lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

"Improper piston compression" WTF? There's a lot of foolishness in this thread. I have LOTS of brake experience, especially with the IS F and number of different pads, so first off, compressing the pistons is not rocket science. You can do it 20 different ways and it won't matter. The real issue is, did the brake fluid get serviced at the OEM recommended intervals? Pad material in the holes does not happen by accident. Either you drive and brake hard, or you ride your brakes constantly. There are no exceptions to this. If this car is babied as described, then you're riding your brakes. It's not possible to have pad material in the holes if you don't.

Turned rotors? Why? You think they should be junked sooner than later? Turning rotors does ONE thing and ONE thing only - puts money in the pocket of the idiot performing the task. There is no good reason to EVER turn a rotor. If it is so severely damaged turning it would help, you should just bite the bullet and replace it. I have swapped street and track pads back and forth MANY times and never had any issues other than recalibrating my foot after a track weekend.

If you really want to know the truth about how you are using the brakes, just look at the seals. If they are disintegrating, but you "baby" your car, you need to get your left foot off the brake pedal. I distinctly remember seeing a BMW owner who was clearly riding his brakes on I-5 southbound one night. The rotors were glowing a dull red at 85 mph and his brake lights were on the entire time. Don't be this guy. You will spend far too much money on brakes.

Finally, quit blaming the mechanic. He couldn't do anything wrong even if he tried. These are the simplest and easiest brake calipers to service on the planet.

idoke1

iTrader: (5)

^^This....... by far the most easiest brakes and pads I had ever done for both front and rears.

F Monster

Thanks for the response Matt. I'm changing my tires out tomorrow so we can take a better look at the brake pads. As far as the spring and pins being properly installed, I'm assuming it is. I did not work on the car, my local mechanic did.

I8ABMR

Would the seal explain the irregular wear though or is the seal issue just a biproduct of the aggressive driving? I am trying to figure out my uneven wear as well. Thank Lobox

F Monster

I don't know what is causing this but I can guarantee you I am NOT riding my brakes while driving. I have barely driven this car for 5k miles since the pads were on. Never tracked my car and it's used as a weekend car. As my friend have stated I babied the car to the point he gets pissed off because I wouldn't drive it over 45mph in the city. As far as braking goes, I brake from a far distance. If you compare Tammer's brake pads to mine... his looks better and that's with him tracking the car all year. Whatever the case may be, we'll find out tomorrow.

Joe Z

iTrader: (10)

Silly question...

When you wash the car do you hose out the rotors thoroughly???

Even for daily driving... If you never do it, the holes will cake in with pad material.

I try do that every so often to keep the drilled rotors free of pad materials..

Joe Z

zen

iTrader: (6)

my pads also looks like that and the pad was replaced then surfaced rotor at the dealer. I don't feel any vibration or noise while braking.

F Monster

Hmm.. you may be right. I don't hose out my rotors when I wash the car.

ABMR

Deposits in rotors indicate to me extreme wear on the pad, but there is no way caked in rotors could in any way cause this type of wear. The pad deposits are a result of, not a cause of, the brake problem.

A million right ways to do something doesn't mean there aren't plenty of wrong ways to do something...

Easy to service or not, this owner put thousands of miles on the old brake pads and didn't experience any wear like this at all. The mechanic serviced the brakes, now they are wearing irregularly in a very short period of time. To me that makes it pretty clear that the mechanic did something wrong during installation or the pads themselves were the wrong size and are binding somewhere. The only two variables that changed from the proper wearing pads before to what he has now was a mechanic installing new StopTech pads.

Even if I am completely wrong about my diagnosis this owner does not ride his brakes or drive hard, so your theory does not make sense here. Simply put, if the wear was a result of driving style the old pads would exhibit similar wear.


Will have the wheels off within a couple hours here, hoping to investigate a bit and see if we can get to the bottom of it. Owner is running Motul 600 Dot 4 brake fluid with StopTech pads - I'm seeing if he can buy some OEM brake fluid and OEM brake pads to, at the very least, further hone in on where the problem is.

mindcrime

iTrader: (2)

when should the brake fluid be serviced?

F Monster

Long story short. There is nothing wrong with the brake pads, at the angle that we had looked at initially made it seem like as if they were wearing at a steep angle however that is not the case at all. Upon further inspection with my wheels off today (got new tires), the brake pads (StopTech) was just designed to be that shape to begin with. So all in all, everything is fine and I am relieved. Thank you to all who had chimed in and helped.

imp0rted1

disaster averted

SoulFreak

iTrader: (1)

I know the manual states @ 60k replace brake fluid.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Now that you've seen the brakes, you know why I came to the conclusion I did. Beveled pads are common and many manufacturers claim they reduce noise. I personally think they only reduce swept pad area and speed up the bedding process, but I can't tell them not to remove material from the pads if they want to sell them that way.

It would be impossible to improperly compress the pistons. It would take a level of incompetence even the shadetree mechanic does not possess to incorrectly replace the pads, pins, or anti-rattle springs. Absolute worst case would be not driving the pins all the way in, which would not affect wear, but would definitely cause some grief if both pins dropped out.

I have had uneven wear, but it was top to bottom, not end to end. Both are possible, but these brake calipers are designed to avoid the end to end problem, and my worn out pads from track use confirm they do not wear pads unevenly from end to end.

mindcrime

iTrader: (2)

thanks. not sure if it was done by previous owner, but if it's cheap i'll have it done. but i'll check the color of fluid as well.

it's cheaper than what could happen if I don't change so i'll change it anways if it's needed.