Pad wear - with photos

[Lozza47]

Hello,
I recently changed my front and rear pads as I was told by a couple of bmw mechanics they are running low, the fronts in particular. My iDrive said about 2,000kms left as well.
I daily drive the car and have done about 3 track days since putting them in.

After seeing the old pads, I wonder if they were actually as low as claimed, to me they look like they still have a lot of life left in them. Could be wrong though as I'm not an expert!

[img]https://i.ibb.co/VtQZV6H/92-A96-DF5-...-F42-C6-C9.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.ibb.co/kgQw7Sr/A57-C337-C-...FED9888-C8.jpg[/img]

[Chapool]

My car has over 130k and still on original pads, never tracked the car though but I think the original pads last a while with just daily driving.

[Redd]

Originally Posted by Lozza47

Hello,
I recently changed my front and rear pads as I was told by a couple of bmw mechanics they are running low, the fronts in particular. My iDrive said about 2,000kms left as well.
I daily drive the car and have done about 3 track days since putting them in.

After seeing the old pads, I wonder if they were actually as low as claimed, to me they look like they still have a lot of life left in them. Could be wrong though as I'm not an expert!

[img]https://i.ibb.co/VtQZV6H/92-A96-DF5-...-F42-C6-C9.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.ibb.co/kgQw7Sr/A57-C337-C-...FED9888-C8.jpg[/img]

Those pads have a bit of life left in them. Replace when the pad material is same thickness as the backing plate.

[Lozza47]

Originally Posted by Redd

Those pads have a bit of life left in them. Replace when the pad material is same thickness as the backing plate.

Is the backing plate the very thin (1mm) section at the back or the thicker plate attached to it (coloured section in photo)?

[roastbeef]

quite a bit left on those.

[jritt@essex]

Your pads still have a lot of life left in them. In the modified pic below, the red portion is your steel backing plate, and the blue portion is the brake pad compound itself attached to the backing plate. The compound is the portion that wears. As noted above, if you are tracking your car you typically want to strongly consider replacing the pads when the compound section wears down to the same thickness as the backing plate. If you're just tooling around on the road, it's okay to let it get a bit thinner.

Here are some brake-related knowledge resources that you may find useful:

Essex Track and Racing Brake Pad Owner's Guide

Can I Run my OEM Brake Pads on the Track?


Again though, it's always better to be more conservative with replacements when tracking the car, and replace them sooner rather than too late!

[Lozza47]

Originally Posted by jritt@essex

Your pads still have a lot of life left in them. In the modified pic below, the red portion is your steel backing plate, and the blue portion is the brake pad compound itself attached to the backing plate. The compound is the portion that wears. As noted above, if you are tracking your car you typically want to strongly consider replacing the pads when the compound section wears down to the same thickness as the backing plate. If you're just tooling around on the road, it's okay to let it get a bit thinner.

Here are some brake-related knowledge resources that you may find useful:

Essex Track and Racing Brake Pad Owner's Guide

Can I Run my OEM Brake Pads on the Track?


Again though, it's always better to be more conservative with replacements when tracking the car, and replace them sooner rather than too late!

Appreciate the response, thank you.

I do approx 5-10 track days a year so I guess good to be conservative. Based on the old pad photos, would it be fair to re-use these pads once my new ones have worn down (below backing plate thickness)? Also, how accurate is the idrive system in determining pad life, when the warning comes on would that alone be a good indication the pads are below backing plate thickness? I find it hard to measure the thickness even with the wheel off, just the way these stock m3 calipers are the pad seems really tucked in.