Figured this would get moved here if I put it on the main forum, so we'll save the Mods the hassle.

Bought my 6MT at 56k (Ha! 56k beware ) and now have 72k. The brakes feel like there's less braking force early on in the pedal travel and once they do increase in 'bite', seem more 'grabby'. The fronts seem to be giving off more dust than usual. Is this extra dust a 'sign' that the pads need to be replaced soon? Kind of like a treadwear indicator on a tire...some visual signal that a part designed to wear-down is close to the end of it's life...or am I imagining things? I have a great indie mechanic that would give me a trustworthy answer if I just asked him to check, but I was hoping to save the diagnostic trip. Plus I'm thinking of giving the CMax Golds a whirl and would prefer to buy them myself and bring them with.

TIA

 

Dust from the OEM Brembo pads is normal. They produce a LARGE amount of brake dust. This is not an indicator in and of itself of pad wear. If you look at the caliper, see how much of the pad is left. Honda's recommended change interval is when the brake pad reaches 2mm.

 

Oh, I definitely know the normal level of dusting and it is a PITA. After owning it for a 16 months, I kind of have a feel for the rate and it just seems to have been bad in the last couple weeks.

 

OE pads have "squealer tab" that'll make a god-aweful racket at around 3mm or so.

 

very possible that the pads are getting towards the end of their life, especially older/worn pads like to run hotter then a set of new pads/rotors, since there is not as much material to help absorb the heat (and with it running hotter, some pad materials will loose it's "friction" (like how race pads get better once warmed up, same thing with street pads, but kinda reversed though, with being better at colder temps)



also the rotor could be so "smooth" now that there is nothing really for the pad to actually grab onto (does it seem like a mirror finish now?)






also have you considered buying a set of braided brake lines? your current lines could also be expanding more now also, due to having been used more (and iirc that was actually the first mod [or very first ones] i did to the wife's wrx, because i had liked them so much on mine)

 

^^^ Well I'm not sure about that, I've heard from plenty of people at Acurazine as well as at the Dealership that the pedal feel will not change as your pads wear out, since they adjust to the wear. I'm having the same problem, I have about 4mm on the pads, and after you break hard a couple of times they "warm up" and bite better. Totally agree on the braided lines though, had them on my maxima and it was day and night.

Also, since the car has EBD and that Brake assist crap, if you press your pedal firmly and hold it there you'll feel the brakes biting more and more as you slow down. And yeah, the brembos dust like crazy, if you have gunmetal rims you wont notice it as much

By the way, there is also TSB on the TL named "low/mushy brake pedal"

 

in that since YES, but let me ask you a question about tires though, and race cars.....
Why do race teams switch out/replace tires when they get heat cycled too many times?



because they lose grip, and do not preform like a set of fresh tires (basically what i am saying is that it is the same concept, though with brakes we are talking about 1000's of heat cycles)


and you say firmly holding the brake pedal, i think the OP meant more like under normal braking, it seems like the pedal needs to be pushed further to achieve the same rate of deceleration, so the electronics are out of the picture basically
as far as the dusting, i know they do like crazy, especially when compared to "normal" honda brakes, they dust like the european cars do especially BMW; but again as OP mention is that it seemed like more then the normal amount

and as far as the TSB, not quite sure what it says

 

I thought I remembered having a car that had a layer of reddish pad material that was an indicator. So I thought the extra dusting might be something similar. The squealer tab thing is very helpful to know. There's no change in sound. It's possible some environmental (and not 'automotive') cause is just causing more dust to stick to the rims than usual, I don't know. I feel a little better that I probably won't go from fine one day to trashing my rotors the next because I waited to long to have them checked. I will just have my mech look at them next time, which should only be about four weeks away when my inspection's due. In the meantime I'll be listening and feeling for any signs I should stop in sooner. Thanks for the comments, all.

 

you are more then likely fine for the time being, and as said when you do take it in, make sure your mech does look at them, to make sure there is plenty of pad life left and such

 

Bite and release are pad characteristics. They don't change much from break-in to end of life. Are you sure the pedal is not getting softer from air in the system?

When you go to replace the pads, make sure to bleed the system or even better, flush with new brake fluid. OEM pads work great but you can choose other pads that have different characteristics.

 

Any recommendation on pads? I had bought some "decent" pads from advanced for my brembos....BAD MOVE. They squeak every so often (enough to annoy me) and it started like a month or so after i got them. I hate to spend $200 on dealer pads when i could get them elsewhere for cheaper and better.