Thanks Gippsland,

Yep DIY is cheapest for any project, car maintenance, home maintenance, etc. I would not attempt to do my own brake job. No experience & I might make a newby error. I’ve had other cars have brake jobs resulting in squeaks, premature wear & other problems & these were done by trained mechanics. I’ve heard all kinds of reasons why; wrong pads, misadjusted, etc. I do some work on my jag but, not this.

I’ll see what my regular Jag service writer says when he calls me back on Monday.

BTW, not Jag specific but I found this dated 7-2012 @ car talk:

TOM: Brake pads used to be relatively soft. They were made of asbestos. And they would wear out quickly. But the hard, metal rotors would last through several sets of pads. That's all changed.

RAY: When we got rid of asbestos, brake pads began to be manufactured out of much harder materials -- namely, metal. So now, the metal pads grind against the metal rotors, and they wear out at almost the same rate.

TOM: So these days, 99 cars out of a hundred need to have their rotors replaced when the pads are swapped out.

Blog Post | Today: When to Replace Brake Rotors | Car Talk
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Jaguar jon2,

You must do a lot of highway driving!

 

Tom and Ray sometimes live in lala-land I think.

Today's non-asbestos organic pads offer braking and wear characteristics almost identical to the OEM pads of yesteryear. It is true that there is a wide variety of pad materials today that didn't exist back then and some of these materials are more abrasive than organic, but they didn't bother explaining that.

 

Yes, I agree, Don. With large open 5-spoke wheels one must pay attention to rotor size and appearance. Undersized rotors re: wheel size can make a car look a little ghetto unless that is the look one is trying to achieve. Here is the front left on my wife's XK8 convertible... 18" rims with Potenza 245/45/18 - 100W and stock rotors. Nice look, but wouldn't want the rotor any smaller.

Thanks everyone... Probably going with premium solid rotors and the Wagner Thermo Quiet Premium Semi-Metallic pads

Larry T

 

This is why I no longer buy "Lifetime Warranty" pads. When you look at the friction material, you can see the metal particles Ray was describing. In general, when I have a choice I try to buy pads with fine-grained friction material with no visible metal. They tend to be softer, produce more dust, and wear out faster, but they provide better braking feel, stop the car better, and don't chew up the rotors....

(I don't think I would agree with Tom's last statement, but you have to remember that he and Ray were talking primarily to auto owners who had only basic automotive knowledge and mechanical abilities. Those of us on this forum are too proud to call a radio show for help!)

Cheers,

Don

 

I had Jaguar do rear brakes 2 days ago. They replaced the rotors. My Service Consultant explained that Jaguar rotors are very thin & in virtually all cases, when need new pads, need new rotors. He then went on at length about how you can not replace the rotors but, you would not have 100% braking. I forget the technical aspects of this. I was more focused on the cost. LOL. Sounded like he believed it, I don’t know if it is true. It doesn’t seem true.

Anyway, brakes feel great now. Didn’t think I’d notice a difference but, I do. Fronts are @ 5mm (10mm when new) Must have adjusted the pedal. So, I go through front brakes ~ every 30K miles. I plan to get it checked again in another 15K miles.

 

my preferenece in order:

1. pad slap

2. properly resurfaced rotors

3. new rotors

i believe properly resurfaced rotors are superior to new rotors

i know that the only way to make the decision between resurface and new proper measurement using a micrometer

i happen to know that the numbers on my current set of rotors @100K miles says machining is allowable according to the specs in JTIS.

 

A few nights ago I printed out the Jaguar Vehicle Maintenance Checklist for our X350, and was surprised to see this statement, which applies to checks at every 10,000 miles:

Inspect brake pads for wear; check rotor condition on pad change.

This seems to be a clear indication that Jaguar's official position is that rotors do not always have to be replaced at every pad change, leaving the judgement to the dealer service department. Since the dealer service department is completely unbiased and has nothing to gain by replacing the rotors with every pad change...

Oh! I get it!

Cheers,

Don

 

My 2000 MY Maintenance Schedule says the same thing!
It is probably the dealer policy to just change the rotors with every pad change. That way they make more money & the customer is satisfied since the brake job is done right, albeit, with unnecessary expense. The vast majority of dealer service customers probably don’t even change their own oil. How many can check the rotor condition & thickness themselves?

