Rear brakes fading faster then the front

Old Feb 3, 2015 | 04:19 PM
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Rear brakes fading faster then the front

So the last time I was at the dealer
He had blurb out "That the rear brakes seem to fade faster then the front"

Does anyone have any input or comments on this?

THNX
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Old Feb 3, 2015 | 04:24 PM
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Odd. I have 111K still on the original rear pads. At least I think they are still the original ones... I've only changed the fronts once that I can remember. Maybe your brake bias is off? The front brakes should do the majority of braking work.
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Old Feb 3, 2015 | 05:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Black Betty
Odd. I have 111K still on the original rear pads. At least I think they are still the original ones... I've only changed the fronts once that I can remember. Maybe your brake bias is off? The front brakes should do the majority of braking work.
I only have just over 30k on mine but I was just trying to get a handle on if this is something I need to be aware of
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Old Feb 3, 2015 | 05:18 PM
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I'd suggest checking for yourself. It's not like dealership techs have been known to talk out of their azzes or outright lie to try to sell unnecessary service work. Oh wait, they do it all the time. On the other hand, it may well be true and you have some issue. Check it out to know for sure.
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Old Feb 3, 2015 | 05:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Black Betty
Odd. I have 111K still on the original rear pads. At least I think they are still the original ones... I've only changed the fronts once that I can remember. Maybe your brake bias is off? The front brakes should do the majority of braking work.
111k , ? Damn dude, do you coast to every stop? LOL.
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Old Feb 3, 2015 | 06:04 PM
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Originally Posted by AroundTheG37
111k , ? Damn dude, do you coast to every stop? LOL.

I don't drive it much
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Old Feb 3, 2015 | 06:39 PM
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Originally Posted by AroundTheG37
111k , ? Damn dude, do you coast to every stop? LOL.
Nope. But I drive alertly and defensively and see a stop or slow down coming way before 95% of other drivers. I pace lights and traffic far ahead so I merely get off the accelerator and coast to a slowdown as I approach it rather than speed there and slam hard on the brakes at the last second. No commute about 65 miles a day to work but it's 95% highway without a lot of stop any go in the morning, some in the afternoon. I realize that my results are not typical. I'm a Smith System driving instructor as a part of my job responsibilities.

I use different pads strictly for track days but haven't done any in quite a while.
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Old Feb 3, 2015 | 06:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Black Betty
Nope. But I drive alertly and defensively and see a stop or slow down coming way before 95% of other drivers. I pace lights and traffic far ahead so I merely get off the accelerator and coast to a slowdown as I approach it rather than speed there and slam hard on the brakes at the last second. No commute about 65 miles a day to work but it's 95% highway without a lot of stop any go in the morning, some in the afternoon. I realize that my results are not typical. I'm a Smith System driving instructor as a part of my job responsibilities.

I use different pads strictly for track days but haven't done any in quite a while.
Gotcha. When I swapped out my OEM pads at 20k they had plenty of life left so I threw them back on after I used my track pads on the track. Seems to be the best of both worlds.
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Old Feb 3, 2015 | 07:06 PM
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The VDC uses the rear brakes to help control the car. Over time especially if you drive the car hard the rears will wear faster
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Old Feb 3, 2015 | 07:29 PM
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Originally Posted by fastlane45
The VDC uses the rear brakes to help control the car. Over time especially if you drive the car hard the rears will wear faster
I've seen this assertion before. But with the normal brake bias being heavily weighted toward the front, even with VDC applying rear braking force to keep the rear end stable when lesser drivers can't control it on their own, wouldn't it take a whole lot of hooning every day for the car to use the rear brakes enough to wear them down faster than the fronts? I've had VDC kick in on ocasion accidentally and sometimes on purpose but it only applies slight braking and only for a couple of seconds. It didn't seem like enough to cause irregular pad wear to me. Am I wrong about how much braking force it's using in the back?
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Old Feb 3, 2015 | 07:37 PM
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It depends on your driving style. For most people it wears pretty evenly but some drivers are much more aggressive than others. Combine that with winter/slippery conditions and the rears just might wear faster than the front
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Old Feb 4, 2015 | 07:30 AM
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Originally Posted by inyquest
So the last time I was at the dealer
He had blurb out "That the rear brakes seem to fade faster then the front"

Does anyone have any input or comments on this?

THNX
I had my brakes replaced at 85k miles on my previous 06 G35 6sp manual at the dealer. They also turned the rotors at that time.
That first set of replacement brakes were still on the vehicle when I traded it in in Aug 2012 with 171796 miles. They still had a couple of mm left and would have needed replacement soon. I left that job for the next owner.

I currently have over 55k miles on my original pads on my current 2012 G37S

As others have mentioned the length of time/miles brake pads last depends on your driving style.

I do a lot of downshifting to stop my vehicle and don't use the brakes unless I have to. Especially when driving in heavy rain and snow.

Any vehicle with an automatic transmission will not see such high mileage on brake pads.

Telcoman
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Old Feb 4, 2015 | 01:13 PM
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Rear brakes fading faster then the front


I think you mean they are wearing faster.

Brake fade is an entirely different thing...
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Old Feb 4, 2015 | 06:34 PM
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Fastlane 45's response is correct. In other cars I've owned, rear brakes hardly wear. I recently checked my brakes and sure enough only the rears needed replacement.
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Old Feb 4, 2015 | 09:05 PM
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I was told the same thing from the dealer. I always have VDC off, I live in California so there is no snow- i'm not really sure what the reasoning is, as I always knew the fronts to take the brunt of the braking load. It's a S with the big boy brakes.

I typically do all of my own work on my cars, but this is the first time i've had a warranty so I have the dealer do it to be safe.
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