Sorry to ask such a question, but how long can you expect OEM brakes to last before needing new pads?

Reason I ask, my 2000 I30 with 51K has been used for mostly city driving. Just had routine tire rotation and balance done. While on the lift I asked if pads need to be changed.

Told "there is plenty of meat left on the pads"

The rears have 51K (never done) and fronts 31K (done at 20k by dealer for brake judder).

Is this slow degree of wear usual and seen by others?

Should I just do the brakes at some point in time no matter how good the pads may look?

Thanks

 

If your braking is fine, and the pads have sufficient thickness (and there's no judder), there's no need really to change anything.

31k on front brakes isn't unheard of, though most people tend to develop warp-age or judder before that point. The rears are still probably fine. I think I put new pads and rotors on the rear somewhere around 90k miles for the first time.

 

with most things...it depends

how much do you use them?

i have put 32K on my brakes since i bought it and they finally need to be replaced (thats with using them a lot and auto-x)

 

If you make an emergency highway stop the first week you have them... About a week.

I found about 20k miles before they started to get crappy on me though. I tend to stop short though.

 

No auto-X, just city driving. Currently braking is fine with no judder. Interesting to know, MetaOrbit, that you got 90K from your rears. Gives me some idea of what to expect.

 

40k and still on the original pads and rotors all around. Still haven't heard any hint of the wear indicators or had any problem with my brakes. I do mostly city driving w/lots of stop & go in traffic jams too. I don't race, but I'm also not all that gentle on my brakes. With the stupid drivers in Philly, I have to be on & off my brakes a lot to keep people around me from doing stupid things. That means I also end up hitting my brakes hard enough for the ABS kick in at least a dozen times a year, when someone does do something stupid.

 

Im not sure if the pads and rotors were changed before on mine before I bought it with 65k but I didnt change mine until about 90k. I still had about 40% of life on the front and a little more than half on the rear pads but they were squeaking on me so I just changed the pads.

 

I'm on my 4th set of pads in the last 40k miles.

then again, I'm on my 3rd set of calipers too

 

dam dude! your rotors mustve been hungry.....

 

got my car with 68000km and now at 123000km, have not changed my pads or rotors. When my engine was swapped last week I asked for a brake inspection and was told everything was fine. I have no idea how old the pads and rotors were when I got the car used.

 

It all depends on driving style. My buddy inherited an Accord from his mom that had 100K on the clock, ORIGINAL BRAKES! And then there are people who drive at tracks and auto x and they last 5K-10K? I think my OEM pads went to about 50K miles with no racing or track driving except for a few passes on a drag strip.

 

Iam pushing 114k on oem ceramics and there still pretty thick, however i just had to replace the rotors about 3 days ago.
The rear ones well, they sucked, I had to replace the calibers and pads but the rotors seem to be doing a good job yet.

 

hey irish how do you really determine if your calipers need replacing?

because i just had my brakes done all the way around, HAWK pads of course...slotted powerslots in the front, and bremob blanks for the rear...And when i brake heavy it feels as if i get slight vibration on the left side, or drivers side....the wheel does not vibrate but i can feel its not smooth....the same thing happened with my OEM pads and rotors, which is why i said the hell with it and got the entire brake setup done. Now i think i pads are getting worn again because i get squealing EVERYTIME I BRAKE, and the pads look low, how often should hawk pads last?

i do alot of city and moderate highway driving, and its only been 7 months and i have to get the front pads redone.

thanks for any insight

 

what kind of calipers did you get?

 

bump...........

 

He changed bc he installed aftermarket caliper setups (A34, 300ZX).

 

Rebuilt Nissan calibers from advanced auto parts.

 

well, I originally determinted that the original calipers needed replacing because they were puny, ugly, and had mediocre stopping power

see how puny and ugly they are?


so I put on 6th gen calipers (and rotors), which had more beef and better stopping power. And they looked a bit nicer, haha


but that still wasn't enough. They were good braking, but still ugly, and extremely heavy. So I went to


better stopping power still. better looks too. And the calipers are about 1/3 as heavy for less unsprung weight. but still, those 6th gen rotors weigh a freakin' TON. So....on to the final (hopefully) setup


knocking another 7-8 lbs of unsprung weight off each front corner. Now have the best of all worlds: multi-piston caliper for excellent braking grip, lightweight calipers and rotors, and damn they look pretty!

 

What kind of calipers and rotors are in the bottom two pics?

 

yea i see what you mean...LOL...thats how i feel about mine, i thought if i painted them they would look better...but i want performance also

So with the rebuilt nissan 300 caliper you have to change the rotors any way...meaning WHEN i go to a bigger brake caliper for my fronts i WILL have to change my rotors out again

But if i upgraded to the 6th gen calipers WOULD i have to change my rotors, or just get some type of wheel spacers....Also would you suggest Blehmco brakes?

