Smiffyboyben

Hmm, just had a browse on ebay and they are really cheap! How good are these Mintex pads and discs though - I like a bargain as much as the next guy but brakes are one place I don't like to play about much.......are they as good as or better than the Lexus OEM stuff? You could get your discs skimmed (if there is enough meat left on them) if you want to keep/get maximum value out of your Lexus OEM parts and put mintex on when your discs reach their limit. Check out www.skimmydiscs.co.uk for more information.

It's going to be brake dust in the friction zone, grooved discs rubbing against the pads or the lip on the edge of the disc rubbing against a new pad. Get them skimmed - should solve the problem straight away.

They're having you on aren't they !!!! New discs at the same time as first set of pads, Robs right bud, they're bending you over royally !!! Did they give you a reason why they needed replacing? Have they gone below minimum thickness? Are they scored? Are they cracked beyond repair? Or are they desperate for as much profit as possible out of you? They tried it on with me when I first came over (I used to live in the US) on my first UK Lexus - luckily I had one in the US and went through 2-3 sets of pads for every discs so I know they can. The guy was genuinely telling me I needed new discs and I couldn't believe it. I asked him if discs in the UK were different from the US ones - he couldn't answer lol If this is your first set of pads, then skimming the discs will solve most problems - there is not many problems which warrant new discs at 42k!! Check out www.skimmydiscs.co.uk if you're interested. Incidentally skimming discs when getting new pads fitted will negate the bedding period and give you 100% braking performance as soon as you leave the workshop rather than having dodgy brakes for 500 odd miles. You shouldn't need new discs and I doubt you need a skim either !!! Good luck

Have you tried getting the discs skimmed? It sounds like you have the classic symptons of pedal pulsation. If so, then the brake disc has either been worn away through friction with the pad or there is some pad material left on the disc (esp with automatics when the brake is always on when you stop and your discs are hot). The end result is instead of having a flat disc, you have one with DTV (disc thickness variation) with peaks and troughs instead of a flat surface (imagine a mountain range). When you apply the brakes pedal the pad is bouncing from peak to peak instead of having constant contact with the disc. This causes your brake pedal to jump. Pedal pulsation is very noticable and usually only occurs at certain speeds (in your case 45-50mph) which is why I think that could be the problem. Visit www.skimmydiscs.co.uk to find your nearest lathe. There are some out there but make sure they have a black one called a PFM 9 - it compensates automatically for lateral run-out which be the cause of the problem and skims discs in 10 minutes. Make sure you know the manufacturer minimum thickness for your discs though as it's illegal to skim below this. Whilst on brake skimming, think about getting your discs done when you have new pads fitted too. It costs a bit extra but at least you have 100% braking efficiency straight away instead of having bad brakes until they bed in 500 miles later. It could be the wheel balance as well though - I have little faith in wheel balancing in shops mainly due to the people which carry out. Many shops i've been to can't balance a wheel to zero and are quite happy to put over 100 grams on which is diabolical. Do you know how much weight they put on your wheels? Take your motor back to your wheel balancing man and ask him to put it back on the wheel balancer and see if it comes up zero - it won't !!!! If they "fix" the problem and get the zero read out, take the wheel off, rotate it 90 degrees and do it again - it won't come up zero twice. If it does then pay the man and take a business card because good wheel balancers are rare in the country. Good luck, I hope you get it sorted soon