With the high replacement cost of the STR brembo rotors in mind, here is some rotor wear vs brakepad type information to share.


Factory pads (OEM orginal set and the updated OEM ones replaced under warranty due to excessive noise at 4671 miles), at had 80.5 mils of wear over the first 23738 miles or approx 3.39 microinch per mile for a 2004 STR (averaged results for the left and right front rotors). The results assume that the rotor orginal thinkness was 1.28" as spec'd from JTIS. This resulting in a final rotor thickness of 1.1995" which just below the min. thickness of 1.2". 2nd Front pad set had 4 to 5 mm of material left when replaced.


Replaced with EBC reds. After another 9008 miles, the EBC are nearly worn out (2.5 to 3 mm left) and there was approx 26.5 mils of rotor wear resulting in 2.94 microinch per mile which is about 15% less wear (or approx. 4K more miles per rotor). Overall, the EBC reds resulted in a smoother performance at low speeds (OEM are grabby at low speeds and hard to modulate smoothly) but seems to wear much faster then the OEM pad...all most twice as fast. Overall, I think these pads feel better then OEM but doesn't signficantly effect rotor wear and the pads wear quickly.

I'm in the process of ordering new rotors and have a pair of Akebono Euro ceramic pads to try next. Have not put them on but noticed that the friction material is smaller then OEM (Akebono is flat at the bottom and the OEM curves around the rotor).

I mostly use this car to occassional pick up the kids from school and run errands with the kids on the weekend so its not driven too hard. Does anyone else think that the feel of the Brembo brakes, especially at low speeds leave a lot to be desired? My E36 M3 and 996 911 have much better feel and modulation ability for "performance calipers" and a XC90 sport with 600 lb of additional weight feels better with plain old piston calipers. At the end of the day, I am not too sure if its just the pads or the caliper design that results in this "problem". Does anyone know what causes this particular feel? (I'm suspecting the brake booster) Anyone have a suggested cure?


Thanks

 

I have a standard S and have noticed brake issues as well. Mine involves warped rotors and not premature wear. I talked with a brake dealer and will follow his suggestion. My first reaction to my issue was to buy replacement rotors and ceramic pads to help with rotor life. Here is what was suggested to me. Go with a drilled and slotted rotor (found some with a lifetime warranty against warping and cracking) and high quality semi-metallic pads. Keep the friction material the same on each axle in order to maintain factory brake balance. I was also told by a auto-crosser to not buy in to the drilled rotors because they reduce the surface area therefore reducing brake bite. So, based on all that, I'm going with the first suggestion. Drilled rotors with warranty with high bite semi-metallic pads. The ceramics might do the trick for you since they generate less heat but require more pressure to be effective. (used ceramics on a Accord, they saved the rotors, but you had to really mash the pedal to get brake bite a higher speeds). This may also help with the grab issue you are talking about. I'm no expert but hope some of the research I've done helps.

 

I Think you'll be quite satisfied with the Akebonos. I run them in the R as well as my 996 on the street and I couldn't be happier. Low dust, no noise, great feel. The R is a bit grabby still, but far less than it once was.

 

I can't comment on ceramics in general, as I'm sure they vary, but I am very happy with Akebonos specifically. Quiet and clean, but they most definately don't grab or bite. In fact, as JOsworth said about ceramics, it takes a strong poke to get real stopping power. But, by god, when you're in trouble you'll "stop on a dime and get two cents change".

For my mostly normal-ish driving with only occasional forays of being agressive, they seem ideal. I can't comment on their fade resistance after repeated hard use becuase I haven't had the opportunity to use them that way.

Haven't gone as far as measuring rotor wear, though.

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks for the inputs.

Does anyone know if the OEM pads are ceramic or semi-metallic?

Also, If one assumes that the brembo calipers, rotors, and the pads are pretty good and well designed, does anyone think the problem with the low speed (nearly at a stop) modulation or grabby issue lies elsewhere and there is only so much you can do by changing pads? Does anyone know if the brake booster and other parts of the braking system is the same as the std s-type? If so, and the brembo brakes have more stopping capability then stock, can it be overboosted so a small input on the pedal has a much larger effect? Is there a way to change the amount of power assist so that a high pedal effort is required to get the same amount of braking. I think if this were possible, the brake feel of the car would be significantly improved.

 

Lol if you want a softer pedal just put some air in the lines... that'll do the trick..

 

LOL Eric... I'll have to try that trick, maybe on mine when I do the new brakes next week. NOT
ccc.. If the rotors are good, have them LIGHTLY surfaced, and try ceramic pads. That sounds like a reasonably inexpensive way to try and solve your problem with the way the car feels.