I installed Hawk HPS and Brembo plain rotors this weekend. Got them from Ange at RedLine in NYC. The old pads on the driver side were about 50% worn. On the other hand, there was almost no pad left on the passenger side! What's the likely culprit for premature brake pad wear on one side? For the past two years the passenger side brake squealed when I applied the brake at moderate to low speeds. I did find one of the caliper pins did not slide freely, but it was not frozen. I did re-grease it and made sure it was not hydro locked. Also, my OEM shims were corroded, especially the interior ones that press against the piston. I smeared brake lube on both sides of the shims. Will this prevent corrosion in the future or is the corrosion inevitable? New shims will be arriving this week, so they'll get installed next weekend.

 

If there's air in one of the lines, that side will not brake as hard as the rest. Be sure to bleed the brakes completely.

Corroded shims should not be reused, but you've already got that covered.

 

Thanks for the suggestion on air in the brake lines. I bled all four wheels yesterday using a MightyVac. After 90K the original factory-installed fluid was dark cherry in color. The new fluid is yellow (Coastal DOT3), so it was easy to see when the old fluid had been completely flushed. The brake pedal is now nice and firm. In the future I plan to keep a better eye on brake pad wear.

 

I also saw a wheel brake pad worned much more than the other because on the same axle the other brakes on the same circuit was faulty. All the braking pressure is then going on one wheel instead of 2.