[Phil G]

Is this normal?! I had my indy mechanic check out the "clunk" that was coming from my left driver side brake, and he came back and said I needed new pads. They aren't fully worn, but they are substantially worn, and it sounds like the clunk has been coming from the clips on the back of the driver side pad failing. I pulled it up on iDrive, and sure enough, I am down to 11k miles on my front pads.

Has anyone else run into this? I am pretty dissapointed....I installed these myself about a year and a half ago. Did I somehow botch the install? I didn't think that this was something easy to screw up.....

[crashoverride]

Lots of variables that can go into answering your question.

Did you replace the rotors when you replaced the pads? Did you follow the bedding procedures? Are you using special rotors such as slotted, dimpled, cross-drilled etc? Do you track your car on weekends? Do you live in hilly areas? What's your driving like lots of stop and go? Did you replace rears at same time? How are rears looking?

[tscdennab]

How many miles do you expect brake pads to last ?

[Kevinbmw335]

Depends on your driving style but 25k is not bad

[robert @ eas]

Total mileage will depend upon a number of factors including driving style
-25,000 miles plus 11,000 remaining at 35,000 total could be on the low
side but difficult to say for sure without considering a number of
variables; generally we have been seeing longer if car is street driven
only.

It is possible that when clip was installed it was not fully engaged into
the groove on the inside of the piston, which could allow the pad to drag on
the rotor surface accelerating wear.

Also possible that all 3 legs of the piston clip were not inside of the
piston with the same result possible.

The wear sensor will trigger the warning light with approximate 3mm
remaining of friction material as a safety factor. The IDrive mileage
remaining figure is a guesstimate based on several inputs from the car and
generally these are approximate at best. It is not possible to give an exact
amount of mileage that should be achieved as there are too many variables
including driving style, etc.

Feel free to contact us directly and we would be happy to discuss further.

[JamesM3M5]

Are these track pads? Driven on the street? Then that's the cause of the wear. Cold track pads not only wear faster, they wear rotors faster, too. Best bet is to switch between track and street pads - saves your brakes and street brake dust is less harmful to paint.

[Phil G]

OK here are some answers to questions that were asked:

1. I did not replace the rotors and pads at the same time. I found out this would have been a good idea later, but after the job was done I simply did not have the time to do so until recently. I just bought a full set of R1Concepts premium (stronger steel) blank rotors and put them on about 1-2k miles ago.

2. I did bed the pads initially using the Zeckenhausen bedding procedure, and was only able to do a milder bedding once I put on the new rotors (finding a no-traffic place to slam on brakes repetedly from 80 mph in Atlanta is hard at ANY hour!)

3. I do drive more aggressively than the average driver, but I do mainly urban/heavy suburban driving (lots of stop and go). Some hills but nothing too steep. I still feel like the OEMs lasted longer....I thought these were supposed to last longer than OEM? Can't remember how long OEM fronts lasted, but rears lasted 60-65k.

4. These pads have not seen a track. I was planning on taking the car to a track, but have decided that I do not want risk my 335i on the track and pay for 335i consumable parts....looking into an NA Miata or E30 for that.

5. Rears were replaced at the same time, according to iDrive 22k miles to go (just haven't had time to drag my jack into the parking garage and individually take each wheel off to inspect myself.

6. Robert, it's funny you say that, I remember it being VERY difficult to get all 3 of the legs of the clips to fit inside the piston. In fact, it was so difficult, I ended up having to get pliers and bend the clips back a little just so they could fit...no force I used would get them to fit in! It was a piece of cake to pop the OEM pads in and out....why are the Cool Carbons so hard to do here? I might give you guys a call tomorrow if I can get a break at work.

7. James, they are "track" pads, but they are also said to be a blend of street pads too, and they have always been advertised to last longer than OEM. I never tracked the car....just loved the pedal feel. Much more linear, and not quite as much brake dust as OEM (but still plenty).

Thanks everyone for your help! I'm stuck here....I don't know what to do. I want to get another set of Cool Carbons, but not if the clip will fail me again and they don't even last half as long as OEM.

[Phil G]

OK guys, I've been reading a little more...I am starting to wonder if the Cool Carbons are still the right pads for me. I bought them initially because of the more linear pedal feel, slightly lower dust, performance at least that of OEM, and because they do well on track days. Well, as I stated earlier, I am considering buying an E30 or Miata that I would use on the track instead, so my 335i will probably see no more than one track day a year.

Do you guys think there is a pad out there better suited for me, or should I just stick with the Cool Carbons? If so, this looks like the right time to buy them with EAS's 30/30 sale.

However, am starting to wonder if something like Pagid pads would be better for me. It looks like they have at least the same braking power as OEM (which is the "must have" factor for me), and are half the price and likely similar life. Are there any other pads out there that you guys think might be appropriate? I want to make a decision quickly as I want to replace the front driver side pad quickly as it is sliding and clunking in the caliper.

Thanks!

[robert @ eas]

You may have fatigued the piston clip by bending it;

Clips should be a tight fit so that the pad can retract slightly after each
brake application

If the clip was not properly engaged than the pad could rub on the rotor
surface when brakes are not applied creating more dust and faster wear and
apparently breaking of the clip after 25,000 miles.

Again 25,000 plus 11,000 remaining on the I drive is not bad.

The type of driving that you describe generally will wear brakes faster.

If you prefer to buy on price alone there are many options but keep in mind
generally that you generally never get more than you pay for. The
inexpensive Pagid pad is an OK entry level pad. There are ways to
manufacture brake pads that are less expense than the true positive molding
process used by CC and with much less costly ingredients and processing and
often with considerably less performance and with dust/noise possibilities

We sell other brands if you would prefer but the CC is always our first
choice.

The 30/30 sale though is hard to pass up

https://www.europeanautosource.com/specials

http://www.europeanautosource.com/ma...bonPerformance