To those who have slotted and/or drilled rotors...

To those who have slotted and/or drilled rotors...

How long do your brake pads last?

I put less than 10,000 miles on my new brake setup which consists of Slotted Brembo Rotors and Hawk HPS pads and it already seems like the pads are toast. They're squealing like crazy and stopping distance is horrible compared to when they were new. Worst thing is, everything is less than a year old :sad:

Is this normal?

Sounds about right - really depends on how you drive.

You have slotted rotors - expect the pads to get chewed down quickly, that is what the rotors are made for.

On plain rotors - I've gotten my Hawk pads to go almost 45K-50K for they hit the squealers. The key is in how you break them in - with a new brake system, I tend to break in the new pads on old rotors first - tends to make them last a whole lot longer. Same deal with new rotors - break them in with some older padsm, then install pads. That way - you burn up old friction material to get the rotor surface cleaned up of machining marks.

I have actually gotten over 20K miles and a few autoXes with my HPS and powerslots.. still have a good amount of meat on the pads.

Had Brembo Cross Drilled and Slotted rotors and ProStop Ceramic Pads and my pads lasted about 30K and drive pretty spirited.

I also have Goodridge stainless steel brake lines and ATE Super Blue brake fluid.

The brakes seem okay for the first 2 or 3 stops, but then start squealing very loudly after that. The pedal also strangely seemly more spongy. I have noticed more fade and wheel vibrations when braking at speeds above 60mph.

Could it be my brake pads? Rotors? Brake Fluid? Or something else?

How did you bed in the pads and rotors when you got them?

I followed all the directions on Hawk's website.

wow, haven't replaced my pads/rotors for about almost 20k miles now. i guess i'm sticking with non vented slotted rotors and same pads...

I want to try EBC green stuff brake pads. I'm not too concerned with slotted or drilled rotors. They really don't drastically improve braking distance. I've read that for better braking, the main things to worry about are the pads and sticky tires.

I dont have slotted rotors and my brakes last one year to the date ( April to April ) dont know how many miles i put on them ....lol..... but this was a good thread i was thinking of getting slotted rotors......Thank God we all know how to change brakes.... have you seen the prices ??? LOL

Hmm. Could be a bum set - I know that there was a batch that wasn't up to snuff from Hawk, about two or three years ago. This set would squeal almost immediately when installed and no amount of bedding would fix it.

Were the defective batch replaced by Hawk?
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Do you have any more information regarding this?

I'm now worried because I have an extra set of the same pads dated November 2004 lying around in my basement.

I heard it from a rep for my dad's shop - most were set back to their vendors for replacement, unfortunantly I do not have any documentation on them - be tough to prove even with documentation. Completely likely that some are still left on a shelf somewhere.

Depends on where you got the pads - I had a funky set that started to chunk and break apart at 5K miles (EBC Greenstuff) at Tirerack - called them up and they gave me full credit toward any other set. But since you already bought them some time ago - hard to say for sure.

Every set of Hawks HPS that I've used, the minimum I got out of any set were about 40K miles with some pretty heavy use (DC Metro traffic). The key is bedding in the material and heat cycling - pretty tough to do on the street/highway.

I'd try bedding in the pads on regular rotors first - then try slapping them on the slotted ones. From the sounds of it - the slotted rotor is doing exactly what is designed for - cleaning the face of the pad for more bite and more consistent performance. The lengthy braking distance might be because the rotor is being eaten up as well - reduced heat capacity. If it was me - I'd swap back to plain rotors with Hawk HPS pads or go with OEM pads on the slotted. Lots of meat on the OEM pad, and the cleaning function of the rotor slots will help improve the OEM pads bite/performance.

I did some research online and noticed that others have mentioned that DOT 4 brake fluids, and performance types like ATE Super Blue are more hydroscopic than DOT 3 fluid which Toyota recommends and should be replaced every 2 years or less.

I have noticed that my pedal is mushier than before and it seems odd and unlikely that the pads should wear out this quickly considering how much life some of your guys are getting out of yours. Maybe the brake fluid needs to be bled and replaced with fresh fluid? What are your thoughts?

Will try another bed-in process tonight and see how it goes.

Trying another bed in process on the new pads? Can't really bed in old ones - if they are heavily glazed or overheated, they are basically toast. Should have already flushed the old brake fluid out when you swapped to the stainless steel lines and ATE brake fluid - unless that was two years ago or more.

Brake pedal feel that is mushy with what you currently have is a bit odd, unless you a problem with the master cylinder or calipers themselves. Fresh fluid couldn't hurt - if you still have your old OEM pads, might be worthwhile to throw them on and see what they do to see if it is a brake pad issue.

I replaced everything all at once, scrapped my old pads and rotors afterwards.

I will check the pads tomorrow to see worn they are, might add some anti-squeal compound to the shims to see if it cures my squealing problem. It feels like I'm about to go deaf since it's so loud and annoying. I hope get to the source of the problem soon.

I was about to say make sure you have shims and the Anti sqeak compound i use made by CRC Disc Brake Quiet its orange in a little container they sell them at Auto Zone and I'm sure at Advance Auto and it works for me better then that spray but every one has there favorite just a suggestion .... Hope this helps you ...

i'm in the same position, i got about 10-12k on my powerslot rotors and hawk hps pads and they are spueeling soo bad. I'm gonna order same ones and put them on soon i hope

24K currently on my wagner pads and brembo rotors have yet to have any problems and when i'm at home i drive my car the way vortex does as well, (drive it like you stole it). The only thing mine do that sometimes bad is they smoke horribly but its the way i drive (sometimes) but they have yet to fail me in any manner.

Well, it turns out that my brake pads showed signs of glazing, which was causing the squealing and mushy pedal. A few hard stops then letting it cool overnight and everything is as good as new again. Thanks for the replies everyone.

Now to deal with this stupid sign traffic ticket I got yesterday. fcuk.