[Vwdiesel] general brake questions

[William J Toensing]

I think brake life & brake disk warp reflects driving style. Drive in the city fast, jam on your brakes at the last second & you will get short pad life, disk warping, & poor MPG. I tend to drive the opposite, letting momentum slow the car using the brakes as little as possible & also shifting down to slow when going down hills. I have never experienced disk warping on any car I have bought new. My 2001 Focus still has the original clutch at 146,000 miles, got 80,000 miles out of the front pads & lots of brake dust on the front wheels. I replaced the pads (myself) with a top of the line Raybestis pads from NAPA. No more brake dust & the pads still look like new. Bought a new 1885 Mazda 626 diesel & got 108,000 miles out of the front pads in LA driving. It still had the original disks all around plus the original clutch when I sold it at 174,000 miles due to an overheated engine (another story). 
Bill Toensing, Nevada City, CA