Originally Posted by
Intruder
That DE who said "Autobrakes 4 is cooler" needs to get his head examined. The harder the brakes are applied, the more power (i.e., energy dissipation/time) used and the less influence of other factors like air drag, reverse thrust, and mechanical friction. Therefore, Autobrakes 2 and max reverse thrust will cause the least wear.
Not a 747 pilot, but this is my thought as well. You're going to bring the airplane to a compete stop before the end of the runway (hopefully) so the less braking you use the more of the planes kinetic energy is dissipated with drag and reverse. Dialing up your autobrake factor just means you use more brake, sooner, therefore less time for kinetic to be dissipated by drag and reverse, and more kinetic energy that is transformed into brake heat. At the extreme end of this is the runway long enough to stop using no brake and no energy is turned into brake heat.