I was just going over my car after weekend event, when is recommended brake pad replacement? I had previously purchased a spare PFC pad set 7745.01.16.44. These pads are 16mm total thickness = 5mm backing plate and 11mm of pad.
For whatever reason the wear on the front pads seems somewhat uneven, varying by ~1mm. My car has about 2,700km on it now. I have always heard the rule of thumb is to replace when go under 1/2 thickness. So, is that when pads get less than 5.5mm? How low can they go realistically before coming apart? I could not find recommendation in Radical electronic manuals, but may have overlooked.
Several of the Radical dealer techs have told me to replace when the pad thickness is less than 5mm. So if any part of the pad is less than 5mm, I replace them which means that I usually replace the front before the rear, but some techs like to replace all four corners even if the rear pads are thicker than 5mm. I don't do that, and the car seems to stop fine with new pads in the front and half worn in the rear and vice versa.
The pads will naturally wear faster on the leading edge with the respect to the direction of disc rotation.
Thanks for the feedback, I suspected 5-6mm limit and will double check. If they get too thin, they dont dissipate heat as well and start to crack, fall apart.
New twist:
The hex insert bolt that secures and holds the brake pads in place (removed for pad replacement) is so tight, rusted, or something that the 6mm hex insert socket stripped. Total PIA, glad dealing with this in shop and not at the track. I hate male hex insert screws versus hex bolt heads.
The hex insert bolt that secures and holds the brake pads in place ...
Which bolts are you referring to? I always remove the entire caliper from the chassis uprights and discs to replace the pads. These bolts on my cars are hex end that you can easily remove with a socket, not a hex allen key.
Dan, I normally use the backplate as a guide as it's 5mm. If any part of the pad is less then the thickness of the back plate I replace them.
Like DavidF I normally pull the entire caliper off and swap pads that way. If you use the center bolt, you need to pay close attention to it upon reassembly. If it's not oriented just right, the pad backing plate will bind and not allow the pads to move freely. The flat area on the bolt needs to be perpendicular to the top of the backing plate.
Probably obvious but thought I'd mention it, as I've seen a few calipers now that had obvious binding issues.
Thanks again. I was so used to simple one bolt removal for brake pads on my Porsche race car, tried that first as seemed like should be easiest. Radical intended those cheesy hex insert bolt to stay in place. I will certainly just pull the caliper instead for pad replacement.