Regards,

 

I once accompanied a female co-worker to a local Midas shop to question the estimate they had given for doing a brake job on her Toyota Corolla with maybe 70K miles. They had not only quoted for pads and rotors, but for calipers and brake hoses at all four corners.... It was amazing how quickly they agreed that she would be alright with the original calipers and hoses, and when I asked them to show me why the rotors needed to be replaced, they also admitted that she could get another "10,000 miles or so" out of those as well. The sad truth is that it took a knowledgeable man to hold them accountable; otherwise, they would have gladly taken advantage of a single woman who could only suspect that she was being cheated.

Cheers,

Don

 

I agree with Gippsland here. I have my discs skimmed every pad change be it car or motorcyle if they feel the slightest bit rough with dragging a fingernail across them. Jeep,225000 km,3 sets of pads,discs skimmed twice and still in spec on original front dics,drum rear,Different story. Bike 80000km,3 sets of pads discs skimmed twice,new ones required next time. Mazda, 120000km,original pads and discs(has to do with the way she drives it).
I have guy comes and skims the discs in the back of his van,$40 a pair. I find having them resurfaced makes the pads last longer.
As for a mechanic,if he tells you new discs are needed ask him to take off the wheel and measure the disc with a digital vernier caliper while you watch. It is hard for him to cheat with digital gauge if you are watching carefully. Or you do the measuring.
If you are not a DIY guy brake pads is a good place to start. One of the quickest and easiest jobs on any car.

 

Spoke with my Jag mechanic. He said the minimum thickness for a rotor is stamped on the the outer perimeter of the rotor. He isn't a big fan of turning the rotors. He preferred just slapping a new set of pads on unless the rotor was scored beyond reason or marginally too thin.

He wasn't a fan of the Wagner ThermQuiet Premium pads either. He preferred Textar, Zimmermann and a couple of others I can't remember... Maybe Jurid and Pagid. Good luck searching the Net for a supplier who carries a full set of four rotors and pads for any of these brands.

I also emailed Jagbits and Jaguar Merriam Parts for recommendations and prices... How about $650 to $750 just for rotors and pads? Dan at Jagbits said he gets his aftermarket rotors from a distributor in the UK he has used for 15 years... doesn't know the manufacturers name, but the results have been excellent. His aftermarket pads are either Meyle or Mintex.

My mechanic also said changing out the pads on my wife's XK8 is so simple most any shade tree mechanic could manage it without much risk of screwing it up. I'm heading out to the garage now. I'll let you know. lol

Larry T
Thousand Oaks, CA

 

The Jaguar front rotors come as a balanced set .. so I would never touch them. The OE pads are on the soft side and normally need replacing before 30k ... my first set in my XJR were replaced by JAG at 23k .. I drove faster back then. The rotors were fine .. I replaced the front pads and rotors in the mid 50's on that car. That has been my experence with Jaguar front brakes. You still have to measure -- with most rotors any lip will send then to the trash.

My rears lasted until the mid 50's -- rotors had a lip - so replaced all.

On our lexus vehicles I have gone through two sets of pads and the rotors still look fine .. unbelievable.

My Porsche's and MB's always have a lip -- the MB's are cheap so I don't ever think about it. The Porsche's wear spec is almost nothing .. the dealers always replace.

I don't think MB will cut them either. It's been twenty years since I have bothered tying to fix a rotor.

 

It's not just females.

They tried me on for size with "needs new rotors". They were even kind enough to warn me to sit down before giving me the estimate.

I asked them to show me why, they dragged out a micrometer yada, yada.

I said button 'er up, I'll think about it.

The next day I had the rotors off in the shop and on the brake lathe while the brake guy went for lunch with one of my partners.

 

I purchased a set of EBC front rotors , no slots or holes, and "Green Stuff" EBC pads all around for my wife's XJ8L. 106,000 miles on original rotors I run EBC "Red Stuff" pads on my XJS. Great pads and very little dust from them.

 

I have personally used Performance Brake products for all of my cars and anyone else' s as well. I'm kinda shocked at how many people on here replace just pads and not rotors as well. The pair should be worn in together with the proper procedure so they mate properly in my humble opinion. Not sure who said it but they hit the nail on the head about dimpled, slotted, crossdrilled rotors. I thought i'd upgrade to them before and was sadly disappointed with how rough they felt. Nothing but premium smooth rotors for me from now on. Thanks to everyones interesting input on this subject.