ASKED THE MXPERTS: CAN MY BRAKE PADS EAT MY DISC?

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Dear MXA
I read that brake pads have pieces of metal in the brake pad material. How can this be? Wouldn’t the metal pieces chew up the brake rotor?

All brake pads, whether they are called organic or sintered, have metal particle infused into them. If they didn’t they would wear out faster and overheat sooner. “Sintered” describes a process of fusing metal particles into one mass by the application of pressure and heat. It’s a methodology that Dunlop introduced to the aircraft industry during WWII. Sintered metal pads offer unparalleled wet condition performance. Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha use “sintered” metal pads. As for the metal particle eating your brake rotor you can relaxed. The producers of brake pads use a copper-like metal compound that is softer than the brake rotor.