How long do aftermarket brakes last? (2024)

How long do brakes last on a new car?

Auto manufacturers do not make their brake pads and for a majority of them they even farm the design to the aftermarket. Aftermarket brakes will last longer and perform better depending the year and vehicle type and cost. For example, many trucks in the early s came out with semi-metallic pads. They are replaced by carbon ceramic pads that last longer, dust less and stop much shorter due to the improvement of friction products years after the vehicle were built. Having say that, there are also cheapo pads that don’t hold up at all. Buy the proper fitment and request the latest friction material designed for your vehicle. Then compared the prices and benefits.

How long do brake pads last after they start squealing?

Not all aftermarket pads are of the same quality. So, it may be true that Honda pads are better than some of them. But Honda does not even make the brake pads. Akebono and Nissin make or have made brake pads for Honda. I buy my brake pads and rotors from AutoZone. Lifetime warranty on the brake pads as long as you own the car. So, free brake pads after they wear out, as long as they wear relatively evenly. You can replace the brake pads for free, as many times as you need them. I get the year warranty rotors because they last about years. These are the more expensive better rotors. Never buy the cheap rotors. Some of them are warped when brand new.

How long do brake pads typically last?

As others have suggested, it’s “it depends”. Brakes are not an investment. Brakes are a wear item. The very best brakes also treat the rotors as a consumable wear item as well. The brake pad pushes against the rotor (assuming disk brakes). The friction between the pad and the rotor creates heat, and also creates drag which causes the rotor to be inclined to stop rotating. The process causes the rotor to eject surface molecules on the rotor, and the pad to eject surface molecules of the pad. If the pad is softer than the rotor (as it typically the case) the pad ejects material until it’s no longer a useable thickness. If the pad is harder, the pad and rotor lose material at similar rates, to maximize the friction, meaning you’ll need new rotors exactly when you need new pads. That’s the process. As far as how long that takes…. I’ve seen carbon-carbon brakes not last a full track day, so that’s call it under miles. I’ve seen “factory OEM” brakes last over k miles. You’re undoubtedly somewhere in between.

How long do cheap brakes last?

That’s a good question, and it would actually vary by brake manufacturer. The Squealer is a piece of metal built into the brake pad which makes contact with the rotor when the brake pad is getting really low. You have to understand that brake pads don’t always wear uniformly. The front part of the brake pad might have a thousand miles left on it, but the rear part of the brake pad might have a hundred miles left on it, or vice versa. After all the brake pad material wears away, the steel base of the pad makes contact with your rotor and will start digging into it. Now you just drastically increased the price of your brake job because you need brake rotors now. It’s a real shame because disc brakes are so easy to do. If you lived near me I could show you how to do them in minutes. Anyway, the smartest thing to do is to get them changed as soon as you hear the squealing and don’t wait. You just don’t know how much pad you have left until you take that wheel off and visually inspect the brake pad. To be absolutely safe and to save your rotors from needing replacement, you should get them changed as soon as you can. Maybe you can find some guy that you know, a friend, a partner, a family member, who can show you how to do your brake pads? If you bought the pads on the internet, you can probably get them for to bucks for each axle. Just as an FYI, your front brakes perform approximately % of your car’s stopping power, which is why they’re much larger than your rear brake pads, so you’ll replace your front brakes “About” twice for every one time you replace your rear brakes. Rear disc brakes typically last anywhere between and , miles. I hope I at least helped you out a little bit here.

How long do brake pads and rotors last?

A lot depends on the environment. If you live in the “rust belt”, and if you don’t hose off the undercarriage when you wash your vehicle, steel brake lines can corrode and fail under pressure. The only way to inspect them is on a lift, or on a creeper with the vehicle jacked up. One way to check is to stand on the brake pedal when the car is parked. If anything is to fail, it should fail then, not later out on the road. It’s important to check the braided rubber flex hoses for the front brakes. These can weather check with age, and should be replaced if they show checking. Replacement hoses that are steel-braided teflon can be gotten for a fair price. I can only speak for myself, but I have had vehicles over years without any brake line issues.

Note that this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to and should not be relied upon or construed as legal advice. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content in this essay without seeking legal or other professional advice.