rear brakes after 7 years and 100 000km

[foama]

The OEM rear brakes on this 2014 European MT model are with 203mm drums.
Some may be thinking of upgrading front rotors, but it might be worth the effort looking into upgrading the rear brakes to the larger, 203mm sort. Many earlier American Mirage only have teeny weeny 180mm drums.


The brakes in these pictures are from the driver side, the other side looks pretty much the same. This is the original stuff on a seven year old car with 100 000km (roughly 60 000 miles). And no, I didn't clean them before taking the pictures!




New linings are 4 mm thick. The thinest part in the picture was measured at 3.1mm. Therefore only 0.9mm of 4mm was used up after 60000 miles. Note the star-wheel adjuster.




The inside of the drum shines like a mirror, smoother than a monkey's ass. You can see the reflections of the wording "max diameter 205mm". It says that on all new drums of size 203mm.



At $10 per gallon this car has always been driven economically. No higher than necessary revs, anticipate stops early ahead, driven as if the driver were barefoot and several thumbtacks stuck on the brake pedal. I get around 60mpg/US being just under 4L/100km.

[Dirk Diggler]

Looks great Foama! Good to know this 2013-2015 Mirage drums can maintain after so many years and km, at least with good braking discipline.

[2016 Versa]

Brakes will last a long time if you go from gas to brake continually. I have and '02 Ford Escort that I bought in 2008 with 80K miles. 13 years and 130K+ miles later it's still got the same front and rear brakes on it it had when I bought it. I recently checked the front pads and they're starting to get a little thin but at the same time I know they'll last me thousands more miles if I don't get around to changing in the near future.

[Wallythacker]

where's the corrosion after 7 years? I don't see ANY on either the brakes or the arms.

[davidricardo86]

Those look great! For their age especially. I wonder if that 203mm setup would bolt up to my usdm 15 de?!

[foama]

where's the corrosion after 7 years? I don't see ANY on either the brakes or the arms.

I don't see any corrosion either! The underbody gets hosed off a few times every year, and that helps. This car is driven in the rustbelt of Europe.

[AtomicPunk]

Looks great Foama! Good to know this 2013-2015 Mirage drums can maintain after so many years and km, at least with good braking discipline.

Drive like that in Atlanta and I'm guessing you'd end up with a lead enema.

[Cobrajet]

That is exactly how the rear brakes on my friend's 2017 looked after over 90,000 miles...much to my surprise!

[Dirk Diggler]

Drive like that in Atlanta and I'm guessing you'd end up with a lead enema.

Yeah I really hate this city sometimes. Its scary the amount of idiots who'd rather wreck into you than let you over onto the highway.

[AtomicPunk]

Yeah I really hate this city sometimes. Its scary the amount of idiots who'd rather wreck into you than let you over onto the highway.

Yeah, my son just moved to Tampa last week, didn't time it right and was stuck on I75 in ATL for a couple hours barely moving. Sounds like a great commute...