I can't even see if my pads are low. Worst brake design ever.
 

I think the pads are low, but I can’t even see the pad thickness

I literally had the wheels off, and I have no clue if the pads are low.
There is no where to see the pad. Totally blocked views.

How are you supposed to see if your pads are low?

take 1 bolt out of the caliper and rotate the caliper out of the way.

seriously? remove one bolt and rotate the caliper up. That can't possibly be the "worst brake design ever".

It takes longer to remove the wheel than it does to swap the pads.

i've never had a set of pads that's easy to see without moving the caliper

Should have dug up even more dead threads in the brake subforum and see where this goes. Try the Issues/Warranty subforum too. Just get silly.

math Mostly

isnt it an interval anyways? check the brake pads every 15k or something? I typically swap em out anyways for what I do and then add that to my list of "check at _____ interval) which literally means take em out and look at how they wear.

only pads that are easy to see are those held in place by a snap clip or a single bolt on racing calipers. you got a factory car with sliding calipers. *shrugs*

OP, you need to start reading the DYI section. There’s a DYI for just about anything to do with this car and it’s growing. Take advantage of those who took the time to create them and learn how to do the job before you even start.

I agree, I don't like sliding calipers. All exonomy cars should have come with monoblock 4 piston calipers stock.

And that little window on top of the caliper that you can see pad thickness through is stupid too, let's my pads cool off too much when i drive in snow with stock primacy tires.

Wow, I can't believe you actually need to remove calipers just to inspect the pad thickness.
Every other car I've owned, the pads are in plain view.
Most cars, you can see the pad thickness without even removing the wheel.
What a disgrace.

That window is useless, particularly on the rear wheels.
And the wheel needs to be removed.

How did they make a car where you can't see the pads with the car on the ground?

Next time you're in a parking lot, look at any other car
You can see the pads without touching a single tool.

look at the caliper from above, you can see the pad plain as day.
if you can't see it, it's damn low.

God, the whining.

This may actually be the answer.
I'll go remove the wheel and caliper now.

Hey give him a break. He missed at least two other brake pad threads to whine in. Not even sure what he is looking at on other cars since about 99.9% of them are the exact same setup as this.


I am much more perturbed that I have to open my hood and pull out a sick to check my oil. What is this 1922?

https://media3.giphy.com/media/iAYup...nVGk/giphy.gif

I always thought 'whining' was a clue that the pads or the disks are on their last legs.

No, you're thinking of "squealing"!
Whining is what you hear from your manual transmission if it has straight cut gears or no oil. ;)

Plenty of meat left that would be visible on other cars
https://i.ibb.co/D80LfYY/0908191148b.jpg

OK so were is the caliper?

Where is it? I had to lift it up. After I removed the wheel. After I jacked the car.
That is the entire basis of my whining and bitching and ranting!

Thanks Tcoat!! I was wondering if I could complain here about how screwed up the dipstick is. Er, on the car, not the OP!! :threadjacked:

How would that be visible with any other car with calipers? What cars did you own where that was open and visible?

Well, the really annoying thing about this car is that I have to stick the key in it every time I want to drive it. You look in every other car in the parking lot and there is a button to start it! Some you don't even have to start!

Go to any parking lot, and look at the calipers of any car.
You will clearly see the brake pads

Jesus OP, how hard is life for you? :lol:

what other cars have you owned?

Lonely or bored maybe? ;) :D

Bruh, you really gotta relax.

I can't see the pads on any of the cars in my garage right now. At best, I can potentially look at the bottom of the calipers on my wife's Yaris and deduce the pad thickness by the gap next to the rotor. I might be able to see the FR-S's if I had my thinner-spoked, slightly larger track wheels on, but I doubt it.

That being said once the wheels are off, the "window" in the caliper is fine for a quick check when I rotate tires (I'm not sure why you can't see it). If it gets to the point that I can't tell from the window, then it's getting close but here's the thing - the brakes on these (and most modern, small) cars last a crazy long time. I still have the original pads on my '13 with 50k miles, and that includes an average of six AutoX a year since new (I do swap out for track pads on track days). My wife's Yaris has 100k+ miles on the original pads, and there's still a ton of life left in them! I bought a new set just b/c I figured it was probably time, and the original pads are still well over half the thickness of the new ones!

That being said, as others have mentioned it's very easy to loosen the bottom bolt and remove the top to swing the caliper out if you want to double-check. If you check them when you rotate your tires at an oil change, they will not go bad in the time between one oil change and the next.

"I can't even see if my pads are low. Worst brake design ever."

Well, I don't know bout that - :iono:

Back in the day, to inspect the brake shoe thickness, one had to first jack up the car with a flimsy bumper jack, then go find the cement blocks (that your dad used for something else) to put under the car, then find the big star lug nut wrench (that your brother used and didn't put back), then take off the wheel.

Next, pull on the brake drum and see that it is stuck, so go find the BFH (that someone didn't put back in the combine's tool box) then beat on the drum to the point you were afraid you were going to break it. Then if you were lucky, the drum would pop off, exposing you to a face full of finely ground asbestos fibers for you to inhale.

NOW, you can inspect the brake shoes for wear.

Oh, did I mention that, just as you started, it was getting dark and starting to snow and the wind was whipping snow around from both sides of the car?

:sigh:


humfrz

PS - I left out important step, who knows what it was?

What does that have to do with having to get keys out of my pocket to start the car?

i know of a few cars that the bearing hub is integral to disc assembly. were there any drum brakes that had the bearing hub integral?

because just the thought of having to repack bearings to check pad thickness could keep me up at night..

i'm sure there's a few...

Have looked at the pads of dozens of different cars. The view is no different than these. I am at total loss as to what cars you have been exposed to that have a free view of the pads and why you can't see that the majority are just like these.

Yep, you would be correct, for the front brakes - the bearings have to come out.

I was thinking of the rear brakes. On the higher mileage older cars, the shoes may have warn down the center portion of the drum, leaving a lip on the outer part of the drum. For the drum to come off, especially if the brakes had been adjusted, the adjusting screw mechanism should be screwed to adjust the shoes to more of a closed (inward) position, so the lip on the drum will clear the shoes.

Oh, humfrz - go take a nap - you're flashing back again - :(

Jeez wait till this guy learns how to change the spark plugs...

^oh, don't remind me!


my neighbor just did rear drum brakes on his wife's hyundai suv. he's a heavy equipment service guy, so he figured a 4 hour job. the previous owner screwed up the adjuster, it took him a day and a half just to get the one drum off!

Brakes. Buy from dealer? What else to replace?

At 50k, I'm going to replace my pads and rotors.
I don't want racing crap for basic street driving.

What are my options besides dealer prices?
$85 for a rotor is more than I've ever paid for any car ever.

Besides the pads and rotors,
are there any little parts and extras I should also buy?

So after all this, do you even know if you need to replace them? It's hard for me to imagine that the pads or rotors need to be replaced at 50k. Maybe the rotors if they've seen a bunch of track use but this thread wouldn't exist if that was the case...

Don't forget to install the new calipers which allow you to see the pads clearly without removing the wheels.

You can feel it when you drive it.

You better not, that's probably a felony if you are caught in the act!

patience

This thread has reminded me I should probably pull my fronts apart and service them.