Well back when I first bought my cheap ebay brake pad set, they seemed O.K. I got all 3 sets at once, the Kevlar organic sets. I was short on money, and the money I saved allowed me to ride rather than spend more time at home. In the dry they worked pretty well. When wet they left a lot to be desired, I had to really apply the brakes to stop. Because of the wet weather braking, I had already decided to switch back to OEM for the next sets.
About a week ago I had visually checked all my brakes (as I try to do on a fairly regular basis, being a mechanic...while I'm not anal, I try to stay informed about how things are wearing) and all the pads looked pretty good.
Then at the end of last week I started hearing a tiny brake squeak when I stopped. It didn't sound like grinding, just a tiny squeak, so I postponed looking at them for a few days. We went on a little ride Saturday, then some hurricane prep and Sunday was too wet to check it out. I finally had a chance to look at it tonight after work.
It looks like the outer rear pad delaminated, and the friction material fell out. The inner rear pad was fine. Unfortunately, the outer surface of the rotor was very grooved. Even though I didn't hear any real noise, just a tiny squeak, the pad backing plate had been rubbing the rotor. My attempt at cost savings resulted in a $300 rotor being damaged. I checked Ron Ayers Honda, and found it for around $225. Then, getting REALLY lucky, I found a good used rear rotor on ebay for $59 with free shipping! I snapped it up quickly and will be ordering OEM pads to go with it.
For now, since this is my only vehicle, I installed the old set I had removed last brake change. They still have a bit of material left, and its not like I have to worry about damaging the rotor now.
So for those wondering about running some of the very cheap pad sets, I now strongly advise against it. The only aftermarket pads I would consider using are EBC, and they are just as expensive as Ron Ayers gets for OEMs.
By the way, yes, its kind of embarrassing to post this, especially with me being a professional, but I would rather someone else learn from my mistake.
Jim
About a week ago I had visually checked all my brakes (as I try to do on a fairly regular basis, being a mechanic...while I'm not anal, I try to stay informed about how things are wearing) and all the pads looked pretty good.
Then at the end of last week I started hearing a tiny brake squeak when I stopped. It didn't sound like grinding, just a tiny squeak, so I postponed looking at them for a few days. We went on a little ride Saturday, then some hurricane prep and Sunday was too wet to check it out. I finally had a chance to look at it tonight after work.
It looks like the outer rear pad delaminated, and the friction material fell out. The inner rear pad was fine. Unfortunately, the outer surface of the rotor was very grooved. Even though I didn't hear any real noise, just a tiny squeak, the pad backing plate had been rubbing the rotor. My attempt at cost savings resulted in a $300 rotor being damaged. I checked Ron Ayers Honda, and found it for around $225. Then, getting REALLY lucky, I found a good used rear rotor on ebay for $59 with free shipping! I snapped it up quickly and will be ordering OEM pads to go with it.
For now, since this is my only vehicle, I installed the old set I had removed last brake change. They still have a bit of material left, and its not like I have to worry about damaging the rotor now.
So for those wondering about running some of the very cheap pad sets, I now strongly advise against it. The only aftermarket pads I would consider using are EBC, and they are just as expensive as Ron Ayers gets for OEMs.
By the way, yes, its kind of embarrassing to post this, especially with me being a professional, but I would rather someone else learn from my mistake.
Jim
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