New discs and pads @ 44k normal??

[gtimk5]

I just checked my pads and at 47000 kms the fronts have about 7m/m and rears 5 m/m left. That included a fair few flat out laps at Sandown and Baskerville race tracks. I am more than happy with that.
The same cannot be applied to my tyres though.......
Andrew

[gerhard]

Interesting stuff, I have heard that Astra pads/rotors chew out very early as well.

But how about this - My 1998 Auto Jackaroo front pads replaced at 150,000, the rears will last to 180,000 estimated. Rotor wear minimal, scoring non existant. It's a heavy auto used mainly around town but frequent bush trips, Cape York, etc included

Sadly the original pads are now unobtanium due to asbestos. The replacement Kevlars are shocking - they squeal, fade badly, are dirty and won't work when wet - all problems I didn't have before. I'm about to replace them with Bendix 4WD pads, hopefully they are much better.

[Spoddy]

Sadly the original pads are now unobtanium due to asbestos. The replacement Kevlars are shocking - they squeal, fade badly, are dirty and won't work when wet - all problems I didn't have before. I'm about to replace them with Bendix 4WD pads, hopefully they are much better.

Try sourcing ceramic pads... from a google search and a site tirerack.com
"Why Ceramic Brake Pads?

We want our vehicle's brake system to offer smooth, quiet braking capabilities under a wide range of temperature and road conditions. We don't want brake-generated noise and dust annoying us during our daily driving.

To accommodate this, brake friction materials have evolved significantly over the years. They've gone from asbestos to organic to semi-metallic formulations. Each of these materials has proven to have advantages and disadvantages regarding environmental friendliness, wear, noise and stopping capability.

Asbestos pads caused health issues and organic compounds can't always meet a wide range of braking requirements. Unfortunately the steel strands used in semi-metallic pads to provide strength and conduct heat away from rotors also generate noise and are abrasive enough to increase rotor wear.

Since they were first used on a few original equipment applications in 1985, friction materials that contain ceramic formulations have become recognized for their desirable blend of traits. These pads use ceramic compounds and copper fibers in place of the semi-metallic pad's steel fibers. This allows the ceramic pads to handle high brake temperatures with less heat fade, provide faster recovery after the stop, and generate less dust and wear on both the pads and rotors. And from a comfort standpoint, ceramic compounds provide much quieter braking because the ceramic compound helps dampen noise by generating a frequency beyond the human hearing range.

Another characteristic that makes ceramic materials attractive is the absence of noticeable dust. All brake pads produce dust as they wear. The ingredients in ceramic compounds produce a light colored dust that is much less noticeable and less likely to stick to the wheels. Consequently, wheels and tires maintain a cleaner appearance longer.

Ceramic pads meet or exceed all original equipment standards for durability, stopping distance and noise. According to durability tests, ceramic compounds extend brake life compared to most other semi-metallic and organic materials and outlast other premium pad materials by a significant margin - with no sacrifice in noise control, pad life or braking performance.

This is quite an improvement over organic and semi-metallic brake materials that typically sacrifice pad life to reduce noise, or vice versa."

[ranton-inc]

man i wish my Pads and rotors lasted 40,000

in my GTI

i went thru two sets of rotors in a year and a half

and 8 sets of pads in that time.

[Oneofthegreats]

It all depend's on the driving style of the driver & where most of there km's are done. eg. City v Country km's

From what I've seen, for a mildly hard driven city car incl. DSG or non-DSG, that mileage is fairly normal for a set of front & rear brakes. Maybe not rear disc's though.

The pad's & disc's are manufactured out of some very soft material. Hence the braking performance.

The rear pad's suprisingly wear nearly as fast as the front's.

Later model BMW's are nearly identical for brake wear to. It wasn't uncommon to replace front pad's at the 25K first service!


Also a side note, that they do knock pad's alot for safety reason's, as not everyone are into car's & doing there own services, tyre rotation's & checking brakes etc.
So, if a set of pad's do have a bit of meat still left on them but they won't last till the next service (15K), they advice to have them checked in roughly 7K.
The majority of owner's don't want the hassle of having to return to the dealership until the next service. So they say, replace them.

Like I said, not everyone has an interest in these car's & most people just use these car's as basic transport.

Hope this makes alittle sense.