A brake pad is the part of your car’s disc brake system that pinches the wheel rotor to cause friction, which in turn, stops your car.
What’s a disc brake system?
A disc brake is the modern day equivalent of the traditional drum brakes assembly.
In a drum brake assembly, a brake shoe pushes against a brake drum that rotates with the wheel to cause friction.
However, a disc brake system works a little differently.
When you push down on the brake pedal, the following should happen:
- A piston inside the car’s master cylinder forces brake fluid through a tubing
- The tubing carries this fluid to a caliper piston attached to the wheel brakes
- There it exerts pressure on the guide pins inside the brake caliper
- This forces the brake pad to rub against the rotor that’s rotating with the wheel
- The resulting friction decelerates the rotor and slows down your car
Now, imagine what happens if your brake pad material wears out entirely…
Your brakes won’t work because you don’t have enough friction material to exert any pressure on the wheel rotors.
And no friction means no slowing down!
What’s The Ideal Brake Pad Thickness?
Brake pad thickness is simply a measure of the thickness of your brake pad.
More accurately, it’s a measure of the thickness of the materials that make up your brake pad.
These materials typically include:
- Friction material
- Rubberized coating
- Thermal insulation coating
What’s The Standard Thickness Of A New Brake Pad?
When you purchase a new brake pad, it has a standard thickness size of around 8-12 millimeters (½ inch).
Over time, as your brake pad engages with the wheel rotor, the friction material will experience deterioration — resulting in pad wear.
What’s The Recommended Thickness Of Your Brake Pads?
Ideally, your brake pads should be thicker than 6.4 mm (¼ inches) for proper functioning.
If it’s thinner than this, consider getting a replacement soon.
Most car mechanics also agree that the bare minimum brake pad thickness is 3.2 mm (⅛ inches). Any thinner than this, and you’ll need an immediate brake pad replacement to avoid brake failure.
What Determines Brake Pad Deterioration?
The level of brake pad wear that occurs depends on your vehicle, driving style, and road conditions.
For example, if you usually encounter heavy commuter traffic that involves a lot of starting and stopping, you’ll probably press down on your brake pedal more often.
As a result, most city-dwellers face increased brake wear and end up replacing brake pads more often than their suburban counterparts.
When Exactly Should You Replace Your Brake Pads?
There’s no hard and fast rule for this. Brake pads can last anywhere from 25,000 miles to 70,000 miles. However, a good rule of thumb is to consider replacing your brake pads after 30,000 to 40,000 miles, to be on the safe side.
Some car owners might find themselves needing a brake pad replacement after 25,000 miles, and others might find their brake pads lasting more than 50,000 miles. It really depends on a number of factors, such as driving conditions and styles as well as the material of the brake pads.
That said, get in the habit of checking your brake pad thickness every five months or 5,000 miles.
ABOUT Brake Pad
“brake pad replacement cost”
“brake pad replacement”
“brake pad”
