Rear Rotor and Brake Wear

[Cueyo]

Tried finding an exact thread on this and couldn't, so I figured I'd make one.

Went to do my engine oil and gear oil changes the other day and saw that my brake pads are nearly gone (exact measurement was just smaller than the second smallest red measurement for the tool. It was practically the same for both rear rotors and pads, so they're definitely wearing evenly. The front brakes on the other hand have significantly less wear, still being in the green for the pads.

My understanding is that the 11th gen civics are pretty aggressive on the brake torque vectoring, but is this level of wear normal? My car has just under 20k miles on it after a year, and it's really only been used as a daily, with frequent spirited driving on weekends.

I'd basically be replacing the rear pads and rotors twice as often as the front. My only thoughts are that the pads are softer than the normal civics since my 24 sport hatch never reached this level as quickly (or at all before I let it go)

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[WOPSiWOT]

I just replaced rear pads and rotors at 23k miles. Plus or minus 20k miles seems like the going rate for rear pads on the CTR if you are driving the car. Maybe you could squeeze out some more life by just putting around. Mine is a daily driver plus 7-10 autocross events per year.

The difference with the Sport hatch would be mostly the difference in brake vectoring logic. The CTR is tuned for performance/rotation much more so than non-performance variants. I don't know what the code looks like, but I know how the car feels versus my old Si.

I came back with G-Loc GS-1 pads in the rear fwiw. Their street compound. No complaints thus far. I'll be adding their R6 compound pads up front shortly (they just arrived from Wunderladen this week). That's not because the fronts need replacing, but just looking for some stronger initial bite.

 

[optronix]

Yeah, this platform is absolutely brutal on rear brakes in particular. I think @savagegeese noted this in one of his earliest videos on this car (IIRC before he bought one... and I believe upgraded the brakes on it).

What could use some more evidence/research is how to limit or combat the torque vectoring affect. I have a little over 20k on my DE5 and it's due for rear brakes... but I turn off VSA completely via "pedal dance" literally any time I go about 4/10ths driving this car. If I happen to catch a decent backroad I wasn't expecting it may stay on. Otherwise, I turn it off for any dedicated "spirited" driving, and absolutely for autocross or track stuff (note: I did leave it on while learning to drive the car in the wet for a few runs but that is literally it).

Also I'm still curious about the inherent differences for the traction control for the FL5 vs DE5. I'm aware that +R mode and "long press" should fully disable the VSA system but talking to a guy who had one he suggested he still needed to do the pedal dance to fully disable it. That could contribute to why some guys need pads at like 10 or 15k miles... but I never bothered to deep dive into that because I don't have an FL5.

 

[Cueyo]

What brands of rotors and pads do you guys run? Unity performance recommended paragon P3s for rear pads. I'm pretty satisfied with the performance on the street of the stock pads, just don't like the price when I know better options exist for the same price.

 

[WOPSiWOT]

Yeah, this platform is absolutely brutal on rear brakes in particular. I think @savagegeese noted this in one of his earliest videos on this car (IIRC before he bought one... and I believe upgraded the brakes on it).

What could use some more evidence/research is how to limit or combat the torque vectoring affect. I have a little over 20k on my DE5 and it's due for rear brakes... but I turn off VSA completely via "pedal dance" literally any time I go about 4/10ths driving this car. If I happen to catch a decent backroad I wasn't expecting it may stay on. Otherwise, I turn it off for any dedicated "spirited" driving, and absolutely for autocross or track stuff (note: I did leave it on while learning to drive the car in the wet for a few runs but that is literally it).

Also I'm still curious about the inherent differences for the traction control for the FL5 vs DE5. I'm aware that +R mode and "long press" should fully disable the VSA system but talking to a guy who had one he suggested he still needed to do the pedal dance to fully disable it. That could contribute to why some guys need pads at like 10 or 15k miles... but I never bothered to deep dive into that because I don't have an FL5.

