What Are Brake Pads & When Should You Replace Them?

Brake pads are an essential part of your vehicle, allowing you to softly bring your car to a stop when you press down on your brakes. Although your vehicle’s braking system is part of a far more complex system, your brake pads are the most common point of failure. It’s the part that wears down the fastest and the parts that you have to replace the most often. 

This article will talk about what brake pads are and how they work. We’ll also talk about when you should replace them and their impact on your tires and wheels.

What Do Brake Pads Do?

Brake pads are a curved, thick material that’s designed to press against the rim of an element called the brake rotor, which is attached to the inside of your wheel. When you press the brakes on your car, your vehicle’s hydraulics cause the brake pads to squeeze on the outside of the brake rotor, which in turn results in the rotor slowing down. The brake pad has direct contact with the rotating brake rotor, so it needs to be very durable and resistant to the high heat that’s a result of the friction. 

Your car’s brake pads rely on friction to function, as the contact between the brake rotor and the brake pad material is what makes the wheels and your car slow down. In this way, brake pads on a car work similarly to how they do on a bicycle. You can see the rubber pads of a bike’s brakes press against the wheel rim (depending on the type of brake) when the brake lever is pulled. 

The main differences between bicycle brakes and vehicle brakes are scale and wheel contact. A car goes a lot faster and weighs a lot more than a bike, so the brake pads have to be constructed from a far thicker, more durable material. A car’s brake pad doesn’t press against the wheel itself, but rather the brake rotor that’s attached to the wheel to prevent damage to the wheel. 

What Do Brake Pads Look Like?

If you look closely at your wheel, you may be able see your brake rotor and the spot where the brake pads press against the rotor. Some wheels have covers that obscure this view, however. The brake pads are flat pieces of material that are pressed against the rotor by the caliper when you apply the brakes. The brake pad faces inside, at the brake rotor, so you won’t be able to see that unless you look at the brake pad before it’s put on your car. 

There are a few types of brake pads, which are distinguished by the material that makes contact with the rotor: ceramic, organic, and semi-metallic. 

Ceramic Brake Pads

The most expensive brake pad on the market, ceramic brake pads, use a clay/copper blend of materials that result in a very durable, quiet brake. You’ll find ceramic brakes on high-end luxury and performance-oriented cars like Bugatti, Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Porsche. There are also some mid-range and economy cars that use ceramic brake pads.

Pros: 

• Very quiet brakes 
• Less brake dust, which can be corrosive to your wheel
• More reliable than other brake pads

Cons:

• Expensive
• Known for poorer cold weather performance
• Not recommended for severe-duty applications like heavy towing or hauling

Organic Brake Pads

Organic brake pads have the name “organic” because they’re manufactured using non-asbestos, non-metallic materials. This can be a combination of a bunch of synthetic materials not found in other categories. 

Pros:

• Very gentle on the brake rotors
• Moderate friction, resulting in very little heat
• Quieter than metallic brakes

Cons:

• Wear down fast and have to be replaced more often
• Don’t perform as well in high and low temperatures
• You may notice you have to press harder on the brakes, as these pads compress more than other materials. 

Semi-Metallic Brake Pads

While it’s possible to have fully metallic brake pads, those are usually reserved for racing vehicles. Semimetallic are a far more common option that you’ll see on commuter vehicles. These brake pads are made up of iron, copper, steel, and other metallic flakes, resulting in a harder, longer lasting brake pad. They are composed of 30% to 70% metal.

Pros:

• Long life, though not as long as ceramic
• Great braking performance in most temperatures
• Dissipate heat well

Cons:

• Noisy, often a have a signature whine or squeal when used
• More stress and wear on the brake rotor
• Produce more corrosive brake dust

How to Inspect Brake Pads for Wear

To check your brake pads without removing the wheel, you’ll need to locate where your brake pad is touching the brake rotor first. 

(Make sure your car engine is turned off, and your vehicle is in park before checking tires and wheels.)

Then, find a flashlight and peer through the spokes of your wheel. You’ll be able to see how thick the pad is, which indicates how much it’s worn down. 

While some brake pads may have an indicator for how much pad life is left, in general, if it’s less than a quarter of an inch, you should start thinking about replacement. Some brake pads have built-in wear indicators that make noise (squeal or screech) when they’re worn down.

If you’re noticing that you have to press down more on your brakes to make your car stop, there’s a squeal when you break, or you can feel a grinding when you press down on your brakes, there’s a good chance that you need to replace your brake pads immediately.

How Often Should I Replace Brake Pads?

Most experts recommend getting your brake pads replaced around every 30,000 miles, although the range can be from 20,000 to 70,000 miles. This will depend on your driving habits and which type of brake pad you purchase. When you buy new brake pads, find out their recommended replacement date so you can gauge when you’ll have to think about replacing them. 

But, you should check your brake pads every 6 months or at every-other oil change to make sure they’re wearing down properly. If they’re wearing unevenly, or are wearing down quicker than you expect, it may be a sign of a greater problem with your brake rotor or braking system. 

When you get your oil changed, you can ask the mechanics to check your brake pads to make sure they’re wearing down properly. While they may try to sell you on replacing the brake pads early, most reputable oil change stores will tell you honestly how worn down your brake pads are. 

How Do Driving Habits Affect Brake Pads?

The more you use your brakes, the more they wear. If you want to extend the life of your brake pads, do the following:

• Slow down and chill: Aggressive driving practices tend to result in hard braking, rapid acceleration and speeding, all of which accelerate brake wear.
• Avoid city driving: Although probably not a realistic piece of advice, city driving leads to more stop-and-go traffic, which is hard to avoid if you live and work in urban areas.
• Use engine brakes and downshift: If you live in mountainous and hilly areas, use your vehicle’s gears (if possible) to slow down on declines. Driving downhill and braking puts more wear and tear on your brake pads.
• Don’t carry heavy loads: If you must haul heavy loads, allow for more stopping distances, so you don’t have to suddenly or aggressively brake. This will help prolong the life of your tires (and also your own life!). 

Overall, adopting a smoother driving style that allows for longer stopping distances, safe following distances and vehicle downshifting will help prolong the life of your brakes.     

Do Brakes Affect Tires?

Yes, the condition of a car’s brakes can significantly affect its tires. 

If brake pads are worn out, especially unevenly, it may put extra uneven pressure on the wheels when you brake, resulting in uneven tire wear. If the brake pad is grinding against the rotor, it can put extra friction on your tires, which will wear them down quicker. Brake systems deteriorating or failing will need you to brake harder, which wears down the tire a lot faster than if your brakes are performing properly. 

Don’t let your brake pads wear down all the way because the braking system itself will grind directly against the brake rotor, which causes a lot of excess heat while the system tries to stop your car. This can cause serious damage to your brake rotor.

In those worst-case situations where your car brakes malfunction or lock up, your tires may slide or skid along the road, which can cause serious damage to your tires and wheels. All the more reason to maintain your brake pads to prevent those situations!

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Illustration by 112944398 | Pattarawit Chompipat | Dreamstime.com

Photo by ID 161217247 | Brake Pads | Piotr Wytrążek | Dreamstime.com

Worn brake pad ID 106480461 | Calvin L. Leake | Dreamstime.com