Posted: 1/22/2010 4:39:40 AM EDT
|
I have a 2006 Nissan altima with 61000 miles on it. Last night I decided to changed the brakes and rotors on it since this has never been done.
When I pulled the pads off I was shocked to see that there was still about half a pad left. Is this normal for these cars? I know the last car I had went about 40000 before I had to change them. Should I change them since I have the parts or just wait? |
|
That is about right then.
Every time you press on the brakes, it compresses the pad onto the rotor. It doesn't spring back even when you let off, it continues to drag on the rotor. As you drive, some amount of pad wears away till they are no longer quite touching. (Mileage required varies to this point due to the hardness of the pads and rotors.) The more times you have to apply your brakes, the more times this happens. so stop and go traffic makes it worse. Freeway driving reduces wear. overall freeway driving reduces wear and tear. So that is why you see ads for old cars saying mostly highway driven. |
|
Pads will last a long time if you don't abuse the brakes. My bimmer has 190k miles and got it's first ever pad and rotor replacement @ 180k. It's a manual so there's a lot of downshifting / engine braking going on that takes the place of using the brake pedal.
ETA: The pads that came out were still fine, rotors were a bit worn, and I was upgrading anyway. None of it needed replaced due to wear. |
|
Many of the newer ceramic pads have very long life.
My Tahoe has over 75,000 (50 miles a day on the interstate to work) and I keep checking the pads expecting to replace them Less than half worn a few weeks ago. The new pads are just gathering dust in the basement. |
|
Quoted:
That is about right then. Every time you press on the brakes, it compresses the pad onto the rotor. It doesn't spring back even when you let off, it continues to drag on the rotor. no, it doesn't. a combination of slight axial runout and the Bernoulli effect conspire to keep the pad away from the disk by a very small but necessary amount. ar-jedi |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
That is about right then. Every time you press on the brakes, it compresses the pad onto the rotor. It doesn't spring back even when you let off, it continues to drag on the rotor. no, it doesn't. a combination of slight axial runout and the Bernoulli effect conspire to keep the pad away from the disk by a very small but necessary amount. ar-jedi I can't let this go. What does bernoulli have to do with this? Air flow over the pad pulls it away? I know that the o-ring warps a bit and helps pull it back some, but very little. And regardless of run out, I know you hear the drag when you spin a tire. There is even more on a disc brake then on a drum. |