The +R and long press disables VSA/traction control, but it does not disable brake vectoring (Agile Handling Assist in Honda marketing speak). So, yeah, you are still killing rear brakes. Any kind of extended track use, you've got to do the pedal dance or you are going to obliterate the rears from what I've heard. I turn off traction for autocross, but I don't do the full pedal dance. I figure I'll take the rotation assist if I can get it plus it is just a whole lot easier to just do the long press. I'm surprised you are running through rears as quickly if you are fully disabling. I figured that was the key to increasing life.

What brands of rotors and pads do you guys run? Unity performance recommended paragon P3s for rear pads. I'm pretty satisfied with the performance on the street of the stock pads, just don't like the price when I know better options exist for the same price.

I had no issue with stock pads and I'd be fine to come back with those in the rear. I like G-Loc as a good price point for performance pads (GS-1 is their street compound, like I mentioned) and they have a full line of compounds that are cross-compatible if you want to switch over to a more track-oriented pad for an occasional track day. The transfer layers should play well together. I think they should also be cross-compatible with Carbotech, which would be another option. I've used some of Hawk's performance compounds before (HPS and Performance Ceramic) and those are fine, I just wouldn't run the more aggressive stuff (DTC or even HP+) for the street because they will be noisy and aggressive on rotors. Counterspace Garage are supposed to be good, but expensive. The list could go on.

I just got cheap blanks from Rock Auto for the rear. It's a non-vented disc so I don't see much advantage in spending a bunch of money back there. The two-piece fronts are a whole other story, but I'll cross that bridge later and will just be resurfacing/burnishing them when I change out front pads.

 

[optronix]

The +R and long press disables VSA/traction control, but it does not disable brake vectoring (Agile Handling Assist in Honda marketing speak). So, yeah, you are still killing rear brakes. Any kind of extended track use, you've got to do the pedal dance or you are going to obliterate the rears from what I've heard. I turn off traction for autocross, but I don't do the full pedal dance. I figure I'll take the rotation assist if I can get it plus it is just a whole lot easier to just do the long press. I'm surprised you are running through rears as quickly if you are fully disabling. I figured that was the key to increasing life.



I had no issue with stock pads and I'd be fine to come back with those in the rear. I like G-Loc as a good price point for performance pads (GS-1 is their street compound, like I mentioned) and they have a full line of compounds that are cross-compatible if you want to switch over to a more track-oriented pad for an occasional track day. The transfer layers should play well together. I think they should also be cross-compatible with Carbotech, which would be another option. I've used some of Hawk's performance compounds before (HPS and Performance Ceramic) and those are fine, I just wouldn't run the more aggressive stuff (DTC or even HP+) for the street because they will be noisy and aggressive on rotors. Counterspace Garage are supposed to be good, but expensive. The list could go on.

I just got cheap blanks from Rock Auto for the rear. It's a non-vented disc so I don't see much advantage in spending a bunch of money back there. The two-piece fronts are a whole other story, but I'll cross that bridge later and will just be resurfacing/burnishing them when I change out front pads.

Good to know, that tracks. And yeah, I was hopeful the always-disable approach would save the rear brakes, but alas here we are. I haven't scrutinized them super closely, they may not be as bad as I think they are in fact it was in for an oil change in the fall and the dealer techs didn't mention anything and I know they're usually begging people for a brake job and wouldn't miss the opportunity to try to upsell one so IDK. I do have 23k on the car too. But they've definitely seen better days. I'll actually measure them when I swap back to summer wheels here in a day or so.

Also +1 for OEM brakes. I will move to Paragon P3 when the fronts are worn but for now I'm perfectly happy with the OEM brake pads aside from the wear issues. Fronts look almost new though so honestly it's possible I could go through ANOTHER set of rears before the fronts are ready to go... but next time I'll do the upgrade because I do intend to make it to more DEs in the near future. For now though they do the job just fine, especially for the street.

 

[T41WN.1]

Tried finding an exact thread on this and couldn't, so I figured I'd make one.

Went to do my engine oil and gear oil changes the other day and saw that my brake pads are nearly gone (exact measurement was just smaller than the second smallest red measurement for the tool. It was practically the same for both rear rotors and pads, so they're definitely wearing evenly. The front brakes on the other hand have significantly less wear, still being in the green for the pads.

