Original brake pads lasting forever

[B-R-Z]

I am up to 115k miles on my 2013 BRZ (bought new in 2013 with 5 miles). I drive 100 miles per day for work 5 days a week, hitting heavy stop and go traffic each way. In addition to that, I drive a decent amount for personal use. Probably ~26k/year

Last week I started hearing a squeak when I applied the brakes and thought I was finally due for new pads so I go out to my local dealership yesterday to pick up pads. I flipped up my caliper today to find my current pads have almost half of pad meat left; both sides have identical wear. Has anyone else had pads this long? On my prior cars (Integra GSR, S2000) I've replaced pads twice within similar mileage.

[n0thing]

By 20k km (12.4k miles), I had my brakes changed twice.

[Keenercarguy]

At 36k after dozens of autocrosses and canyon runs my pads still had 75+% left

[Turdinator]

I have replaced a motor before I have replaced discs or pads....

[JamesK]

I have gone 65000km on my 86 just recently got my car serviced and was told I have 50% left on my front pads 70-75% rear

[KalbiCool88]

2.5 years, nearly 20k miles with majority of it being city driving - 80% pad life left...

If you think about it these stock pads are pretty damn economical. Nothing to brag about, but hey they certainly give you a crap ton of service before kaput.

[churchx]

It's not stock pads that last long. It's not driving on track that makes pads last long hence putting 5-20 times less wear on them, depending how often. Most going to track had upgraded to non-stock pads after all, be it right away, or after quick wearing down of stockers.

[renfield90]

Brakes make you go slow. Good on you for not using them.

[churchx]

But i guess it might be applicable only for past, when brakes were so bad that couldn't be much relied upon anyway. Unless it's straight like eg. dragstrip, one cannot lap faster without using brakes. There are other ways to bleed speed too, eg. sliding sideways, but they'll make one's lap speed worse aswell vs proper driving. And even in rally driving on gravel or ice sliding everywhere stages, brakes are used for mass transfer / turning a lot, not just for primary function. If one drives fast enough, one needs to slow down enough .. and at right point, right amount and in right fashion.

[LotsaMiles]

Originally Posted by B-R-Z

I am up to 115k miles on my 2013 BRZ (bought new in 2013 with 5 miles). I drive 100 miles per day for work 5 days a week, hitting heavy stop and go traffic each way. In addition to that, I drive a decent amount for personal use. Probably ~26k/year

Last week I started hearing a squeak when I applied the brakes and thought I was finally due for new pads so I go out to my local dealership yesterday to pick up pads. I flipped up my caliper today to find my current pads have almost half of pad meat left; both sides have identical wear. Has anyone else had pads this long? On my prior cars (Integra GSR, S2000) I've replaced pads twice within similar mileage.

I have a 2013 FR-S with 131k miles on it. 150 miles a day, daily driver.

And yeah, at 125k I bought new pads, pulled the driver's side caliper off and there was so much pad left I just bolted 'em back on.

I do a lot of hypermiling though and use gears to drop my speed in a lot of the twisties. And on i-65 I don't need to brake much.


BTW, I haven't replaced the plugs yet, either.

[LotsaMiles]

I'm not a fan of the brakes on this car, though.

At about 80k I was coming off the freeway, dropping from 80 to about 50 and they started rumbling pretty bad. I thought they were worn out, but they were not. It must just be the modern material in the brakes because I notice my wife's car does it too. It's not the pulsating of a warped rotor. It's a weird rumbling. I hate it.

I thought about getting slotted discs when I DO replace the pads, but even that doesn't look like it will do the trick. (drilled are obsolete according to every single "knowledgeable" brake rundown I read).

[wparsons]

I wouldn't get slotted pads, they just wear pads out faster. I'd check the rotors for deposits of pad material, that could make them feel a bit funny.

[SmartedPanda]

I'm at 36.7k @ 3.5 years, with about 210 miles a week for work.

I'm almost over 75% use of pads. I think due to all the stopping I do (imagine going only 10 miles an hour across 20 miles).

So I'm researching new pads now since I'd probably use the rest by Valentines day.

[Capt Spaulding]

Originally Posted by LotsaMiles

I'm not a fan of the brakes on this car, though.

At about 80k I was coming off the freeway, dropping from 80 to about 50 and they started rumbling pretty bad. I thought they were worn out, but they were not. It must just be the modern material in the brakes because I notice my wife's car does it too. It's not the pulsating of a warped rotor. It's a weird rumbling. I hate it.

I thought about getting slotted discs when I DO replace the pads, but even that doesn't look like it will do the trick. (drilled are obsolete according to every single "knowledgeable" brake rundown I read).

My wife's Camry did the same thing. The pads were fine and disc runout didn't seem to be the problem. I bet on the hunch it was a bedding issue. Took the car out to a back road and did threshold level 65-15 mph stops until the brakes faded just a bit. Problem solved.