time to change brake pads?

**euro1603** · 03-09-2012 02:02 AM

Checking the brake pads yesterday, the rear had about 50mm and the front about 80mm, i thought the fronts would have worn down quicker. My honda friend mechanic did worn me about the cl9 being notorious on the rear pads ? anyone agree ? also is it time to change the rear ? i generally go with the sound test, the brakes will tell you when to change.. what is the general thickness of new brake pads..

**aaronng** · 03-09-2012 08:36 AM

New pads have roughly 10mm of material.

**Fredoops** · 03-09-2012 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by euro1603

Checking the brake pads yesterday, the rear had about 50mm and the front about 80mm, i thought the fronts would have worn down quicker. My honda friend mechanic did worn me about the cl9 being notorious on the rear pads ? anyone agree ? also is it time to change the rear ? i generally go with the sound test, the brakes will tell you when to change.. what is the general thickness of new brake pads..

Both Euro's AND accords have issues with rear pads wearing at a very fast rate.

it's a known issue and there were recalls (and lawsuits) in the USA regarding this problem.

my suggestion is to replace the rear pads with ceramic pads for longevity.

**aaronng** · 03-09-2012 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Fredoops

Both Euro's AND accords have issues with rear pads wearing at a very fast rate.

it's a known issue and there were recalls (and lawsuits) in the USA regarding this problem.

my suggestion is to replace the rear pads with ceramic pads for longevity.

From what I've seen, it comes from the hand brake cable being adjusted to be too tight. The Euro (CL9) is supposed to have 5-7 clicks, with 5 clicks actually being a bit too tight (I had 5 clicks and my rears were smoking after a drive on the freeway!). Best is to have 6 clicks.

When you service your car at the dealership, they always adjust the cable to be tighter, and you can notice it after a drive where you have not used the brakes much but the rear rotors are too hot to touch because the pads are actually still in contact with the rotor eventhough the hand brake lever is all the way down.

Same thing applies when one replaces the rear brake pads. They have to readjust the hand brake cable so that the additional pad thickness is compensated for.

**power_of_dreams** · 03-09-2012 02:22 PM

I changed my rears to hawks, they are too abrasive and have eaten my rotors.

Will go back to OEM next time.

**Fredoops** · 03-09-2012 02:49 PM

Originally Posted by power_of_dreams

I changed my rears to hawks, they are too abrasive and have eaten my rotors.

Will go back to OEM next time.

Get bendix or supercheap posiquiet then.

You really have no need to pay $100+ for oems

**power_of_dreams** · 03-09-2012 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by Fredoops

Get bendix or supercheap posiquiet then.

You really have no need to pay $100+ for oems

I guess it depends what rotors I get as well.

**aaronng** · 03-09-2012 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by power_of_dreams

I changed my rears to hawks, they are too abrasive and have eaten my rotors.

Will go back to OEM next time.

Hawk HPS or the next one up is too aggressive. I used Hawk Ceramics, and they were more gentle than stock. The downside was that initial bite was weaker than stock. However total braking force felt much stronger than stock.

**Fredoops** · 03-09-2012 07:27 PM

Originally Posted by aaronng

Hawk HPS or the next one up is too aggressive. I used Hawk Ceramics, and they were more gentle than stock. The downside was that initial bite was weaker than stock. However total braking force felt much stronger than stock.

it needs to warm up like all ceramics i think

**aaronng** · 03-09-2012 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by Fredoops

it needs to warm up like all ceramics i think

It's not a true ceramic. It just has ceramic particles in it. Even when warmed up, the initial bite is not as good as OEM. I even tried overheating it and it never improved.

**kristrifo** · 03-09-2012 10:46 PM

i think my rear brake pads got replaced around 50k km

i got 88k km on the car now and still using the original front pads, quite surprised tbh, considering i have a lead foot

...read somewhere here that the oem pads are very good and its not recommended to go for cheap aftermarkets?

also curious what are good aftermarket pads for the cl9?

i gotta change my discs though, i get violent steering wheel shaking about 1/4 way into the brake peddle