wingless

To those who've needed new rotors, I'd like to ask one additional question, were the rotors warped?

There are clearly vehicles with rotors replaced much sooner that I would expect. Any feedback as to why these have been replaced?

T2

Mine were not warped but had gotten too thin per the spec - however I do not know what the thickness spec is.

wingless

The disc wear limits, for the S and Turbo are: 32 mm, front / 26 mm, rear and for the Cayenne are: 30 mm, front / 26 mm, rear.

This allows for only 2 mm of wear. These are the new dimensions, for the S and Turbo are: 34 mm, front / 28 mm, rear and for the Cayenne are: 32 mm, front / 28 mm, rear.

The maximum runout tolerance, for all models, is: 0.03 mm. The maximum thickness tolerance, for all models, is: 0.02 mm.

The pad wear limits, for all models, is: 2 mm.

Elton in SoCal

Maybe I should have expected this...after all the Pepper weighs nearly 6,000 lbs, but I have a hard time understanding how a vehicle mostly driven by my wife (read, not aggressive) can go through a set of rotors this quickly. And with the rears needing replacement shortly.

I have been on the track with both my 986S and 40th Anniversary 911 with lots of canyon runs between with no brake issues whatsoever.

The rotors had grooves in them per the dealer (I should have asked to look at them). After picking up the Pepper after it's oil change/service in early December I noticed a scraping like sound under braking that went away after a couple hundred miles. I figured the pads were re-sitting themselves after being removed and inspected. Maybe I was being setup?

At least for some peace of mind I am not alone. However, this may make me think about a Q7 the next time around.

wingless

The pads are visually inspected in-place.

Elton in SoCal

Thanks. I do know that now because when I showed the asst. service manager the damaged wheel, he said something like I don't have to check the rears as well because they were not removed.

I also told him I reserve the right to get a new wheel if I am not happy with the re-spray.

wingless

What was the wheel style that was damaged?

wingless

The wheel needs to be removed to inspect the pads. The pads don't need to be removed.

Elton in SoCal

Turbos. I knew this could happen the first time I saw these because the faces stick out farther than the tires. However, since I ordered the all-season tires this was the only option.

So if they didn't remove the rear wheels, how did they know the pads are 35%?

Thanks for the posts.

wingless

My 18" turbo wheels are scratched and I was told that it was not possible to refinish these, because of the polished lip. Please post results on the repair. I would like to have mine refinished.

Good question. Ask them.

golfguy

Elton

Due to it's heavier weight, all SUV's will wear out brakes much faster than lighter passenger vehicles. My wife got 40,000 km (24 k miles) from the fronts and there's prabably another 10k miles left in the rears; she does mostly city driving. Rotors were replaced as they were close to the minimum acceptable limit.

Our last SUV, ML430 did much worse; we were about 18K miles for a complete set ... Mercedes was using too soft a brake pad.

MadFox

I cannot add too much to what else has been written in this thread. But, I do have an opinion (read, I got an a'hole, too"!!!).

IMHO, (read, not aggressive) really doesn't mean that your wife hasn't run through the brakes/rotors faster than other drivers would.. it could very well mean that she DOES run through them faster. For example, MY wife (read, not aggressive) drives like a "little old lady from Pasadena" (read, with her "foot on the brake" (not actually, a metaphor)). She leaves plenty of space between cars and brakes slowly over a longer distance than I do (read, aggressive). In addition, she drives nearly entirely in city traffic. She goes through brakes faster than anyone in the household. Could that not be the case with your wife?

Further, with a heavy vehicle and with the congestion of southern California roads and the extensive amount of "stop and go" traffic, my "feeling" would be that your wife and ALL CA drivers in general could very well go through brakes faster than most other areas of the country and also could produce faster wear of the rotors. However, I "pre-loaded" my dealer (which is also apparently one of the best in the country) when I needed brakes at ~50K that I wanted to see the rotors and that on these forums I had read where you could go longer than the pads. As it turned out "voila' " they found my rotors to be fine!

And by the way.. the most aggressive Cayenne driver I've seen in my area is an Italian heritage sales personality type lady (read, a "wife" too) that puts her foot to the floor. She's wrecked innumerable times and now drives a S and she has not WRECKED in two years to my unbelief (read, probably her husband's too)! He credits the Cayenne's BRAKES! Alas, next time I see her, I'm going to ask how long she made it on her brakes/rotors (if she even knows!). I would guess even shorter than your wife's!! Best of Luck.

wingless

MadFox, or may I call you The Carpenter, because you've hit the nail on the head? Yes, driving style is the big factor in brake wear, more than the vehicle mass.

Prior to purchase, I was not thrilled with an auto tranny. But after getting used to the tip, I found I could attain the control and function I had with the manual.

One big factor in New England is the requirement to pass lines on vehicles on the right, who are obstructing the left / passing lane. With the Cayenne, when it comes time to slow at the end of the pass, one or two thumb flicks permits engine compression to retard velocity, without brake lamp glow.

So, in that instance, an agressive driving style does NOT translate into increased brake wear.

Reviewing Elton's post, this vehicle was driven with grinding brake noises. At that point new rotors are a given.

One interesting fact is that these rotors may not be refinished, except when new, go figure.

Torags

My bride wears pads at he rate of 16K - 20 K per set (MBZ CLK - a light car). Her driving habit is to speed up to stop (in lots of city driving). It drives me crazy - she doesn't know what "glide" means. She's always on the brakes - even on the highway - because of poor anticipation.

It might depend on your brides driving habit, but 20K doesn't sound to far out of line for this weight vehicle.

BTW quiet brakes traditionally don't last as long.

MadFox

Carpenter, LTC Wanna-bee, Half-empty, Navy Fly boy, whatever?! Just don't call me Sue!

IMHO, stop/go, cautious driver, tons of parking lots (groceries, schools, blah blah) really puts the "wear" on brakes. But, I'd still be suspect of it needing rotors.

Hey Elton --- any more insight?