Hi,

2010 R56 hardtop, basic edition. Front pads getting low, rear not far behind, thinking of performing my own replacement of pads and rotors for all four wheels. Primarily to save money but also for experience. I am not a diy expert when it comes to cars but I have done a few diy jobs on other vehicles - including a full brake and rotor install on a Honda CRV. So I am familiar with the process.

I watched some Youtube videos for doing this job on a Mini just to see if there are significant deviations from the work I did on the Honda. The process seems nearly identical - the only difference really is the presence of the Mini's pad thickness sensor, which doesn't seem like a difficult wrinkle.

So, a few questions for the experts here:

1. Recommendations for pads and rotors. I have researched some past threads on this and I've seen recommendations for EBC GreenStuff and/or RedStuff and Centric 125 rotors. But are these "overkill" for a car that is basically an urban daily driver and never driven in "performance" conditions? Are the Bosch QuietCast products a big step down? Essentially I'm trying to balance budget with daily driver (non-)performance needs.

2. I have a floor jack and two jack stands that were sized to do this work on my CRV, so clearly they should support the Mini with ease. What is the best configuration to support the Mini on jack stands while working on each wheel? Opposite sides, same side, side and front?

Thanks for any and all thoughts!

 

Don't get the cheapest around as you will not be happy with the performance.

We use the EBC redstuff in our shop with our WMW rotors this way you have great pedal feel, quiet, and low dust.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-red...7-r58-r59.html

Use the jack points to jack the car and normally we put the jack stands under the subframe or other jack point.

 

After looking at all the braking options for Mini's,I just decided to remove the rear rotors(rear warning light was on) and have them turned at my local NAPA store.Cost was $15 each.
They could not get my pads the same day so I got them at O'Riellys.Cost was about $44 for their brand.The sensor was about $12.
This is my wifes car and only used for commuting so spending a lot of cash on fancy drilled/slotted rotors and upgraded pads did not make sense.

 

We have some very useful DIY tech articles here that can help with your replacement. Look under brakes. You'll find info about the brake pad sensor and even rotor specs. Brake pads here and rotors here too if you need them in the future.

 

IMO centric premium rotors are the way to go...or the high carbon centric if you wish..very nice for the $$.
Pads...pick ones that match how the car is used....no one set is perfect for "everything"...a ton threads...but mainstream pads for mainstream drivers are usually right...
I liked akeneebonoo...dust free ceramics pads, but not a track style pad...

 

I put autozone on wifes car, did not notice any difference, I know other who have done the same. But it's your money. I did some fast stops and all seemed the same. Maybe experts can feel the difference. I bought their gold line of pads.

 

Somebody has to make the store brand pads...
Akenobonno makes the CarQuest Cerramic pads....same ones actually...the numbers printed on the pads, etc...eventually they started "co-branding" the boxes...
Some super cheap stuff is crap...lightweight rotors and junk pads, but stick to quality stuff, and you should be happy.

Just be sure to clean everything up and lube the slides....

 

If you can do disk brakes on a Honda ... you can do a MINI. I forget if the Honda needs the rear pistons turned while pushed, but that would be the only difference. I actually found my ELEMENT to be harder 'cus of the little clips and springs which seemed to need 3 extra hands to hold in place!

1. Recommendations for pads and rotors. I have researched some past threads on this and I've seen recommendations for EBC GreenStuff and/or RedStuff and Centric 125 rotors. But are these "overkill" for a car that is basically an urban daily driver and never driven in "performance" conditions? Are the Bosch QuietCast products a big step down? Essentially I'm trying to balance budget with daily driver (non-)performance needs.

you can go to a good auto part store and get perfectly fine pads and rotors for everyday 'non-performance' use .... I've used Duralast from AutoZone .... I used EBC reds myself "just cuz" & for less dust but if someone comes to me and wants a bare bones job for their kid's car .... AutoZone here I come.

Use the jack points to jack the car and normally we put the jack stands under the subframe or other jack point.

hmmmm, I do the opposite and lift the car using the subframe points and position the jackstands at the provided jack points . . . I can lift the entire side high enuf to get jackstands under both jack pads by lifting from the front subframe . . .

a CRV probably sits taller than a MINI so you may have issues getting your jack into the correct place. I had the opposite problem, the jack I used for MINI/Mini work was so small I couldn't lift the ELEMENT high enuf to get a jack stand in place . . . A couple of 2x4 scraps solved the problem.

 

+1...
I had to drive my MINI onto a 2x6 to lift it up a big to get a non-lowprofile jack under the car...
Why spend $150 on a new jack when a piece of scrap lumber will do it for free...

