[evanescent03]

Not sure what happened to my rotors ... 10,000mi including I think nine track days ... first two days with the current pads I had no issues. Don’t remember seeing anything unusual during brake flush between events ... then this past event everything also felt fine...

got home and noticed “my pads are toast and backing plates are scraping” kinda sound ... Took a look and noticed this strange wear/gouging at the outer edge of the rotor. I haven’t measured thickness but never noticed the “fingernail” catch which admittedly seems imprecise. My previous pads were worn down to like 1-2mm but not into the backing plate at all.

Regardless, I need new rotors... but hoping to avoid it the next time around.

Any ideas? Thanks!

[TrackClub]

Something is up. I'd say that's *a lot* of heat checking for 9 track days. So wvidence of tons of heat. Perhaps stuck pistons? What pads? All rotors or just one?

No idea what that wear is on the outside rotor edges, but that is definitely damage vs wear. Perhaps debris stuck in a caliper area. Cant think of anything else.

PS Id never run pads down to 1 or 2mils. Just as an fyi.

PSS it is a good habit to check brakes, tires, wheels, engine bay, etc AFTER EACH SESSION.

[Badmojo]

Do not run pads to less than 4mm. They don't wear evenly and running them to the backing plates wrecks rotors.

[evanescent03]

Originally Posted by TrackClub

Something is up. I'd say that's *a lot* of heat checking for 9 track days. So wvidence of tons of heat. Perhaps stuck pistons? What pads? All rotors or just one?

No idea what that wear is on the outside rotor edges, but that is definitely damage vs wear. Perhaps debris stuck in a caliper area. Cant think of anything else.

PS Id never run pads down to 1 or 2mils. Just as an fyi.

PSS it is a good habit to check brakes, tires, wheels, engine bay, etc AFTER EACH SESSION.

Originally Posted by Badmojo

Do not run pads to less than 4mm. They don't wear evenly and running them to the backing plates wrecks rotors.

Thanks guys ... yeah the pads were more like 4-5mm at the top but when I took the wheels off and pulled the pads I noticed the lower portion was MUCH lower. No backing plate posts sticking through or anything ...

Track Day pads btw.

[Hops]

is there squeal tab?

[TrackClub]

Originally Posted by evanescent03

Thanks guys ... yeah the pads were more like 4-5mm at the top but when I took the wheels off and pulled the pads I noticed the lower portion was MUCH lower. No backing plate posts sticking through or anything ...

Track Day pads btw.

I had a tapered and premature wear when i tried XP10s on my previous SS 1LE. Zero issues with stock Ferodos.
Suggest you go back to stock pads with new rotors and see what happens. That's all i can offer based on my first hand experience. Cheers!

[GTO_Gregory]

Isn't there some kind of cryogenic treatment you can get for rotors that lengthens the rotor's life?

[racer01]

Originally Posted by evanescent03

Thanks guys ... yeah the pads were more like 4-5mm at the top but when I took the wheels off and pulled the pads I noticed the lower portion was MUCH lower. No backing plate posts sticking through or anything ...

Track Day pads btw.

I'd be interested in brand and compound of the "track day pads" you were using. This is very important information for evaluation of your situation, as well as very valuable info for others looking at compounds. Also interested in which track you were running, as some are just quite a bit harder on brakes than others.

Without writing a book, brakes are a balancing act of heat management. Pads, rotors, calipers, fluid, etc. Our system is actually very well balanced with stock pads to spread heat load between pad and rotor quite evenly so that neither one seems to get overly hot. Some compounds of pads tend to shed much more heat into rotors (old school hawk blue compound) and some tend to put more heat into the calipers even causing red painted calipers to turn brown on some cars (or worse boil the brake fluid).

Having said that running a pad thin typically puts more heat into the caliper as it looses it's ability to act as a heat sink. Looking at the picture it appears you got part of that pad that touches the outside of the rotor down either to backing plate or well past its useful min thickness.

