How long should my brake pads last?
 

I'm quickly approaching the 30,000 mile mark on my P5, and certain maintenance issues are coming up.

I've done the oil & filter every 3000, so no problem there. I changed the spark plugs at about 27,000 (manual recommends 30k) because I was bored and figured why the hell not. Air filter has been replaced, and is inspected at every oil change, tires get rotated (not often enough, but okay - it's the one maintenance thing I "skimp" on, and I'll most likely get some rims and new tires eventually, so whatever) and are in good shape.

Anyone know what the average life of the brake pads are?? I have no braking issues - brakes are still strong, the car brakes straight as an arow, and I have no vibration. I'm just looking forward, wondering when (on average) they need to be swapped out. I do inspect them every so often, by looking through the wheel spokes, and they seem to have good meat left. Any ideas on the average life, under average driving conditions?

Also - has anyone installed the Brembo cross-drilled rotors? They are for sale on eBay all the time, and for $250 ($205 + $45 shipping) seem like a nice upgrade. I know, I know - they will reduce stopping distances marginally, if at all. I think the Pro's brakes are outstanding as is - but the drilled rotors look cool! Anyone know if they are good and strong, any issues with warping, etc.?]

Thanks.

~HH

I got 50k out of my front pads. I drive the car mostly in stop-and-go traffic, but I don't drive very aggressively most of the time. I would suspect that a P5's front pads won't last quite as long because it's a heavier vehicle with the same size brakes. Expect increased wear if you drive aggressively.

Rear pads should last just about forever :) My rear shoes were only about half gone after 60k miles. I expect ~110k miles out of them :D

Thanks for the reply. 50k seems really reasonable for a set of brakepads.

I understand your reasons for thinking that the fronts may wear faster (due to weight) and the rears will last a long time however:

Won't the rear disc setup affect this? I would think the rears would not last quite as long as shoes (drum brakes), but their increased stopping power may let the fronts wear longer.

I guess I'll just wait and see. I'll be actively checking them more often as the miles pile up. And with any luck, the pad wear will be even enough to warrant changing front and back at the same time. I think I should probably do that anyway.

~HH

pretty much in all my vehicles to date my front brakes have lasted about 30k (40k on the long side)... I am very hard on brakes it would seem....

Only at 15k on the P5 so I will need to wait and see with this one.

I never heard that cross drilled rototrs would reduce stopping distances. They cool much better, and allow the pocket of gas to escape through the rotor making for better friction pad contact. I have seen some cross drilled rotors on bigger heavier cars warp in about 10,000 miles, but they were also driven extremely hard (multiple 120+ mph stops within minutes) They will also eat the pads faster due to the sharp edge of each hole scraping the pad.

It really depends on how rough are you with brakes. I mean sometimes you can truly avoid stepping hard on the brakes. Lets say you are approaching a traffic light from far. If you see a red light, why not just ease off the gas pedal and let the car roll towards the light (and if you're lucky, it may turn green while you're there)?

It may seem like common sense, and that's what I do, but it seems that whenever I do that, there would be this car on the other lane that zooms pass me and speeds right towards the red light, then hit the brakes when there's like 10 feet left.

And in traffic jams on the freeway, just keep your calm, don't accerate hard just to move 2 car lengths and brake hard again to a complete stop. U ain't going much faster by doing that. Keep it at a steady slow pace... until it's all the way clear in front, then downshift to 1st and test your 2-60 mph times :)

Might seem like it's not worth doing these things just to save on brake pads, but this also makes the ride smoother for your passengers. :D

Great minds think alike!!! ;)

mine front pads have 20% left on them after 50000k's...i am replacing them with a set of bendix "metal king" pads today...i drive the car pretty hard so im impressed that the pads have lasted so long....during the 50k service they wanted to charge me 190 aussie $ to replace the pads with mazda genuine items..NO WAY was i going to pay that...the bendix only set me back 82 $ and are probably better quality.

btw my rear shoes have 60% left on them ;)

cheers
Cris