under
>>> normal or average driving conditions?

>>
>>Depending on how you brake, driving conditions, vehicle payload, etc,.
>>probably around 40,000 miles.
>>
>>>
>>> I bought the car in 2002 with 21,000 miles on it. At 48,000, the
>>> service department at the dealership said the front brakes were at 2mm
>>> and replaced them. The rear brakes were still at 5mm.
>>>
>>> What is the "mm" reading of new brakes?
>>>

>>mm = millimeters of lining thickness. 2 mm is the minimum safe pad
>>thickness.

>
> I worded that poorly. I meant to ask what the thickness (in mm) is of
> new brake pads? That is, if they took a reading right after installing
> new pads, what would they get? 10mm? 15mm? ???
>


New brake pads are generally in the vicinity of 10 or 11 mm thick.
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply


  #8  
Old June 21st 05, 04:29 PM
Ray O
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Posts: n/a
Default


"Jyrki Alakuijala" > wrote in message
...
> LurfysMa wrote:
>
>>>For a 1994 Lexus LS 400, standard brake pad thickness is 11 mm
>>>for front brakes, and 10 mm for rear brakes.

>>
>>
>> It's a 1999, but probably the same values, right?

>
> My guess is that you can give or take 1 mm. The maximum
> thickness depends on the material physics of the break pads.
> I assume that much thicker pads would have problems with either
> heat transfer or physical durability, or both.


It is not the pads or lining material that transfer heat - it is the rotors
and/or drums that dissipate heat.

The limitation to pad thickness is the design of the caliper and wheel.
Thicker pads mean that the caliper has to have a greater range of movement,
which means that the caliper's physical size is larger, which makes it
harder to fit on the suspension and adds unsprung weight, which affects
handling and ride.


--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply


 




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