Changing pads out a little "early" helps with two huge things. One is it keeps some material in the pad so it can properly act as a heat sink and not transfer excess heat into the caliper. The other is that the inevitable "pad taper" caused by uneven transverse and lateral wear can cause a long pedal when it gets bad, as the pad no longer presses squarely down onto the rotor surface. Makes the brake pedal feel a little spongy, which I certainly don't like.

[TrackClub]

Originally Posted by racer01

I'd be interested in brand and compound of the "track day pads" you were using. This is very important information for evaluation of your situation, as well as very valuable info for others looking at compounds. Also interested in which track you were running, as some are just quite a bit harder on brakes than others.

Without writing a book, brakes are a balancing act of heat management. Pads, rotors, calipers, fluid, etc. Our system is actually very well balanced with stock pads to spread heat load between pad and rotor quite evenly so that neither one seems to get overly hot. Some compounds of pads tend to shed much more heat into rotors (old school hawk blue compound) and some tend to put more heat into the calipers even causing red painted calipers to turn brown on some cars (or worse boil the brake fluid).

Having said that running a pad thin typically puts more heat into the caliper as it looses it's ability to act as a heat sink. Looking at the picture it appears you got part of that pad that touches the outside of the rotor down either to backing plate or well past its useful min thickness.

Changing pads out a little "early" helps with two huge things. One is it keeps some material in the pad so it can properly act as a heat sink and not transfer excess heat into the caliper. The other is that the inevitable "pad taper" caused by uneven transverse and lateral wear can cause a long pedal when it gets bad, as the pad no longer presses squarely down onto the rotor surface. Makes the brake pedal feel a little spongy, which I certainly don't like.

Words of wisdom! Firstly, stock rotors should last about 15-20 track days with stock pads, which is pretty damn amazing performance from OEM components. The pads about 6-7 days. That's for a mix of venues, incl some that are hard on brakes not offering longer straights to cool them down completely.

We all brake a bit differently, but i usually catch folks on entries, meaning i usually brake later and then carry brakes deeper into a corner. Surely, one has to step on them more then say ST43s (and then modulate them), but i have never experienced a pad fade, or inability to put my car on its nose if required. All that is required is a bit of a driver mod. The benefits are huge, meaning much less heat and prolonged longevity of all components, incl hubs and tires (not to mention fast laps).

As to thickness, once they equal the backing plate, they are about 50% done. This means accelerated wear and more heat from now on. At this point, i run them for another day, or 2 max (venue dependent).

Cheers!

[TrackClub]

Originally Posted by GTO_Gregory

Isn't there some kind of cryogenic treatment you can get for rotors that lengthens the rotor's life?

Unnecessary for stockers as they should easily last 15-20 hard track days. What the OP has reported is very unusual and the level of heat checking much elevated from normal.

[Hops]

Originally Posted by TrackClub

As to thickness, once they equal the backing plate, they are about 50% done. This means accelerated wear and more heat from now on. At this point, i run them for another day, or 2 max (venue dependent).
Cheers!

do you think it's worth keeping that 50% used oem pad set for the street, and have a track only oem pad set to swap out for events?

[racer01]

Originally Posted by Hops

do you think it's worth keeping that 50% used oem pad set for the street, and have a track only oem pad set to swap out for events?

If they aren't tapered too bad and feel good I'd sure as heck run them on the street. Unless you are being chased by cops and driving like a maniac you can't get anywhere near track temps into them in normal street type driving. I run pads down to about 25% left for the street and many folks run much more material off than that. The wear indicator (metal tab that causes the squeal) is usually at about 1/4" of pad left.

These stock pads are unique in that even though they have massive swept area size they sure are thin as new pads. They don't look all that much thicker than the backing plate brand new!

[TrackClub]

Originally Posted by Hops

do you think it's worth keeping that 50% used oem pad set for the street, and have a track only oem pad set to swap out for events?

Sure, as Racer01 said above. It all depends on how often you track vs PITA of swapping. Id imagine 50% pad would last quite a while just for DD duty. Cheers!

[Hops]

really appreciate the OP posting this situation, i've learned a lot in this thread!