Front brake pad sensor question ('88 3.2)

Odd, I have not heard of that before. Some sort of wear indicator, I wonder how that would work.

 

When the pad wears the embedded wire will eventually contact the disc when the pad is almost worn down and with it ground the wire, which then in turn will light up the dash warning light.

 

Are the actual OEM pads available anywhere at this point?

 

Lots of aftermarket pads have sensors too. In many countries they cannot be left disconnected. Most name brand European pads are designed to have sensors. Some include new sensors and some sensors are an additional cost.

 

Can't seem to find any with my brief search. The main suppliers all say the part numbers are superceded to ones with no sensors, as far as I can tell.

My search was not exhaustive, if anyone can link to front pads with the sensors that would be helpful to all. It is a good idea, and even though we all probably check brakes to make this redundant, I like to keep my car and all its features operating as new whenever possible.

 

Who do you consider main suppliers? Have you tried G i r o d i s c? Have you tried T Rutlands, Have you tried AW Italian?


Again who do you consider main suppliers?

 

Eurospares and Superformance are my go to sources, with good experiences with each over the years. Since I have a CH car they tend to have those specific parts available moreso than the US suppliers. Maranello Concessionaires too, they have gotten easier to order from over the years. I have also used Ricambi and AW Italian but ship charges from the UK to Canada often are less than from the US, go figure. Ferrparts and Rutlands I have used for ebay purchases, for stock I might need down the road.

The local Ferrrari of Ontario is sometimes helpful too.

Girodisc might be a good idea for the pads, but I have not dealt with them before.

 

I am not aware of a single professional who uses either of the 1st 2 you mention. . For good reason.

 

I am not a professional, just a determined enthusiast. The US suppliers are no doubt fine, but should try to make for better shipping arrangments for Canada, I can bring things from UK and Europe cheaper and faster. Try and get the special CH injectors for the KE3 on my Mondial, and see how many actually stock these. My dollar is also worth 70 cents to the USD, and I pay 15 percent sales tax and often customs or broker fees from US shippers. When I convert all the costs from various suppliers, delivery times, and also factor in actual parts availability, the UK suppliers seem to have an edge. I have had few problems over 15 years with any supplier, but I must say on one or two instances Eurospares has gone out of their way to be helpful.

If there is a preferred supplier for good reason in the US, it is too bad these things are a secret. I guess us non-US enthusiasts are not a big enough market to fuss with.

 

Since the "normal" condition is "sensor wire not grounded/not connected to anything", using a pad without the wire (and just tying the sensor wire on the chassis out of the way) is fine (you will just never get the warning light coming "on" from a worn brake pad condition). In looking for new front brake pads for my TR, I've noted that some pads have the mounting provision for that Porsche-style wear sensor and some don't:

ATE TR front brake pad without wear sensor mounting feature:
Image Unavailable, Please Login

TRW TR front brake pad with wear sensor mounting feature:
Image Unavailable, Please Login

Obviously, your front pads are a different overall shape, but I'd guess that they are not only Mondial-specific so may also be available in the two different flavors. If you want to keep that function working (and can find a pad with that wear sensor mounting feature), you might be able to get a removable sensor (like on your Porsche) and just connect it to your existing Mondial chassis-side wire -- just a thought that it might be worth the effort to look at some online pad pics (e.g., at Rockauto).