 

yes, in that photo those ARE the 6th gen rotors, using the blehmco brackets. You cannot fit the z32 calipers with your OEM rotors.


6th gen calipers, you need the 6th gen rotors too. with that setup you do not need a bracket.

 

3rd pic they are z32 calipers with 6th gen OEM maxima rotors

4th pic they re z32 calipers with 2-piece BlehmCo rotors (same size as OEM 6th gen).

 

I bought the car new and have had no issues with my brakes what so ever. I just had the the rears replaced last weekend at 58k and the fronts were replaced at 53k. Most of my driving is city at 70% and highway at 30%.

 

I have a quick question, how would know if your rotors are warped? And what exactly is brake judder?

 

I replaced mine when I noticed they brakes were dragging when coasting to a stop.. It just felt like the car would stop rolling sooner than it should. When I jacked it up, it took a lot of effort just to spin the wheels. (Sometimes calipers only bind after they've heated up.) You can check the amount of force needed to turn the wheel with a spring gauge, but you can pretty much tell by feel. I warped two sets of front rotors before replacing the calipers.. it's been 5K miles so far, and now they seem fine. You should also check the pins the calipers slide on for wear which can cause uneven pad wear and binding. And make sure you clean or replace the clips that hold the pads.. gunk that builds up on them causes the pads to bind and wear unevenly. The pads shouldn't have to be forced into position.

 

When the rotors "warp" that will result in brake judder. Judder is a strong vibration in the stearing wheel during hard braking. Usually during panic stops on the highway you'll feel it the most, but as it gets worse you can feel in with normal stops too.

With judder, you'll also feel as the car rolls to a stop with constant pressure on the brake that the car is slowing at an uneven rate. Hard to describe, but feels like you are taking your foot on and off the brake when you are not.

From my understanding, rotors don't actually warp, but develop unever weight because of uneven transfer of pad material to the rotors.

Hope that explains things!

 

As long as you don't have any brake fade,rotor warp,or anything unusual going on there,I would leave the brakes alone.If you have to change the brakes,go with OEM.Aftermarket pads make a ton of noise and aren't worth a you-know-what.

 

Yes, brake performance is fine now, even after all these miles.

I had planned to go with non-OEM when it came time to replace the pads/rotors, but I'm starting to reconsider it after seeing how well the OEM brakes are holding up with no noise, little dust, and stable performance.

 

ordered my Hawk HPS pads the other day

OEM pads are starting to squeak since they need to be replaced

 

i dont get much vibration in my wheel but i do feel it slightly like the left is RUBBING on something when i brake heavy...think i should go ahead and HAVE THAT DRIVERS SIDE ROTOR REPLACED "AGAIN" as well ive gone from STOCK rotors, to Powerslot slotted rotors..

 

I just installed drilled rotors and semi - metallic pads in front. I have been breaking them in today.

Now I just have the back to do but I cannot find any writeups ANYwhere for the rear. I really need to make sure that the back will be the same (just as easy) as the front. Meaning, the front didnt involve pressing bearings or abs rings..just pop off and on. When i took the back wheel off and looked to the back of the rotor i could see an abs ring. I also noticed the dust cap over the axle nut...

DOES THE REAR ROTOR REQUIRE SIMPLY TO REMOVE THE AXLE NUT AND THEN IT POPS OFF??? OR WILL I HAVE TO TAKE THE ROTORS OFF AND THEN GET BEARINGS / ABS RING PRESSED OFF???????

 

The rear rotors will come off of the hub, no need to remove the hub nut. ABS ring part of the hub.

 

you are going to need the tool to turn the caliper piston in or use needle nose pliers. Its not a C clamp that gets those in

 

My rears have 100k miles on them and I'm finally replacing them next weekend

 

OEM nissan pads are great, no brake dust at all. It's the OEM rotors that suck ***.

I use nissan pads and brembo rotors now. No vibration after 20000 miles so far.


EDIT: why are we blanking naughty words, are we not all mature adults here?

 

Wow. Never heard of getting 100K on a set of brakes!

 

Not unheard of if they're the rear brakes. Especially if the car is driven mostly highway.

 

My brakes are starting to squeak and it's one of the most annoying noises, i tend to roll my windows up and turn the music up so i dont hear them, but im def getting them done when the paycheck comes in. Going with the Hawk HPS set, not to sure if i gotta do the rear or what or if my rotors need to be cut or changed but for brake pads, hawk is the way to go. Had them on my honda accord and was very happy.

 

just at a quick glance, what are some prices on oem rotors vs fancy upgraded rotors
i replaced my back rotors with sheet from pos boys and they are allready a rusted eyesore, oem seem to have a nice black area around the studs
just wondering

 

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