Joeman Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Sorry for the car related question, but presumably also applicable to bikes with disk brakes...I was driving my car last week, braking from high motorway speeds down to 30mph, and the brake pedal dropped away a little, and my passenger reported a banging noise... The brakes were juddery and grindy after that point. Lucky i was close to home, so limped the car home nto using the brakes. I new i was due for some new pads, so i ordered some online, and fitted them today.When i got the brakes apart, sure enough the front pads were worn down, with about 4mm left on them, but the inside pad from the right hand side was gone! All that was left was the metal backplate, causing me to believe that the sudden drop in brake pedal, and noise was actually the friction surface being ripped off the metal back of the brake pad Is this possible? anyone else ever heard of this happening? how else could I explain the sudden pedal drop, instant grindy noise, and one pad (out of four) being totally gone?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hodgy Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 The friction material can come away from the backing plate, but usually only on cheap ones, I doubt you would have that with a quality brand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davefly76 Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 4mm isn't that low, they only have about 10mm when they're new..Well it happened to you so yes, it is possible. Does the car sit around and not get used much? I have heard of pads binding to the discs so much that the friction material gets ripped clean off. It can also happen to brake shoes if they haven't been cleaned for a long time. It might be that the pad had seized in the caliper and was getting too hot which caused it to fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 The friction material can come away from the backing plate, but usually only on cheap ones, I doubt you would have that with a quality brand They were EBC RedStuff pads... Dont think ill be buying them again... I fitted some Pagid pads this time round, apparently the same as OEM pads but without the price tag.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 4mm isn't that low, they only have about 10mm when they're new..Well it happened to you so yes, it is possible. Does the car sit around and not get used much? I have heard of pads binding to the discs so much that the friction material gets ripped clean off. It can also happen to brake shoes if they haven't been cleaned for a long time. It might be that the pad had seized in the caliper and was getting too hot which caused it to fail. yeah, the car does sit about all week with no use, but this happened after it had done a 200+mile drive so dont thing it could have been binding that long as i would have noticed the smell! I'll go dig them out of the bin and get a photo.. 4mm might not be right... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattycoops43 Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Unless you have brand new discs, it is VERY unusual to have the pads wear the same amount. On an older car, pads are normally very variable in thickness when they are changed. You need to check ALL the pads when you check them on any vehicle. Quite possible, one pad was worn more than the others, and worn to the point where it fell off. Has it wrecked your disc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 Here's some pics... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 Unless you have brand new discs, it is VERY unusual to have the pads wear the same amount. On an older car, pads are normally very variable in thickness when they are changed. You need to check ALL the pads when you check them on any vehicle. Quite possible, one pad was worn more than the others, and worn to the point where it fell off. Has it wrecked your disc? yes, not expecting identical pad wear, but discs were pretty new when i fitted these pads, and the sudden drop in pedal when braking suggested something gave way... Look at the photos i uploaded, the other three pads look pretty similar so I reckon it sheared off..Luckily i was very close to home, so limped back without needing the brakes much so disc survived Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davefly76 Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Well they do look pretty low.. You can see on the pad that fell apart that it has been rubbing on the disc too.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 Well they do look pretty low.. You can see on the pad that fell apart that it has been rubbing on the disc too..yes they were low, but wear indicator was not lit, so still had some life left, but they were on my "Todo" List to replace them anyway as TBH i wasnt a fan of them - on my drilled discs, they were a bit too noisy Disc wear on the "Sheared" pad was on the slowdown from motorway speed, and on the ~3mile limp home.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewslash Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 looks to me like the pads have overheated, the pads are badly glazed,i reckon thats whats caused them to crack up and fall apart ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I have known this to happen a few times to be honest 4mm is getting pretty low to be honest but as you can see its not at the wear mark in the centre probs about another 1mm left? you will probably find car pads have a good 15 - 20mm on them when new too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 I have known this to happen a few times to be honest 4mm is getting pretty low to be honest but as you can see its not at the wear mark in the centre probs about another 1mm left? you will probably find car pads have a good 15 - 20mm on them when new too yes, new pads were a good 15-20mm thick. looks to me like the pads have overheated, the pads are badly glazed,i reckon thats whats caused them to crack up and fall apart !i thought that too, but these are supposed to be high performance Kevlar/ceramic compound pads, so i figured that might just be how they look??I bought them for a trip to the Nurburgring two years ago, so they have had a tough life, but it is just a road car (not a race car) so coupled with Genuine BMW Motorsport drilled & vented discs, they shouldnt have overheated on the road!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewslash Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 when pads overheat the binding agent in the pad raises to the pad surface giving it the glaze , that coupled with the fact the pads have cracked up , would siggest to me overheating what are they on M3/5 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 when pads overheat the binding agent in the pad raises to the pad surface giving it the glaze , that coupled with the fact the pads have cracked up , would siggest to me overheating what are they on M3/5 ? 330cd M-sport vert. 3Litre DIESEL turbo but with the remapped ECU its quicker than my mates Porsche Boxter-S To cope with the extra power, I fitted genuine M-sport discs, and used up one set of OEM pads before "upgrading" to these EBC Red Stuff pads. I then drove to the Nurburgring (on only one tank of fuel!) and then totally kicked the Porker's ass round the ring, so its not your typical slow oil burner... However, these RedStuff pads are designed for faster cars than mine, so the only thing i can think of is that the extra weight of the Diesel lump in a heavy convertible stressed them too much?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewslash Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 sounds a beast! id say your go oem from now on , i never had a issue with them on my M3 , there were a few who fitted oem drilled/vented pads and discs with no issues whatsoeverthe more i look at them pads the more they look overheated and glazed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 sounds a beast! id say your go oem from now on , i never had a issue with them on my M3 , there were a few who fitted oem drilled/vented pads and discs with no issues whatsoeverthe more i look at them pads the more they look overheated and glazed! yes, its a good compromise - great performance, loads of torque, and ~500miles on a single tank.But how the hell am i overheating supposedly "high performance" pads?? These are supposed to be Kevlar/Ceramic pads suitable for high temperatures!! These pads & discs will see me through the winter, then i'll get another set of genuine BMW motorsport drilled & vented discs, and OEM pads - the OEM pads wore down faster, but at least the didnt shear off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.