[buddenfan]

I have my X6M Competition at the service center and they told me Id need new break pads soon. However BMW is notorious for raping customers on prices. I even get tires from my tire shop which are cheaper then from BMW who then also add a crazy fee for their technicians to perform the work.

If you needed break pass changed on your competition would you do it while your car was already at their service center?
Trying to figure out the best approach

[rbryantaz]

Originally Posted by buddenfan

I have my X6M Competition at the service center and they told me Id need new break pads soon. However BMW is notorious for raping customers on prices. I even get tires from my tire shop which are cheaper then from BMW who then also add a crazy fee for their technicians to perform the work.

If you needed break pass changed on your competition would you do it while your car was already at their service center?
Trying to figure out the best approach

It probably makes sense to see what the actual estimate is.

Rotors with aluminum hats are hard to turn because they tend to flex and chatter from what I am told. So usually they will be replaced and it is expensive. M rotors are also pretty soft to increase breaking so the pads will actually wear them out more than normal rotors...

If the rear rotors are in good shape I would just swap out the pads. Do keep in mind that if there is a lip on the outer edge of the rotor then new pads could squeel. I recently bought a tool to take the outer lips off from the expensive M3 rotors, I may try it later today.

[BMWCCA1]

BRAKES!!!

Buy the extended maintenance program and they'll pay for your brake pads and rotors!

[Bc2005]

I had the front brakes serviced on my F30 and IIRC it was a eye-watering $1100-1200 for pads and rotors at the dealer (they said they do not ever turn the rotors; always replace because they are too thin to turn).

For the rears I bought the new pads and rotors from FCP Euro and did it myself. Very simple, straightforward brake job except for the parking brake adjustment procedure. I’m not even sure the parking brake needed adjustment, but I wanted to follow the entire procedure.

I’d buy high quality parts and have an independent BMW mechanic do the job.

[Rich.Wolfson]

Originally Posted by buddenfan

....If you needed break pass changed on your competition would you do it while your car was already at their service center?
Trying to figure out the best approach

Brakes are the easiest thing to DIY. Anyone can do them. I did brakes with my granddaughter on her dads GTI.

Buy the parts as a kit from FCP and any indy shop can do them. Have them flush the fluid while they're at it.

///Rich

PS-Don't let them cut the rotors on your Comp.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by buddenfan

I have my X6M Competition at the service center and they told me Id need new break pads soon. However BMW is notorious for raping customers on prices. I even get tires from my tire shop which are cheaper then from BMW who then also add a crazy fee for their technicians to perform the work.

If you needed break pass changed on your competition would you do it while your car was already at their service center?
Trying to figure out the best approach

1. Don't use BMW for anything that you don't have to.
2. Try to source true street ceramic pads for your vehicle, start with Akebono and if they aren't available there then look at CarboTech. Why? They dust 80% less and will more than double the life of your rotors.
3. Ask around for reputable local shops, brakes are easy work, so just about anyone can do it.

[TTM0TION]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

1. Don't use BMW for anything that you don't have to.
2. Try to source true street ceramic pads for your vehicle, start with Akebono and if they aren't available there then look at CarboTech. Why? They dust 80% less and will more than double the life of your rotors.
3. Ask around for reputable local shops, brakes are easy work, so just about anyone can do it.

I had no idea about this. Do they squeak or what’s the catch?

[overcoil]

Do you need a computer for parking brake or ABS bleeding on these BMW’s ?

For me dealer is convenient and if something goes wrong I have a corporation to complain to.

When Chinese racing running shoes are now up to $350 I can rationalize brakes at $1000+ / pair.

[StradaRedlands]

Get a quote from the dealer... they might have a good promotion going and it won't be much different from an independent. Then make your decision. But as mentioned above, brakes are an easy DIY job. And definitely get the Akebonos if they are available for your car.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by TTM0TION

I had no idea about this. Do they squeak or what’s the catch?

The only catch is that if you want to race your vehicle, like on a track, they'll overheat much quicker. And yes, that's as funny as it sounds. BMW literally makes brake pads that EAT rotors so you have to replace them frequently at an enormous expense.

I've run the Akebono's and now run the CarboTech pads, and they're both fantastic, and if they're good enough for my car, they're good enough for anybody's.

G What? (Explore) by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

[TTM0TION]

Great to know, thanks much! No worries for track I use different track pads for that anyway. I’d love something that has less dust for daily.

[F32Fleet]

Dealerships are expensive because of the amount of overhead.

