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Thread ID: 72405 2006-09-12 00:05:00 how good are my car's brakes? lance4k (4644) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
484050 2006-09-12 00:05:00 ok just got a warrant for my car and this is what the brake section said:

left front 260 left right 300 imbalance 13%
Left park front 160 left park right 200 imbalance 15%
Left rear left 200 left rear right 210 imbalance 3%

So judging from these numbers, are my brakes 20% worn,40% worn,50% worn etc?

And if i need new brake pads soon, if i go to supercheap or repco and buy some brake pads, do they install them for me or do I have to take them to a tyre shop and get them to install them? And if i need a new headlight bulb,and buy it from repco or supercheap will they install it for me for free?
lance4k (4644)
484051 2006-09-12 00:15:00 I have it on good authority that the guys at repco and super cheap would be delighted to whip out and put your new brake shoes in and your lamps as well and they would probably groom and detail your car for you while you wait all in the price. I am surprised more people don't ask for that level of service.:rolleyes: theother1 (3573)
484052 2006-09-12 00:47:00 The WOF numbers wont tell you how worn your disc pads are. They only tell you how efficient and how balanced the brakes are. If you passed then you must have been within the allowable range.

To really know how worn your disc pads are will be to get them inspected.
Repco and the likes are only retailers - if you buy from then you either fit them your self or take them to a garage to do. Quite often places like Midas have specials that include the cost of the parts as well as fitting.

Another thing to consider is whether the discs themselves need skimming, makes the world of difference having new pads on skimmed discs. There are tolerances here as well.
sam m (517)
484053 2006-09-12 01:08:00 These numbers do not indicate how worn they are, all it indicates are the biassing of the brakes (how much stronger one side is being applied) if it is far out, then when you stomp on the brakes, the car is going to dive to the direction which is pulling the most.

The only way to find out how worn they are is to pull the wheek off and look at the pad physically, your best bet is to go to a tyre or mechanics place and ask them to inspect your brakes.

Places like these only SELL the parts, it is up to you to sort out getting them fitted, be it by your self or a qualifyed mechanic...
The_End_Of_Reality (334)
484054 2006-09-12 01:30:00 ok just got a warrant for my car and this is what the brake section said:


And if i need new brake pads soon, if i go to supercheap or repco and buy some brake pads, do they install them for me or do I have to take them to a tyre shop and get them to install them? And if i need a new headlight bulb,and buy it from repco or supercheap will they install it for me for free?

You must be joking.
If you can't do it yourself, two minutes a wheel , then go to a garage. They'll charge you at least an hour. Probably more if you supply your own parts.
What sort of a car have you got that has replacable bulbs in the headlights?
JJJJJ (528)
484055 2006-09-12 01:38:00 ok just got a warrant for my car and this is what the brake section said:

left front 260 left right 300 imbalance 13%
Left park front 160 left park right 200 imbalance 15%
Left rear left 200 left rear right 210 imbalance 3%

So judging from these numbers, are my brakes 20% worn,40% worn,50% worn etc?

And if i need new brake pads soon, if i go to supercheap or repco and buy some brake pads, do they install them for me or do I have to take them to a tyre shop and get them to install them? And if i need a new headlight bulb,and buy it from repco or supercheap will they install it for me for free?

Back in the days of snakeoil salesmen and fly-by-night "technical" shops with their mysterious evaluations of things like brakes and muffler bearings, this is the same scare tactics garbage that was foisted on drivers .

It is now illegal to perform these tests in California, if not in the whole federal US .

Those numbers are useless and further, they are just ignorant witchcraft that went out with horse drawn cabriolets .

Feel secure that brakes independently change their co-efficiency rates due to weather, temperatures and humidity, weight load on that particular side of the vehicle, tire pressure, tread depth, rubber hysterisis rates for unmatched tires off the same asembly line, if the tires have been rotationally rotated or not . . . etc . . . etc .

I am really surprized that NZ still uses black arts as mechanical rating systems for testing brake efficiency .
SurferJoe46 (51)
484056 2006-09-12 01:53:00 You must be joking.
If you can't do it yourself, two minutes a wheel , then go to a garage. They'll charge you at least an hour. Probably more if you supply your own parts.
What sort of a car have you got that has replacable bulbs in the headlights?

It maybe easy for some but not all JJJJJ, bit like installing a motherboard will be childs play for some - others need to call for help....:help: ;)

Sealed beams are a thing of the past - my old HG holden had them but I replaced them with semi-sealed so I could put some decent lights in them.
sam m (517)
484057 2006-09-12 02:22:00 What sort of a car have you got that has replacable bulbs in the headlights?

What kind of car doesn't? All my cars have had bulbs...and the current one too.
pctek (84)
484058 2006-09-12 02:29:00 Bulbs? The best lamps have a mantle. Much brighter than the old wick lamps. :cool: Graham L (2)
484059 2006-09-12 02:43:00 How about some carbide chips? SurferJoe46 (51)
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