Okay I've noticed that every now and then when I'm driving hard and have to brake hard right when I'm about to come to a complete stop it sounds like my brakes are grinding. I've checked both sides took off the wheel and even took off the pads but can't find anything wrong with it. Is this just normal am I just paranoid? Also these are the stock pads been on there about 40,000 miles and they look almost new I know that pad wear will differ from car to car but what would be a general consensus about how long they last? Could they be glazed over or something overheating and just eating through the rotor? Thats a lot of questions but if anyone has some answers it would put my mind at ease thanks.
When I got my new tires put on, the guy said I only had about 10% left on my pads and that i should change them pretty soon. That was probably around 26k-27k miles. I've taken my car to the mountains 2-3 times total(before my pads started getting old) and no track days. My pads have started making a little noise when i come to a stop too so I think i upgrading to bobcats pretty soon. But then again, i drive a WRX.
two things could be the cause of this. One, your crazy and youve been driving hard so you wonder more about the brakes holding up so the noise they always make seems a lot louder. two, if something sounds like grinding its prob you pads getting to hot and not making the normal contact with the rotor they should. when things get too hot it changes the properties of the pad which is why its making a different noise. that could be ok or it could be tearing a line in your rotor. if your rotors are blue or if there showing up with a lot of lines around them then you need new pads. oh wait i didnt read the hard right thing...bend the heat/dust shield around the rotor a little inwards away from the rotor. it happens and its easy to try.
Sometimes that noise is just the compound of the pads coming up to temp, and because you are coming to a stop there isn't any wind noise to block out the brake noise. If you have plenty of pad life left and your brakes feel good I wouldn't worry about it. But if you would like someone to look at it feel free to bring it by the shop anytime. Matt