 

Older (late 80s/early-90s) Hondas certainly need the rear caliper pistons turned to retract them. Those that had rear disks, that is--many at that point still had drums on the rear.

I'm going to be trying my old standby to turn the rear brakes back in that I used on my CRX when I still owned one: Needle-nose vise-grips. I can open the jaws enough with the adjuster so that they give me some leverage, and the "needle" nose is actually blunt and thick enough to give some decent grip in the notches on the face of the piston. At least, it was on the CRX. Hopefully it is on the MINI as well. I'll find out in a few hours.

 

many at that point still had drums on the rear.

many at THIS point have drums on the rear

spousal unit's FIT does . . .

 

As does the Tacoma pickup...both the current '15 and the upcoming '16 refresh....

Cheap, simple...they eork on the rears...heck rears make so little heat, drums can have some advantages in staying dry, and being cheap...and IMO simple to work on once you learn where the springs go...
If I recall right, the last time I did the rears on my '89 CRX (STILL HAD DRUMS ON REAR) the shoes were about $10, and drums were like $14 eack...think the hardware kit (new springs) were another $3...was back in 2004...but still...lol..cheap!!

 

Yours wasn't the Si model, then. From 88 on, the CRX Si had rear disks.

Didn't know the recent Hondas still had rear drums. Interesting. I suspect they must be cheaper to make than disks, or at least than disk brakes with a parking brake.

I used the needle-nose pliers and they worked. It would have been better if the wide part of the jaws (near the handles) had been narrower, because I wouldn't have had to reposition them quite as often. But the tips of the jaws certainly fit the recesses in the pistons well enough to turn them.

 

" Didn't know the recent Hondas still had rear drums. "

Honda Fit and Fit Sport do. Rear pads for the drum are the most expensive thing. Bought per pad.

 

for my 79

front pads (7.5 disks) $39.95

Rear shoes ... full set $27.95

MiniMania.com

 

Genuine $19 a rear pad ( x 4) , all other on BO , fronts pad full set ~$30 aftermarket

 

How far can one go after tripping the rear brake pad sensor? Mine just went off this past Saturday.

 

Depends....
Issue is the sensor only monitors ONE pad..front or rear...and while they can wear sorta even, rarely the they 100% perfect...
You might several thousand miles, heck even 5000+ from some folks reports....you might start grinding metal on metal tomorrow...the remaining pad thickness can be obsevered, even measure pretty easily with the rims on..
So the best way IMO is to take flashlight, and look...
General rule of thumb is when the backer plate thickness equals the thickness of the remaining pad, you are in the danger zone...as the pad might fail, or detach from the backer plate...
I'll admit that I have run pads very thin..both on accident, and on purpose...

 

When the rear sensor tripped on my wifes mini I looked at the pads.
Only one pad(right rear )had a sensor.That pad had about 9/32" left.
The other 3 were were more or less the same.
I'm sure the brakes would have lasted a few more thousand.

I also looked at the front(no sensor light).
The discs are well worn with the groove being deeper on the inboard side.Will need to replace soon.

Just saying the pads and discs don't wear even.

 

I'm saving up for the Wilwood rear brake kit as I already have the front kit, this might up my timetable. I know I don't really need the kit for the rear but would be nice to have a matched set and to keep brake bias where it should be.

 

I did my front brakes today with the EBC Reds. I picked the pads and a sensor up from WMW about 2pm. The most difficult part was driving through the traffic back home where some idiot bounced off of 4 cars causing I85 to become a parking lot.

I started about 3:45 and was going for a test drive an hour latter. I did spend some time cleaning my wheels while they were off. I was also able to save my original sensor as the pads had not quite wore down that far. It was an easy brake job.

 

I did a front brake/rotor job with Stoptech sport slotted rotors and centric posi-quiet pads. Everything is holding up nicely for my daily driving and the damage was something around $175 from auto anything.

That being said....I get squeaking here and there from my posi-quiets so I might suggest a different pad. Also the Stoptech's where mostly for the slotted look...so to save money I've heard centric plain face rotors are a great match and quality part

 

Brake pads are one place the government should step in and have standards. That said, brands can and will vary a lot. My rears were squealing and so I removed he set of Duralast the previous owner installed and replaced them with factory pads.

Are EBC, Brembo, Akebono better? Maybe for track days but not my "normal" use. I've had Ferodo semi racing pads before and although they take heat well, they weren't optimum for around town. I'll stick with factory pads. YMMV.

Peter