Rear Brakes Wear Out before The Front

Just had an oil change at the dealer. My 2004 Miata is nearing 50K.

The dealer's suggested replacing rear pads and turning rotors. There was no mention about the front brakes needing service which in my experience always wore-out first.

When questioned, the technician said latter models have softer rear pads. There is no scoring whatsoever on outer surface of the rotors, on both back and front wheels. The car doesn't pull or screech. Master cylinder has never been topped up an is about 1/4" below max which confirms some wear. Am I being set up for a $240 brake job that isn't needed? I was also troubled to find out that the parts department didn't stock rear pads as a regular maintenance item and was told they would have to be special ordered..

Reply to
Sheldon Rudie
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Well, at that price I would feel 'set up' but you know, dealers have big overhead and big 'profit'! It wouldn't surprise me at all if the dealer was correct about the pads being a softer compound. Mazda may have decided to tweak the front to rear balance a bit in this way but someone will probably pitch in first hand knowledge of such. I don't think the rears have worn 'so fast' as the fronts seem to be lasting a long long time. Strange.

Keep us posted, Chris

99BBB

Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

I'd never get the discs turned at typical shop prices; just replace them. If you can get them, EBC Turbo Groove discs are zinc-plated so the unswept areas don't rust. They look a lot better.

Reply to
Zog The Undeniable

I have a 90 Miata which I received from the dealer in Oct of 89, which currently has 145,000 miles. I have never had the rotors turned...only burnished every 40,000 when I replaced my brakes. I just upgraded my brakes with drilled and slotted Aussie rotors , Hawk HP pads and Goodridge stainless brakes lines and synthetic brake fluid and WOW..has the stopping power improved. Replacing the pads and rotors is a do it yourself project...takes about 2 hours and parts are avalable at your local Autozone. About the rear pads wearing fast..the wear could be caused by an improperly adjusted emergency brake cable.

Reply to
bayman2222

I'd say sometthing was wrong with your previous brake configuration. The limiting factor in Miata brakes is the tires, not brake components.

Reply to
Chas Hurst

He's probably just getting allot better feel and he likes it. Few people would deny that the miata has enough brake to 'lock them up' but being able to do it with less pedal pressure can be described as 'more stopping power'. I'm guessing that it's a bit easier to modulate too.

Chris

99BBB

Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

I agree. When I received my '91 turbo with the original tiny rotors and pads, the first thing I did was upgrade to the rotors, calipers and pads from my wrecked 1996 model. The calipers are identical, but the pads and rotors are now larger. Considering what he spent on the car, I suspect that he had a big brake kit for it that was either pulled and returned to stock right before he sold it to me, or never installed at all.

EVERYTHING became better with the 1996 brakes, both because they are larger and because they had half the miles on the calipers and rotors than were on the 1991 brakes. They are now getting to the point where new front rotors and front brake pads will be coming up soon, along with a caliper rebuilt on all 4 corners, and with about 110K miles of total use. The front and rear pads have been replaced once, both long before it was necessary.

Pat

Reply to
pws

Is anyone familiar with the zinc-coated rotors that Zog referred to? I am wondering if they are available for the Miata and if there is any downside to them except perhaps price.

The wheels I have really show off the rotors and I like the idea of them being rust-free.

Pat

Reply to
pws

bayman2222 wrote: Replacing the pads and

For some people. I know several people who should never approach a car with a tool in hand under any circumstances..... :-)

I have found brake work to be one of the easiest things to do on a car, and can not believe what shops get away with charging. Ever since I quit dealing with drums, it is almost simple as it can get, and even drum brakes were not that bad.

I agree on the rear brakes, if the dealer is wanting to change the rear brakes and not the fronts at 50K miles and they are not lying about the brake condition, then I would suspect either an improperly adjusted emergency brake cable or possibly a car that was driven with the emergency brake partially engaged for a long time.

Pat

Reply to
pws

The original rotors are plated. The rotors on my 10AE rust only on the swept area. I have read of others painting the rotors, with success.

Reply to
Chas Hurst

Reply to
Sheldon Rudie

The car is equipped with a manual transmission. Consequently, it is customarily parked using only 1st or reverse as its pseudo "parking brake".

Reply to
Sheldon Rudie

While I would recommend against just leaving the car in gear (no parking brake) I don't think this has anything to do with the comment about your hand brake. I believe they are thinking that it may be out of adjustment and the rears, ever so slightly engaging the rotors all the time during normal driving.

Thanks, Chris

99BBB
Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

Or, more likely, the slider pins are seized.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

I agree about setting the PARKING BRAKE when PARKING. Good idea. The rear brakes are not automatically adjusted when replaced. They require a 6mm allen screw to be tightened down 'till the pads just touch the rotor, then backed off 1/3 turn. If this wasn't done correctly when the pads were last installed it would certainly cause problems. Ephar, Maya & Bambi

Reply to
Ephar

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EBC pads aren't the best (go for Mintex or OEM), but the discs are good.

Reply to
Zog The Undeniable

An easy visual check of this is to check that the entire area that should be swept by the pad, is being swept.

When one pin seizes and you apply the brakes, the floating caliper tilts on its axis (\ rather than |) and the pads don't contact the disc properly. The pads will also quickly develop a wedge shape, making them near-useless.

At the recent UK owners' club rally it was frightening how many had seizing calipers, even one of the track-prepared cars, which only had a shiny ring about half an inch across on the LHR disc. Rear brakes seem more prone to it than fronts, probably because they get hit by all the water and crud thrown up by the front wheels.

Reply to
Zog The Undeniable

Yike! It's good practice to lubricate the slider pins at every oil change.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

Yup - I recently advised a guy on the OC forum to have the pins cleaned and greased at every service, not just when the pads need replacing. They need more attention than once every 30,000 miles (or whatever). Personally I use high melting point lithium grease on the sliders; copper grease is OK for the back and lugs of the pads, but I'm not convinced it's a good lubricant for moving parts.

Reply to
Zog The Undeniable

I've been lubricating the slider pins about every 10K miles for 8 years now, which averages about once ever 9 months or so.

The pins have stayed lubricated that long every time for me, and this is on a Miata that sees a fair amount of driving in the rain. The swept areas on the rotors have always remained consistent.

Pat

Reply to
pws

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