Hey all,

I brought my 2009 MCCSa in for service today and was told that my rear brakes are down to 3mm (that's 3mm until it hits metal, according to the SA). These are aftermarket EBC Redstuff pads that were installed in April and have seen about 7500 miles of non-track use. I can't believe that they are ready to replace already. I talked briefly with Way Motor Works (I think I talked with Way himself), and I believe he said that the EBC redstuff only have about 5mm of pad material to start with. I wish I had confirmed this with Way, but can anybody else confirm this? Any thoughts on why my rear pads would wear so quickly? Yes, I am a spirited driver but I haven't tracked the car since they were installed.

 

ummmmmm

did you check yourself?

I once took my MINI in for service and the dealer told me "you need pads right now, they are gone."

Very surprising since I'd put on new EBC Green pads just a few weeks before

Could it be that the dealer looked at my miles - out of pre-pay maint - and their computer - we have not done pads yet - and said 'sucka on the hook'?

One nice thing about brake dust - you can tell if someone has been poking around the wheels .... hmmmmm they checked my pads without even touching a wheel - no fingerprints

I went home & checked my pads and as I suspected they had virtually NO visible wear yet....material easily twice as thick as the backing plate & more

**B.S. penalty flag thrown - - dealer looses 15 yards**

Compared notes with several local owners who are also doing their own brakes and each reported similar experiences.

{this was NOT the dealer associated with by current location btw - but this dealer's GM did tell me on another occasion "we don't make any money to speak of selling cars. We make it ALL in the service department." His words ... not much wiggle room on that one.}

I don't have any EBC red on hand but have a few diff' sets of both GEN1 and GEN2 front and rears sitting in the garage and a quick check showed a consistent starting thickness of 10mm for S pads. Minimum thickness is usually 3mm (GEN1 Haynes spec) - the same thickness of the backing plate hence the seat-of-the-pants visual check: is the pad material thicker than the backing plate.

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IF you find those new rears are toast already I suspect you have a different problem

BUT

at 3mm I'd expect the sensors to have gone off too . . .

 

Well, I didn't check myself, but I brought it up to Dez Ballards new shop in O.C. and they found that the rear brake calipers were forcing constant contact between the pads and rotor - and the dealers service guys didn't notice! Now I have a new set of Porterfields and the brakes are working just dandy.

 

10 mm Pad thickness for the rear brakes is about right for new pads.

 

Mini techs don't pull a wheel to check to check pad thickness. They have a tool that they place against the pad and get digital readout of remaining pad thickness

 

I have about 10k miles on my brakes EBC redstuff and TSW slotted rotors. I drive hard daily and mine seem to have no visible wear. I don't believe I would ever go back to that dealer.

 

EBC has a new pad material for the Redstuff brake pads. You may have gotten an old set with the older, more wear-prone material. I had the same issue with a previous car and the brakes ran out after about 6K miles. They sent me a new set right away after I sent an email directly to EBC.