The current brake pads on my truck have about 10k on them and yet they're almost completely worn and I'm told that the rotors are showing signs of warping. About 4 months ago I changed the brakes and had the rotors cut and at the same time had to replace one caliper because I made the mistake of pressing the pedal while the passenger caliper wasn't mounted. Oops. About a month later, I had a vibration under braking which turned out to be a warped passenger side rotor that was replaced along with the front pads on both sides.

My question is, what would cause the front brakes to wear that fast? I doubt it's a bad caliper because one is brand new and the pads are worn evenly but obviously, it can't be ruled out. I do tow quite a bit, towing a 3000lb boat in the summer and 6000lb Jeep/trailer in the fall thru spring.

What options are there for upgrading the brakes/rotors (maybe upsizing the brakes since I have 20" wheels) that won't cost an arm and a leg? BTW, it's a 2004 1500 4x4.

Thanks.

 

Did a little searching and found EBC Greenstuff 7000 series pads and drilled/slotted rotors that are pretty reasonable. I've never used anything but EBC brakes on my bikes so I know they're a quality product, but has anyone used them on the RAM and if so, how do they hold up to towing?

 

whats reasonable? im looking for a decent price on that stuff too....

 

About $320 for the pads and rotors from http://www.airram.com/parts.php?categoryid=330

 

I have the drilled and slotted performance EBC rotors and EBC P6000 Greenstuff pads.
They work very well and seem to be lasting.
No brake dust and no warp either.
The performance rotors with the larger slots do tend to "whirr", but it's hardly noticeable.
They stop excellent, but I can't give any info on towing as I don't really do much of that.
Hpe this helps?
Al.

 

Bad rotors will cause very fast pad wear, as will towing of any kind, especially when coupled with trailers without brakes. Poor driving habits will also wear on pads in no time.

My ex wife would go through front pads on her Grand Cherokees in 15-18000 miles. Did so on three GCs spread over nine years. A good many sets of rotors as well. I always replaced them with middle of the road stuff from Advanced Auto.

But my '02 Overland has gone the 29,000 miles I've had it on the same pads and rotors and they were nowhere near new when I got it. Front pads still have a good 30% left on 'em.

Top notch brake sets are fantastic for towing, the whole nine yards, calipers, rotors, etc. But we are talking big $$$ here.

I'd say a good set of slotted rotors (PowerSlots, EBC, etc.) and EBC or Hawk pads should improve things dramatically for you, as well as giving you some longevity.

BTW, 43,000 miles on the original pads on my truck, with some towing and hauling and they are just getting to the point where I gotta think about replacing them in the near future...

 

I have just over 58K miles on my '07 and my pads and rotors still have lots of life in them.........and I'm not easy on them by any means....

 

It sounds like the EBC are the way I'll go as well as having a good shop check everything out. The passenger side rotor was replaced after warping and the shop that told me that I'm getting warping again didn't specify which side but I can feel it so something definitely isn't right.

One of my trailers is a single axle with surge brakes and the other is a dual axle with electric brakes on both axles so I don't know how hard my towing is on the brakes, but I figure that any extra load is going to make them wear a little faster.

Thanks guys.