How to tell you need new brakes?

[SBK]

Man I feel like a boob asking this, but how can you tell if you need to replace your brakes without taking the wheel off. I can see the pads through the rims but how can I tell?

Man I feel like a boob.

[CUEBALL]

Well, for pads, you will probably hear a wear sensor squeeking. You might see grooves in the rotor if you heard a grinding sound but kept driving on it.

Hard to tell just by looking, other than grooves in the rotor. How is your pedal feel? Do youhave to push real hard, is there any noise or difference in braking ability?

[SBK]

They have been squealing something awful. I know that our cars do that, so I used it as an excuse to buy slotted/drilled rotors and posi-quiet brakes They will be here next week. I can tell the wife it is a safety upgrade and then she can't hit me with a frying pan. Besides, it's already ordered so HA!

[DYNAMITE44]

if the pedal travels further to the floor in order for the vehicle to stop, you may need brakes. also, if you have to really hold on the brakes to get it to stop, like the brakes are not biting/stopping like they once did, you may be in the market for some new parts.

remember, front brakes wear much more quickly than rear brakes. the front ones do about two thirds of the braking.

[StealthAuto]

Originally Posted by CUEBALL

Well, for pads, you will probably hear a wear sensor squeeking. You might see grooves in the rotor if you heard a grinding sound but kept driving on it.

Hard to tell just by looking, other than grooves in the rotor. How is your pedal feel? Do youhave to push real hard, is there any noise or difference in braking ability?

Excellent info!!! You're spot on my friend.

-AS

[CUEBALL]

Originally Posted by StealthAuto

Excellent info!!! You're spot on my friend.

-AS

Thanks!!

ALso, if you're rotors are blue and visibly covered with brake pad material from driving on the autobahn, its at least time to turn the rotors down!! Or get some slotted rotors and new pads!!

[doktorek]

Originally Posted by SBK

I know that our cars do that, so I used it as an excuse to buy slotted/drilled rotors and posi-quiet brakes They will be here next week. I

Dont forget about a brake-in procedure. Warm the brakes up. Drive the car to 40 mph and brake down to 15-20 mph ( do that 3-5 times). Take the car to 50-60mph and brake to 5mph (2-3 times). Drive the car for about 10-15 min to cool them off. Park the car.

I had to do that on a brand new car from the dealer because the dealer couldnt fix my vibration problem.

Mark

[Lucky]

[remember, front brakes wear much more quickly than rear brakes. the front ones do about two thirds of the braking.[/quote]


I would beg to differ with this statement. I have 46,000 miles on my 2006 SRT8 300, at 30,000 miles I had to replace my rear pads as they had woren to the rivets. My front pads have not been changed yet, and at last oil (44,000) change the mechanic said I had 30% of front pads left, he said that I should change them at 60,000 miles. May be the way I drive, I do not know, I also have about 28,000 miles on my RSA's with only 30% tread wear, looks like I may get 60,000 to 70,000 miles out of them. F1's lasted 16,000 miles. How do I drive, well been down the track 19 times with best time of 13.1 at 111, up to 170 once, 167 three times. It is my daily driver and had it 18 months. Has not missed a beat, not modified in anyway.

[DZeckhausen]

It is true that the front brakes do the lion's share of the work and, in general, tend to wear out faster than the the rear brakes. However, as with most things, there are exceptions. If the rear brakes are unusually small, they can wear out faster than the front brakes. For example, the previous generation VW Passat goes through rear pads faster than front pads. And the non-Track model of the Nissan 350Z has postage-stamp sized rear pads that burn up at the track in just a few sessions.

Some cars have an unusually aggressive electronic traction control. In addition to cutting engine power, it applies individual rear brakes to give the open differential something to push against to get more power to the wheel with traction. Such cars may see very rapid rear pad wear, especially if the driver tends to throw the car into turns under heavy power. I see this with all the SRT8 models (including the Jeep). Depending on the driver's style, those rear pads can burn up quickly. An aftermarket limited slip differential may actually help reduce rear pad wear! How's that for a rationalization for upgrading your car's rear end? "Honey, I need an LSD in order to reduce rear pad wear - for safety."

Of course, if you're lucky enough to have a wife like mine, she'll already be bugging you to install a limited slip to improve traction in the winter.

[DZeckhausen]

Originally Posted by SBK

Man I feel like a boob asking this, but how can you tell if you need to replace your brakes without taking the wheel off. I can see the pads through the rims but how can I tell?

Man I feel like a boob.

You really should take the wheels off (or just one front and one rear wheel) to visually inspect the pads through the viewport at the top of the caliper. And you can also measure rotor thickness with a micrometer or a brake measuring caliper (not to be confused with a brake caliper). Pads that have only a few millimeters of remaining friction material should be replaced. Rotors may or may not need to be changed at the same time, depending on their thickness.

Excessive pedal travel may simply be an indication that you've boiled the brake fluid and have trapped air bubbles in the system. A quick visual inspection of the pads and rotors, followed by a brake bleed (per: Bleeding Brakes) may be all you need to get back a good pedal feel.