You are correct. A lot of pads are no longer coming equipt with them mostly because other people ignore it. you heard that right, Ignore it. not to mention more are going to wear indicators (lights on dash) but not many Domestics are doing that as of yet. There relying on the "Inspections" to notify you when brakes are getting low, and by then its too late as you already found out.

Now as far as rears lasting any longer than fronts, depends on the vehicle. A lot of vehicles now are being Programed (ABS) to start braking in the rear for a split second before applying the fronts. No one will know this but in most of the newer 'Teves' systems I have seen they are doing that. European vehicles have been doing that for a long time now & typically you will go through 1-2 sets of rears before fronts compared to what it used to be.

the reasoning behind this is simple, control. They have found out, even with traction control & anti-skid technology (yaw & feedback controls), that it is a lot safer for the rears to begin applying just before the fronts to allow the center of gravity to start squating rather than getting any "Roll" to the front. Typically you will feel a dip to the front on older vehicle's under heavy braking but I can tell you I notice a lot of newer vehicles anymore that squat more during braking than nose down. Hence allowing better control of the vehicle under Emergency braking and steering.


Modified by R.D. at 8:09 AM 3/8/2012