My understanding is that the 11th gen civics are pretty aggressive on the brake torque vectoring, but is this level of wear normal? My car has just under 20k miles on it after a year, and it's really only been used as a daily, with frequent spirited driving on weekends.

I'd basically be replacing the rear pads and rotors twice as often as the front. My only thoughts are that the pads are softer than the normal civics since my 24 sport hatch never reached this level as quickly (or at all before I let it go)

Just replaced rear pads and rotors at 30000km (18-19k miles). I think I had 2 or 3mm left so I probably could of went a little longer. So yeah, these cars chew through rear brakes

 

[Evox787]

Hey brother, I replaced mine at around 10k or 15k—I honestly can’t remember. My rotors were still within spec, but I swapped them out anyway to add the bronze rear caliper guides, or whatever they’re called, the ones from Wunderladen. My pads were wearing unevenly, so I switched to Akebono ACT1001 for the front and ACT1878 for the rear since I daily my car.

Next, I’m planning to go with either Girodisc 2-piece rotors or Paragon, depending on which has the better price. I mainly wanted to get rid of the horrible brake dust on my wheels, and these pads really solved that problem. I’ll stick with the same setup next time, just with the 2-piece rotors. I also upgraded the brake lines and fluid, but I haven’t tested everything yet because I’m still waiting on my wheels.

 

[ThunderPigeon]

My rear pads were down to almost metal at 9k miles. Up by you there are a lot of twistie roads and driving them hard will eat rear brake pads. I saw that Advanced had Brembo OEM replacements. I grabbed them for about 60 something dollars. They also had Carquest rotors with painted hats for about the same as the pads each. I figure a set of rotors for every two sets of pads. I'll probably look for something that lasts longer, but the Brembo pads look exactly like the OEM for a fraction of what Honda charges.

 

[T41WN.1]

My rear pads were down to almost metal at 9k miles. Up by you there are a lot of twistie roads and driving them hard will eat rear brake pads. I saw that Advanced had Brembo OEM replacements. I grabbed them for about 60 something dollars. They also had Carquest rotors with painted hats for about the same as the pads each. I figure a set of rotors for every two sets of pads. I'll probably look for something that lasts longer, but the Brembo pads look exactly like the OEM for a fraction of what Honda charges.

9k miles is insane LOL

 

[ThunderPigeon]

9k miles is insane LOL

Lol, I daily it, but work from home. So most of my driving is for fun and there are a lot of twistie roads and long on ramps around here. It is definitely the brake vectoring. The more you push it around the twisties, the more you'll eat those brakes. She rotates well and if I have to buy rear pads every 18 months or so, I don't really mind.

 

[T41WN.1]

Lol, I daily it, but work from home. So most of my driving is for fun and there are a lot of twistie roads and long on ramps around here. It is definitely the brake vectoring. The more you push it around the twisties, the more you'll eat those brakes. She rotates well and if I have to buy rear pads every 18 months or so, I don't really mind.

Sounds like you're driving the car as it was intended. Hats off to that.

 

[Nothing]

Short life on rear pads is an issues with a lot of newer cars in the last decade, for this reason. Rear pads used to last 60k+ for gentle daily, and fronts were the problem. Even non sporty cars are seeing rear pads at 40-50k with lots of life left in the front. I noticed my rears only were getting low, at just under 20k.

There's a brake pad thread with lots of discussion, should give you a lot of ideas based on your needs. FK8 rear pads are also an option. Cheaper than FL5 pads and only a tiny bit smaller pad surface, allegedly. Akebono was also reliable, cheap, and low dust (they often supply to oems).

 

[HondaHoon]

I have a full set of front/rear of OEM calibers, rotors, pads, and hardware for sale. Barely used. Just saying!

https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/2025-fl5-oem-aftermarket-parts-brembo-radium-and-more.63365/

 

[AspecR]

9k miles is insane LOL

It is actually quite normal if you drive with enough intensity.

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