I've a XJ8 with ~75,000 miles on it (yes low mileage). The previous owner had I believe 2 brake services, one of which was full replacement of rotor and brakes. Now the Jag dealer service dept wants me to replace brakes and rotor again...? Is every ~35,000 miles for rotor replacement normal for the XJ8?

Cheers

 

It really all depends on how it was driven. Hard braking can wear things down faster just like cheap parts can. Likewise a lot of places do not turn rotors anymore and just replace them when they wear out and you can be looking at some frequent service. If you suspect that you are being taken for a ride so to speak to then you can definitely check the brakes yourself. Super easy. You just need to take off the wheel and peer into the caliper to see how much pad you have left. With the wheel off you can also check the rotor thickness and get an okay idea on rotor run-out.

Also typically brakes have squealers that make noise when the pad thickness is getting low. For me personally I don't really care what a mechanic says about my brakes unless they are making noise or I get lots of wobble when I brake. Or I guess my brakes don't work. But that is a different story... haha.

 

No longer enough meat on the rotors to turn in most circumstances. Heck, I like to skim my rotors on each pad change and it 's now all but impossible to find somebody who will do so. Everyone wants to sell rotors.

 

I hear ya on that. I replaced my rotors a bit early on my last set of brakes since they were a tad warped. I had to rebuild a caliper and tossed new pads and rotors on since I was there. I still have the rotors since they were pricey. But no one turns them.

I saw a YT video of a guy turning is rotors by taking the wheel off, starting the car, and taking a sanding disc and sanding them down while the car is turning the rotor. He said it will get them close lol.

 

There is a wear limit on rotors, normally defined as a minumum thickness of the rotor. If, during a service, the rotors are found close to the wear limit, the shop will recommend replacement, as just putting on new pads means the rotors can get worn out before the pads. This is much more common nowadays with the longer intervals between servicing.

 

The metal that is now in many brake pads is a big factor also.
Kevlar pads have worked out well on my motorcycles.
The rotors shine like chrome after a few thousand miles.
So far i have used ceramic pads on the Jaguars.

 

Rotors are 20-30 bucks each, no point in turning them.

 

Well, that would have been good, but there are a number of different brake systems on these cars. The 355mm ATE rotors on my car were approaching the wear limit at 12 years and 194,000 Km I managed to obtain Borg & Beck replacement rotors and pads for about NZ $400 (about US$ 300) for each side. I think my rotors may have been original, as they still had the retainers on the wheel studs. There are companies here that do grind rotors, but I would not have done that as the thickness was already at limits. Some owners with the earlier 365mm Brembo brakes say that warping is a problem, but I understand that the later ATE system is better. My pads have bedded in well, and the brakes are now very smooth and powerful.

Before

After

 

How did you estimate that you were on the wear limit of the rotors.
On your first pic, the rotor seems indeed to show a slight step on the edge but not that big

 

They do look fine from here, not much wear, does the brake pedal pulse ?

 

Thanks guys. And the preference is ceramic pads or semi metallic?

 

No issues that I could feel on the brakes and performance has been normal as ever. For unrelated service, the tech brought up the need to replace brakes.

 

Ceramic

 

I'm always suspicious of mechanics "Self-Generating Work Schemes". For example, did they also say your wipers need replacing?

Having said that, the photos are not the OP. And I can't easily find the allowed rotor wear.

 

On the annual vehicle inspection, the discs were measured with a vernier caliper, and were within 1mm of minimum thickness. They passed, but with an advisory note. I decided to replace them before the next inspection, which the tester noticed. There was also a certain amount of ripple measured radially. What is not evident from the photo is that the wear on the inner edge of the disc was even more noticeable. There was quite a lip on the inner edge, and indeed some of it broke off when tapping the disc off the hub centre.

 

Sorry, the photo is not the best, but looking at the inner part of the disc, the lip there is more obvious, and the wear on the inside face was even worse. The measured thickness was within 1mm of minimum according to the resource the tester consulted. There was no pulse on the pedal, and I understand the ATE brakes are less prone to this than the Brembo ones.