Front brake pads and rotors replacement and cost

September 01, 2022

It’s no secret that your car’s braking system is vital, especially if you like to drive fast or take your car to the race track. A few times in the lifespan of your vehicle you will have to replace your brake pads and rotors — this is normal and to be expected. You can conduct manual inspections and change your brake pads when they wear down to 3mm or 4mm thickness to prevent metal-on-metal grinding with your rotor or rotor warping. But the time for new rotors will come eventually! 

Do front brakes wear out faster?

Your front rotors and brake pads need to be more powerful than your rear rotors and pads because when you brake, the entire weight of the vehicle shifts forward thanks to physics and the centre of gravity. So usually, yes your front brakes will wear out faster and it’s usually that set you will need to replace, although they are designed to be thicker on purpose to withstand more abuse.

Do front brakes get used a lot in front-wheel drive

Although it might seem intuitive that front brakes will get used more because of front-wheel drive (FWD), this isn’t really the case. When you brake, regardless of where the power is travelling to, all four of your brakes are engaged. The front brakes do most of the work because of inertia and physics moving the weight of the car forward, as opposed to this being because of FWD. However, if you slam on the brakes in a FWD, the rear of the car will be lighter in weight and you could spin out. 

Front brake pads and rotors cost

Front brake pads often come in a set so you can outfit both wheels at the same time — these kits cost around $40-$60 for premium ceramic pads on our site, for example. The price will vary if you are shopping for a specific need, like race track driving. OEM brake rotors cost around $40 each with performance drilled and slotted rotors start at $80 per rotor and go up to $120 per rotor. If you are changing the brakes yourself, you don’t need to worry about the labour cost at the mechanic, however, if you take your car to the shop, you are looking at anywhere from $150-$500 per axle.