What is the min brake pad thickness for disks and drums please!
martin11,
Oct 8, 11:12am
Depends on the car .
monaro17,
Oct 8, 11:14am
Brakes are important and pads are cheap. If the wof place says they are too worn, then likely they are too worn.
But cynicism aside, it varies from pad to pad
androth2,
Oct 8, 11:20am
A quick look at the discs may look ok but they could be worn unevenly across the surface so are too thin in one place
strobo,
Oct 8, 11:30am
What ever is stamped on the drum or rotor is the service or wear limit! re the drums and rotors. It depends on the quality or type of parts used. if the drum or rotor look worn , lippy or scoured out is very little point fitting new pads or linings .If you're down to 3mm lining its over due! The concentric wear on the shoe lining will be almost on the metal .The lining material you see left remaining may not be the same thickness on the leading or trailing side of the shoe!Most have an indicator visible on lining thru an inspection hole on drums or remove drum to inspect or have audible strip indicator if low material on the pads. most inspectors make a fair call if they fail them or request the remaining lining left be measured.I don't think there are any set factory specs on this!
kazbanz,
Oct 8, 11:52am
Given you are specifically asking about WOF then Im 99% sure shoe thickness will never present at WOF time simply because its a non invasive inspection--they don't remove the drums. Pads I understood minimum thickness to be 2mm but that's darned hard to police with the wof non invasive methodology
budgel,
Oct 8, 12:05pm
For some reason I was under the impression that brakes were tested on performance, and comments about pad thickness came after a fail. I can see that it makes sense to fail brakes if they are down to about 2mm or less as failure is imminent.
When I take a vehicle for a warrant I check things before I go. It surprises me a little that others dont.
saxman99,
Oct 8, 12:25pm
Cars have brake pads?
Tyres need replacing periodically?
Wipers wear out?
Headlights can blow?
My car has fog lights?
etc.
marte,
Oct 8, 1:17pm
If it's just a 'Note' on the WOF, I'd expect they take into account where & how much it's driven & for how long. 6 months of 3500 kms in a flat town using 1000cc vs 12 months & 25Kkms in a hilly city towing stuff
scuba,
Oct 8, 1:20pm
you are fortunate enough to have the means and ability to do so- majority of car owners don't.
scuba,
Oct 8, 1:22pm
to be blunt their job is to pass or fail. not guess how far or indeed how you drive your car
toenail,
Oct 8, 2:30pm
I don't see how a WOF can fail the drums. WOF is not allowed to remove parts for inspection. Drums are not visible from the outside.
redhead18,
Oct 8, 3:06pm
Higher than a condom you have used repetitively so many times. But as you are referring to a GLUED friction material there IS a MINIMUM thickness. As when your LIFE needs it to work and glue overheats and well fails in bonding. Steel on Steel dunnae work as well as brake pads and shoes bonded] and above minimum thickness.
lyrad,
Oct 8, 3:10pm
They test brake performance, it's not a visual inspection.
pauldw,
Oct 8, 3:13pm
The VIRM allows for a plug in the backing plate inspection hole to be pulled out if present.
toenail,
Oct 8, 5:12pm
The brake pads can have less than the min thickness and still pass that test no problem, as there is still friction material.
toenail,
Oct 8, 5:14pm
I wonder if this is routine. For most cars, the wheels would have to come off to inspect the pads. Unless you use a small camera through gap of the spokes of the wheels to inspect.
marte,
Oct 8, 6:47pm
To be obvious, the OP has not returned to the thread, has not provided a single peice of information regarding their vehicle or it's condition in the original post, or thereafter. Everything in this thread is a guess.
And dont forget the other important part of your brake system - the flu. oh they've gone.
franc123,
Oct 9, 7:40pm
It is compulsory for backplate inspection plugs to be removed to inspect the shoes on vehicles so equipped during WoF. Its pretty rare that brake pads are hard to inspect unless its fitted with a solid steel wheel or one which has small holes or slots that make the outer pad hard to see. A torch and small round telescopic mirror usually is enough to reveal what you want to know.
webworth,
Oct 9, 8:20pm
and the brake hoses. Mine recently failed because of rust on the crimps.
vivac,
Oct 10, 9:00am
Yeah, grains of salt needed there, i took my car to my usual mechanic before a trackday and his new guy failed me on too little brake pad left, i needed the wof for the trackday and showed him the new pads i had sitting in the boot for the day, his boss passed it. Drove to Taupo did a full trackday and drove home, pads still looked exactly the same as before, still plenty left.
Mechanics and definitely wof guys are not always right, but me and my car may be a different story to you and your car ect.
zachary,
Oct 10, 2:21pm
So either he was a mug to let you risk his ticket if he thought you would do the right thing and fit the new parts or he over ruled his new boy because he checked the pad thickness himself.-I always tell my garage to err on the side of caution as thats how he makes his living. It's only money and keeps the family safe.
marte,
Oct 10, 3:39pm
While a pad could be 2mm + thick, it could have grooves like a freshly plowed field.
Yes a WOF is 'just on that day' & dosn't mean that a brake light won't blow on the way home. Take into account 12 months heavy use on front pads which are 2.1mm thick, with grooves & that the next time it's going to be checked is at the next WOF & I'd expect that this will either fail or get noted on the WOF sheet.
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