Front brake pads for non-Brembo brakes on later cars: buyer beware thickness!
 

This isn't exactly new information to some of you, but I wanted to bring up this topic for folks who are DIYing their brakes for the first time. My 2001 XKR with base (ATE non-Brembo brakes) needed pads and rotors up front, and as usual I went to Rockauto and got parts from their selection. On the advice of others here, I went for Akebono Euro Ceramic (part number EUR394A) pads and Dynamic Friction blank (i.e. not drilled or slotted) rotors. When I got them, it turns out that even with calipers fully retracted, the pads were too thick to fit over the rotors. It should be noted that I got those exact same pads for my 1995 XJR, and they fit fine on new rotors for that car. I ended up going back through the product information on Rockauto and finding pads that were specifically described as being thinner than the 19mm I measured for those Akebonos. Confusingly, it was a set of Brembo-branded pads (part number P36007N) that ended up fitting fine on my non-Brembo brakes, and those are 16.3 mm thick according to Rockauto. I'm not sure exactly when the switchover happened, but it would be safe to say that anyone with 2001 and newer cars should be aware of this and only buy pads on the thinner side.

For reference, this has been an ongoing problem, and these older threads also mention it:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...1/#post1546507
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...e-pads-107609/

it’s because the the same basic pad shape is used for dozens of vehicles with FN calipers. aftermarket tries to consolidate to one size fits all

If you don’t mind spending for quality get the ebc redstuff pads. They are a night and day difference in braking performance from the OEM pads. Very easy on the rotors, minimal dust. I’ve been using them on many different cars for over 15 years.

sometimes, if you are lucky, you get what you pay for.

Z