Given Carbotech's claim of 2 to 3 times longer pad lifetime as well as 2 to 3 times longer rotor life time, not to mention actual reports of much lower brake dust, has anyone immediately swapped out brake pads on their brand new car? Doing it immediately would seem to remove any question of whether the rotors should be turned for new pads.

It seems to make financial sense if you are willing to make the initial cost and time investment (roughly $270 delivered) given the other threads that talk about the cost of a brake job (whether done by yourself [save some money if the pads and rotors last longer] or by the dealer [save a lot of money if the pads and rotors last longer).

Any thoughts?

 

Hello Charlie,

I've had many customers put the right CT pad on a brand new car for many reasons. All of them you list are good and true. If you plan to track the MINI then the game plan changes a little but still is a good idea to run the right pad for you and your MINI from day one.

 

No plan of any track use of the car. If I do decide to change the pads, I likely will be ordering from your site - that's where my pricing came from.

I have to see if I can talk any weekend mechanics at my work into supervising my work. Reading the DIY threads I'm pretty sure I can do it, but it's always better to have a gear head assist -- especially with brakes!

My dealer is about 100 miles away. I assume that if I drive "nicely" home, 100 miles is as good as new in terms of leaving the rotors as is, correct?

 

Charlie...

I might be adding to my MINI family in Dec/Jan...I plan on installing Carbotech pads within an hour of taking delivery! Even if the next car ISN'T a MINI...if Carbotech offers brake pads for the make/model, I'll install those pads as quickly as possible!

Bottom line...Carbotech pads ROCK and you definitely get what you pay for...as the old saying goes!

 

The stock pads are so nasty, my wheels were black 2 days after I washed them. Figured my time in cleaning them was worth it over the life of the pads. The fact that they're quiet, smooth, and stop great was gravy.
Couldn't be happier without going to the new JCW car brakes.
fig

 

Thanks and the 100 miles is fine, really up to about 5K is safe, 10K is pushing it. With only a few hundred miles on the MINI changing out the pads should be very easy without any special tools.

 

I have the CT pads on my 07 to reduce the brake dust,however not as pleased as the Mintex Pads on my 05.The dust is reduced with CT,i just think Mintex does a better job,could not get Mintex for the 07.Q

 

I think I had about 5,000-6,000 miles on my MCS when I had the Bobcat 1521 pads installed. The local (independent) MINI mechanic thought the rotors were OK. The brakes work great and the dust is minimal.

 

Brake pads are under warranty for 4 yrs/50,000 miles.

$300 / $5 car wash = 60 car washes. That's over one year of drive through car washes if you go every week.

Why are you paying so much to change out a part that is under warranty again?

 

The free maintenance is only 3 years/36,000 miles. It will probably take me more than three years to need new brake pads. So, I probably wouldn't benefit from the free maintenance program. I only put about 6,000 miles on a car in a year. Also, I anticipate situations when I drive, so I use the brakes less than most people do. Even so, the brake dust buildup was surprising.

Not having to wash the wheels every week over a three year period would save a great deal of my time. Then there is the issue of water use in an area with limited water. The benefits outweigh the costs, IMO.

 

I thought the warranty was 4 yrs/50,000 miles and the only items not covered are tires.

Just seems like the excuses are not valid, your going to have to wash the car every so often anyway. Just my opinion of course. If you must change them, you can get great ceramic pads for about $100 at various websites on the net.

 

The warranty doesn't cover brakes, seeing this is a wear item. Only the free maintenance 3/36,000 is going to cover brakes.

 

I have 18k on my car now, so If I should happen to wear out my brakes during my maintenance period, I would replace the new oem pads with something better, like the carbotech. If I were into a new car again, I would definitely do a pad replacement.

 

You get what you pay for with ceramic pads.... $100 pads are $100 pads. They're NOT carbotechs.

I changed from OEM to Hawk ceramics at about 7,000 miles IIRC. I installed CarboTechs with new rotors at about 32,000 miles IIRC. Not because the Hawks were worn out, but because the rotors were getting pretty worn and I wanted something with more bite.

Love my Bobcats. Love my AX6 (dusty as hell) pads for mountain twisty weekends. Will probably get a set of XP10/XP8 for occassional track use.

If I had it to do again, I would put Carbotech pads on a brand new car.

The BMW "free maintenance" program is, for the vast majority of MINI owners, not much of a deal after all. I got two oil changes. Which I had to drive 2 hours each way for, and spend $50 worth of gas on each trip. Now I do my own oil changes using uber-expensive oil for less than those "free" ones cost me...