“Why is my car shaking?” —This common vehicle issue is often assumed to be the telltale sign of a tire alignment problem. It is true that alignment troubles cause road unsteadiness, shaking, vibrations, and uneven tire wear; however, warped brake rotors and tire imbalance can have similar symptoms.

The more tire in contact with the road the more grip you have. When you brake, while your tires are trying to slow down, your bike wants to continue forward. Because of that larger patch, the wider tire will resist the forward motion more and thus will brake faster.

The reason: the diameter of the tires affects how the wheel speed sensors read, which affects the operation of the ABS and traction control systems. Installing different-sized tires in the front and rear can also impact the operation of antilock brakes.

How to tell if front or rear brakes are bad

1. Grinding sounds coming from the front corners while braking.
2. Slow-responsive hard brake with no drifting.
3. Ticking/clicking noise from the frontal area when brake pressed.
4. The back of the vehicle tends to jump on hard-brake.
5. Counting mild sounds from when slowing.
6. The vehicle tends to drift while pressing the brake.

Well, first, you absolutely should replace both front or both rear brake pads at the same time. Unless something’s really wrong, one should be wearing out at about the same rate as the other.

Inspecting the brake pad without removing the wheel On many vehicles, you can see the brake pad through the holes in the wheel. To check the life of the brake pad, you need to determine its thickness. You might need a flashlight to get a good look at the brake pad.

Use a small detail brush with some degreaser or brake dust remover and agitate with small brush and rinse should do the trick. Best wheel cleaner ever used. Just spray on dry let it foam up and then rinse off it gets all the brake dust!

Usually, you can see the brake pad through the wheel and won’t need to remove it. Once you find the brake pad, notice its thickness. If it appears to be very thin, it’s almost used up.

1.5mm

It requires removing at least 2 of the wheels and getting a measurement of thickness on the pads and rotors to determine if it will pass. The state legal limit is 2/32nds, if it’s below the 2/32nds specification, it will fail.

Most pads start their life with about 12 mm of friction material, and most mechanics suggest replacing them when they get to 3 or 4 mm. You should replace your car’s brake pads before the backing plate begins gouging out the brake rotors — a complication that can make the job even more expensive.

As long as you don’t use the brakes, 50,000 miles or more.

I believe 3mm of pads should do several times 1k miles. If inner’s and outer’s are equally worn – then much more, say at least 10k miles. It depends of course how intensively you use them.

On average, brake pads should be replaced every 40,000 to 50,000 miles, but that number can differ depending on driving conditions and styles. The good news is, you’ll likely experience minor symptoms when your brake pads are getting towards their end of life, making diagnosis and repairs easy.

Average brake life runs between 25,000 and 65,000 miles, though some people will have brake pads last beyond 80,000 miles. While it’s impossible to give an exact number, the 40,000-mile range is the general mileage to keep in mind when planning for vehicle maintenance.

A complete brake repair — one that includes pads, rotor and caliper replacement — typically averages between $300 and $800. However, depending on the make and model of your vehicle, you can easily spend more than $1,000 on a complete brake job.

every six months

First and foremost, DON’T BRAKE! Just as when entering a skid, this will cause your wheels to lock-up and will result in a total loss of control. Instead, accelerate slightly and try to keep steering the car as straight as possible; this slight acceleration will keep your car from “jumping” into the next lane.