I am not as experienced with mechanics or braking systems as the majority of people on here *but* here's my penneth with respect to a number of auto and manual cars I have owned over the years, and with a view (looking at the thread to-date) of my nose being taken off :-)

Manual cars tend for me to last approx 14,000miles between pad changes on the front if not following the normal service shedule, auto cars tend to last about 10-12,000miles between pad changes.

When I have had issues before it has always been what is described as a sticky caliper - sometimes it has been the rubber seals, but has always involved the caliper being dismantled, cleaned and reassembled by a brake tech.

Even a brake tech can only make a guess initially , albeit a calculated guess based on what he knows..

Much the same as an engine making an odd noise.. stripping the right part, or finding the true fault always starts with a degree of guesswork.

However stripping, cleaning and reassembling a brake caliper is a much easier job than a complete engine.. and whatever the root cause it sorts it - if not I usually get sold a new caliper (but very seldom).

Where I appreciate both of you are coming from I believe, why not try it.. replace the seals and perform a strip down, clean and rebuild? It's cheaper than lots of pads in a short period of time, along with the associated disk wear and possible overheating and warping that can happen, and if doing that fixes it then maybe just accept that any one of the variables was it.

Just my penneth, cheaper just to fix it than to consistently wear out pads & disks which will have a much higher value...

And this comes from someone with NO car budget - lol - if I can not spend on something I wont, but this is a no brainer and a potential car safety issue as brakes overheat and fade if the pads wear don before you know it..

 

Was it Churchhill who said, "two great nations separated by common language?"

What is a penneth?

Wouldn't your front brakes last longer if you practiced driving more carefully? I get more than 50,000 miles out of front pads and have for the last fifty years!

Said another way: your problem isn't the ^^^^ing calipers!

And if this ridiculous wear is 'cuz you use it for track racing, then you are getting exceptional wear.

 

Two penneth = two pennies, the equivalent of two cents worth on your side of the pond.


If only the rest of the English speaking world actually spoke English! LOL.

 

bear in mind I always use cheap oem pads hence 10000miles usually between changes :-) yes i *know* false economy lol. and this is based on a number of cars not specifically an x308.. and I never allow my pads below 8mm or so.. but agreed with driving style and conditions having huge effect on wear.

steve
(on mobile)

 

Shops don't rebuild anymore. Not enough profit in it.

I rebuild almost everything where parts can be had, but that is
for personal use.

If this is the THIRD pad slap, then all kinds of factors can come into
play including imperfect rotors wearing at the pad interface, thin rotors
keeping the pad hotter. You name it.

As for sticking calipers, I have had great success with pushing the piston
back several times before remounting the caliper with fresh lube on the
mechanical interfaces.

I have never needed to replace a caliper and seldom rebuild unless the
boot has torn.

Brakes can last me 60K+. I leave a cushion and seldom need to brake
as often or as hard as the bumper rider in front. On a morning commute,
I counted one driver hitting his brakes 17 times before I needed to hit
the brakes once.

On the other hand, I am plagued by glazed pads

 

It makes more sense if you actually spell it right. Penn'orth - a contraction of pennies worth. There is no such word as penneth.