After the last Wales trip I noticed a slight squealing from the rear brakes. Thought that perhaps time to change as they have done 30,000 miles. Not bad and from I have read it seemed to be a common time for them to be changed. Anyway after reading various posts on different pads, I opted for Endless VN9500 £158 full car set from BigPhil @ ESR.
Front OEM pads were OK and still ahd some life and not near the worn pad indicator. Swapped them over for some new Endless ones
Rear pads. Outer pads were ok with still some life and wear indicator had not been reached.. Inside rear pads a different story. Check the photos and you can see how the pad has began break up due to high heat build up on the leading edges This was the cause of the squealing as the meatrial was breaking up and flaking off. Still life in them and not down to the metal. No wear indicator on the inner pads.
pads inner and outer side by side
inner rear pads,
comparison to the outer pad with no break up
so if you OEM pads are getting near the 30K mark then perhaps worth taking them oput and having a look. The only way to inspect them is by removing them as you can't see if there is any damage while they are in the calliper.
New pads are very impressive. Although bedding in for 100km they are loads stronger than the OEM ones.
also while the wheels were off, fitted some LED sidelights. Thanks for the advice and info on these. They look loads better than the original bulbs.