06 XC70 brake pads and rotors

Post by **scot850** » 15 Mar 2018, 11:53

Our now 12 year old XC70 has about 90,000 miles (145,000km) on it. This car seems to eat brake pads and rotors. In our ownership it has had 3 sets of front rotors and 2 rears as well as 1 x regrind all around. Longest the rotors have lasted is the current set which is 20,000 miles (32,000km) which to me is awful over an ownership of only 60,000km/9 years, but the majority of the driving is city driving and by our 22 year old son. All the brakes are OE Volvo parts.

They are now due again, so the dilemma for me is do I use aftermarket or OE again. If I use Zimmermann rotors it will be less than half the price and from FCP lifetime warranty. But would I expect any longer a lifespan? I guess if they are just the same then at least they are half the price and warranted.

Then there are the pads. OE pads and rotors have given a good pedal feel and strong brakes, but the usual large amounts of black dust. I have Akebonos on the front of my 2000 V70R which were fitted by the PO and not a big fan as they are poor when cold and have never given me as much confidence as the brakes on the 00 V70 base (no idea what is fitted as done by cheap-ass PO but work well now serviced).

Last info is my son drives this car all the time (we gave it to him) so changing the brake feel/performance is a big influencing factor for me (and him).

Suggestions/recommendations?

Thanks,

Neil.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 15 Mar 2018, 12:36

I've got Zimmerman brakes on my car and they're as good as anything else. Nice rust protection on the entire disk and inside the vents as well. There's no sense at all paying the extra for OE since they'll be made by Brembo, Ate or Zimmerman anyway. All premium brands.

Im amazed at your wear rate though. Last I changed was because the stuff didn't give me sharp braking any more not because of wear. By then I'd used about half the front pads in something like 20000 km. They were soft, cheap pads as well. Unknown age of rear pads and rotors since they were on the car when I bought it but at least 35000 km. I practice eco driving unconsciously though, letting go of the pedal and rolling towards stops in time to avoid actually stopping and the like.

Post by **E Showell** » 15 Mar 2018, 15:28

I live in a pretty hilly area which calls for more brake application than I would generally favor. On aftermarket brakes I change them about every 30k miles, pads and rotors. We use a lot of salt on the roads here and I generally find the limiting factor in braking systems to be the life of rebuilt calipers regardless of the supplier. It doesn't even seem to matter if I replace cheap front caliper slide pins with high quality Volvo pins.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 15 Mar 2018, 15:38

I get at least two pairs of pad per rotor. We have a ton of salt here as well and I've replaced two calipers the last year (they looked like shit though, probably originals or close to) but with factory new calipers not rebuilds. Just waiting for the rears to go..

Post by **scot850** » 15 Mar 2018, 15:50

Thanks guys. You have me thinking about the rotors and hardware. We use a lot of salt here too, as well as liquid death (de-icing agent) which even the concrete pros hate as it eats into concrete driveway pads, so they no longer warrant against surface damage.

Normally I only use Volvo OE parts, but have used Zimmermann to different degrees of success. I like the coating they use to prevent rust, but have had 2 sets of bad (warped) out of the box.

So if I go for Zimmermann rotors all around, what pads work well (not a big fan of Akebono).

Neil.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 15 Mar 2018, 15:54

Match to rotors? For normal driving sports pads will be to cool to work well most of the time.

I've bought several kinds of cheap rotors but never had a warped one of any kind. You must have had some really bad luck.

Post by **scot850** » 15 Mar 2018, 15:58

If it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck! LoL!! Worst part was I bought the parts well ahead of time and by the time I found out the return period was past.

Had the rotors turned and they were good after that.

Pad recommendations still looked for?!

Neil.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 15 Mar 2018, 15:59

I'd get Zimmerman stock to match.

And I've done so on my car. They work as well as can be expected.

Post by **scot850** » 15 Mar 2018, 16:00

Ok have to see if FCP offer that brand of pads.

Thanks,

Neil.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 15 Mar 2018, 16:01

Any of the premium brands will probably work just as well.