Brake Pad Life?

[lex]

Anyone know what the average life of the brake pads on my 92ES300 would be for 50/50 city/highway driving and average non agressive driving? I've put 20K miles on them since I last replaced them.

[SKperformance]

truthfully

it all depends on driving style and braking efficency

i almost never need to change my pads and i have slotted rotors which eat pads for breakfast lunch and dinner

i brake only with enough force as needed

and early,

when stopped i release on the brake to just hold the car stopped ,not pressing all tehy way right down

which helps keep the pads cooler

one reason why my rotors look very clean

no warpage or grooves

i actually had one person ask me if i chromed them

because they are so clean and reflective looking

on average i would say 40 000 miles but that is a guess

[m2pc]

I just changed mines, cause with 37,500 miles I figure it was time. After removing the front, looked like I could get 10-15K more. The rears looked even better.

I found a great place that sell the Akebone Proact Pads at a decent price. So far no squeals or noise and they came with shims and brake grease. I went with these ceramics because supposedly they are OEM quality or better.

After replacing front and rear, braking is no different or maybe a tad better than before.

Good luck

[NeiLtYmE]

Yeah .. just got some ceramic break pads too... they work like a charm.... i usually dont ever have to do anything to the break pads.... but they usually last between 30 and 60 thousand miles..... 30 or less if you stop like you about to crash everytime.... and 60 + if you take your time and keep it ease on the brakes.....

that way your rotors never wear either....

and also ... the softer the pads used.. (like ceramic) the less wear on the rotor... and better braking too....

-Neil

[ProZac]

NeiLtYmE,

I thought ceramic pads where harder?

ProZac

[SpeedRacer959]

I was just going to get new brakes on my ES. I had a dealer quote at $436 and a local Brake shop quoted at $236. Is there a reason for the price jump? It's for both rotors and pads on just the front. I would take it to lexus if there's a difference, but I've seen what goes into making rotors, and they are fairly simplistic cast then machined parts.

What's your thought?

[lex]

I think its just that the dealer charges more for labor, $90/hr vs $60 per/hr for local shops. Also the dealer inflates the part prices somewhat.

[NeiLtYmE]

Prozac,

Nope.... ceramics are definetly a softer metallic composition.....

[NeiLtYmE]

speedracer,

yeah man ... definetly a labor rip off there... Plus all thier parts cost are usually a third if not more higher than regular....

and really... yeah ... the rotors are pretty much a simple process and you dont need to go to a deal for that...

the best thing to do is.... well if your looking for really good breaks..... you can get some cross drilled rotors from any where.... and have a mechanic you know do it for you .... its probably ganna be cheap... and around 300.... this way you got your own custom rotors which will be better than oem.... otherwise.... get the OEM rotors from the dealer or any brake shop... and have a local mechanic put them in....

ive seen that no matter where you go .... brakes are one thing the dealers always manage to screw you over on ...

~ Neil

[Ronald]

The brakes do last a long time. I had them replaced three years ago. I got 100,000 miles out of mine and a local brake place charged me about $200.00 for all four wheels. The price would have been lower if I had opted for regular pads instead of Lexus pads.

[cui]

I don't know if anybody still offers lifetime warranty brake pads...they used to...and if they do, you can change brake pads for free as long as you own your car...(actually, they don't even car if you own your car...as long as you can provide them the receipt.)