So I've pored over the forum trying to find information about the non-supercharged XF brakes to see if I need to replace the rotors, and get recommendations for pads. I see plenty of rotor talk for the supercharged engines (I should have gotten one....), but nothing (that I've seen) for the standard Premium model with the 5.0L engine.

The car has 40k miles on it.

I did a measure of the fronts and they are 38mm in thickness at the edge, and about 36.5mm (hardly any lip) in from the edge. Can I re-use these rotors (and get them skimmed)? What is the minimum thickness for a non-supercharged 5.0L rotor?

The rears are 29mm wide, with hardly any meat used (around 28mm in from the edge) . I'm thinking I can skim those, but would appreciate if any knows the minimum front and rear thicknesses. I have an auto shop close by that skims them for $10 a rotor. Cheap as chips.

If I do replace them, should I get the cross frilled and slotted replacements with the anti-corrosion coating? Or are they over the top for a non-supercharged jag? Still a lot of weight to slow down though.

What type of brake pads should I get? OEM organics? Just replaced my wife's Acura MDX pads with ceramics and they seem fine, but I live in Chicago where it gets very cold, and I've heard that ceramic pads don't like very cold weather. Any particular ceramics recommended? Metallics?

 

This looks promising:

Black Diamond Performance Brake Discs & Pads - ACI've also saved it as a spreadsheet in case the Black Diamond Performance page ever disappears:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y32u814tc6...izes.xlsx?dl=0

So looks like 2mm max for most modern rotors, before you need to replace them. I knew that newer rotors were built softer to work better with the high performance metal pads, but that seems like such a waste of metal.

So still looking for recommendations for pads please. Will be greatly appreciated.

 

On a 5.0 NA you should have the 355 mm front and 326 mm rear brake rotors.
New and minimum thicknesses per the attached jpg, ie where it says 3.0 diesel and 5.0 NA.
However your front measurements seem very high, way more than even new thickness, I would double check those measurements.
In any event the brake size is shown on the edge of the caliper bracket.


Yes 2 mm wear is the specified maximum but that is ridiculously conservative and pending a measurement check you should be able to get them skimmed no worries.
Drilled and slotted rotors are solely for looks/appearance, your choice.
For brake pads I highly recommend Powerstop Evolution Z16 ceramics, I fitted a set to my old 2010 XFS and they are far and away the best pads I have ever used, almost zero dust (unlike the horribly dusty OEM pads), smooth quiet progressive and the same stopping power as the OEM semi-metallics.
Cheap as chips too from Rock Auto see here: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...brake+pad,1684

 

I recommend Porterfield R4-S street pads. They are quiet and won't poop on your wheels. But they are not cheap. In the case of my 83,000 mile '09 XF I went with Ackebono Euro Ceramics in the front and ACDelco Gold ceramics in the back. I would not change out or skim the existing rotors unless you are experiencing some shimmy. And in that case I'd get new rotors. Stay away from Zimmerman.

 

Thanks for the advice on the pads and the rotors @OzXFR and @Robtrt8

I am so torn. I just took a front wheel off and used calipers, and measured the front brakes at 31.7mm inside the lip. I may try to get it skimmed, and see if it's not warped or inconsistent. There is no shimmy or anything like that. The low pads are forcing the pad change.

I will check and see where I can find the pads you've recommended.

One thing I'm trying to work out is how hard it will be to use the axle jack points to support the front end. so I can do both wheels at once. I have a good low profile high lift jack, and will have to ask my wife nicely, pretty please, if I can use her double spot to do the job.

 

Seeing as your front rotors are odds on to be the 355 mm ones with a new thickness of 32 mm, yours at 31.7 mm are barely worn at all and definitely do not need to be replaced. You could possibly get away with not skimming them at all but it is a good idea to skim them anyway to have a fresh surface for the new pads to bed to.
There is no real need to do both sides at the same time you can simply do one side then move your jack and axle stand over to the other side. Yep, you should use both at once on each side, jack the car up with the trolley jack then slide an axle stand under as well and let the jack down slowly and gently so it acts as a back up with the full weight on the axle stand. On the XF the front axle stand points are well inboard of the jacking points and are a bit of a hassle to get to.

 

@OzXFR Yes I measured the diameter today and they are the 14" (255mm) diameter.

So I've researched the brake pads, and though people liked the Akebono's, a number of the Tirerack reviewers said they were a bit slow as the brake pedal was depressed, and that it took a harder press to get good engagement. The Z16 review were fine, so I grabbed a full set of the Z17's (Z16's with the hardware).