Oh yea..Forgot to say. The feel is different to me and doesn't grip like the old ones. Well it beats washing my wheels/car every other day

Dang

 

How many miles do you think the stock pads will last? My goal is to swap, just before they're shot!

 

Yeah the time allotment does not pay for rotor resurfacing. Like I said, I'm surprised Lexus would do it this way.

-Bill

 

I have no clue. But I should have waited..

 

Mine were 20% worn in 22k miles. Some have complained about having their brakes done at 15k, but none of those people have admitted to driving with both feet (I suspect they do.) If you drive with one foot on the brake and one on the gas, expect them to last less than 20k miles. If you don't, they may well last 50k or more. It's all about how you use brakes.

FWIW, a friend worked at Honda as a tech for some years and told me he saw cars coming in every 10k for brakes; their drivers were all female. Also, I once drove over 50 miles on I-5 following an M3 with an idiot driver riding the brakes all the way. I couldn't tell when he was stopping and when he wasn't because the brake lights were constantly on, but his brakes were wearing out at an alarming rate as evidenced by the severe brake dust on all four wheels.

 

I can understand driving with 2 feet on the track, but just don't get why people on the hwy can't keep their left foot on the ground!?

Wow, just 20 percent work after 22k! Obviously lots of hwy driving for ya!

 

Lots of highway and a fundamental belief that brakes are for the timid (or to induce rotation!)

 

Do you downshift often to save the brakes? Then there is the question of whether that does more wear to the tranny than braking would do to the pads?

 

I'd rather brake to stop or slow down than to downshift on the tranny.

 

Never. Downshifting to save the brakes is a completely false economy. Brakes are FAR cheaper to replace than gearboxes (with or without clutches) ever will be. No, I just plan ahead to lift. The way I see braking is a waste of the gas I just used to accelerate to speed, so the less I use the brakes, the more I get out of a tank of gas. It also reduces overall operating expense, except when I drive into turns hot to scrub speed naturally, then I'm burning up tires, but hey, I'll do that no matter what anyway so for me it all works out in the end.

FWIW, the shoulder blocks on my front tires are nearly bald at 23k miles, but I still have lots of tread depth in the center. I'm also on track for about 30k from my rears if they continue to wear at their current rate. I'd really like to add a half degree of negative camber in the front. It would save me a lot on tire wear.

 

But some downshifting should be within normal wear and tear expectations, right? Otherwise they wouldn't necessarily give us the downshift options, no?

 

The tranny must downshift anyway, so what difference would it make if you decided to downshift to help slow the car?

 

My pads and rotors were replaced at 33k and 3mm left on the pads. I brought a copy of the TSB with me. They gave me a loaner but called me later in the day to tell me the job would be delayed as they needed to also replace the rotors and needed to order them. Lexus of Thousand Oaks, they were great.

 

are tsb free like recalls?

 

It wears out the clutches faster if you force the downshift. Transmission clutches are far more expensive to replace than brake pads. The same is true with a manual. Add to this additional ring wear from rev matching at high rpm, and you've just signed a contract for a significantly shorter service life on both engine and transmission.