Re:Brake wear

["Sedon, Doug (OD)" <sedond@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

regan, you said, among other things:

>"...I've always been under the impression that rear brakes wear faster
>than the forward one because of the stopping load that each one of them
>has to bear.  Forward brakes are in front of the car's center of gravity
>so they don't have as heavy a load as the rear brakes which have the
>majority of the car in front of them.  It's a matter of thinking about the
>amount of kinetic energy that each one has to deal with.  Maybe I'm wrong
>but my brakes have always worn rear first no matter what kind of car I've
>ever had, domestic or foreign the ratio seems to be 1.5 to 1 set of pads
>rear to forward..."  
==============================
mebbe I'M wrong, but i think YOU'RE wrong in this case!  :>)  when you apply the
brakes on a forward-moving wehicle, all the wehicle's weight is effectively
transferred to the front of it.  ever go over the handlebars of a bicycle in a
panic stop?  ever see fotos of pro motorcycle riders doing 'stoppies' - braking
so hard, they 'almost' go over the bars, w/the bike standing up on the front
wheel?  

same thing happens in a car - ever see a car w/FRONT drum brakes & rear disc
brakes?  front solid rotors, w/rear vented rotors?  front rotors smaller than
the rear rotors?  you'll never see ANY of these things, cuz the front brakes are
the ones that get most of the work.

of course, there are some exceptions, as far as wear is concerned.  the t/a
alfas have poor heat dissipation, due to their inboard location, and exhaust
proximity.  then, there's the issue of the handbrake not fully releasing.  also,
the quirky brake pad adjustment.  otherwise, front brakes get more wear than the
rears.

ciao for now,

doug s.

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