[Rich.Wolfson]

Originally Posted by overcoil

Do you need a computer for parking brake or ABS bleeding on these BMW’s ?

For me dealer is convenient and if something goes wrong I have a corporation to complain to.

When Chinese racing running shoes are now up to $350 I can rationalize brakes at $1000+ / pair.

I have heard of dealers that have charged $1500 an axle and OEM parts. There are better pads and rotors than OEM.

No computer necessary but with aftermarket parts, proper bedding is essential.

///Rich

[lazie_au]

I have found that the dealers here tend to recommend changing pads quite early. I feel they tend to be more cautious as they do not know your driving style and need to be certain they will be good until past the mileage of your next service.
It also wouldn't hurt their bottom line to do a quick pad slap and charge you a premium for the service.
If you don't want to pay the premium and handy with a wrench, I say DIY. There's nothing like getting hands on and giving her some love, or cursing her depending on the job your doing.

[Theruleslawyer]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

The only catch is that if you want to race your vehicle, like on a track, they'll overheat much quicker. And yes, that's as funny as it sounds. BMW literally makes brake pads that EAT rotors so you have to replace them frequently at an enormous expense.

The OEM pads are terrible for the track. They overheat quickly and smear. You'll also wear through them in no time at those temps. Bottom line, if you track you should get a real high temp pad. If you don't track, get what you want. Anything will stop you a couple times from street speeds.

FWIW If you go through a lot of pads and rotors get on the FCP euro lifetime replacement gravy train.

[rbryantaz]

M rotors are much softer than the normal rotors. This means the rotors tend to wear more.

This is one of the reasons that the M rotors get large lips on the outside edge where the pad doesn't extend all the way to the edge of the rotor (and in some cases a bit of a lip on the inside edge). Making things worse most shops won't turn the rotors because they are two piece and tend to flex and chatter so they can't turn them correctly....

I wonder if the min thickness is really as much about the lips that the pads create as it is about a real safety factor....

I found a tool that can be used to remove just the lip "laser tools 7839." With that said it isn't easy if you have a larger lip... I removed a .5mm lip from my rear M3 rotors. It took quite a bit of force (especially with the limited slip requiring both wheels to turn) and wasn't exactly easy to turn the crank and hold the tool with one person. The dust shields are also in the way and had to be bent back or removed to do the job. Care was also required to make sure that the tool is held only over the lip so that the rest of the disc isn't scored. I did touch the disc slightly a couple of times but fortunately it just shined the surface inside of the lip (it would be easy to gouge the disc).

I only used it on the rear rotors because my fronts were almost new, I would probably not be as "cheap" on the fronts and would just replace the rotors but for the rears I was willing to give it a try.

The tool is from a UK supplier and I had to buy it on ebay. It isn't cheap so it I wouldn't recommend it for a one time use. I would also use it when rotating tires to knock down the lip regularly rather than letting the lip get large where it is a lot of work to remove (and a big arm/shoulder workout)...

Outer Lip removed (Inner wasn't done yet):


Pile of shavings:


If I did it again I would remove the pads and probably the dust shields to get better access but I got it done in a couple of hours (it takes more time than you might think to hand crank the wheels. The worst part is where the crank overlaps the cutter making it hard to cut that portion so it is necessary to move the crank to a few different positions during the process.

-Rich

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by rbryantaz

M rotors are much softer than the normal rotors. This means the rotors tend to wear more.

I haven't found this to be the case. What I have found is that their pads are progressive and super aggressive in normal driving (hence the dust, which is mostly rotor, not pad), and they don't put enough meat on the rotor for weight saving reasons. 1.6mm isn't enough for the heavy vehicles they are putting them on.

[No one]

The car's computer features a brakes wear estimation which isn't very accurate but should be better than a service's wild guess as it's based on your driving style.

According to this: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1#post28401731, BMW expects regular brake discs to last 3 sets of OEM brake pads (they appear to "allocate" 0.8 mm. disc wear per a set) and ///M (-Performance, perforated) may be only two, but as it has been mentioned, it depends on how easily those "advanced" discs wear compared to the regular.

Also, brake pads have integrated wear sensors that produce a warning "Drive moderately. Have the issue assessed by a BMW service as soon as possible.".

With that said, I had my brake pads replaced according to a wear sensor, having driven "moderately" over 100 km. with the warning on (the mechanic confirmed I could drive a bit more yet) and my non-perforated M-Sport discs were found barely fit the pads replacement allowance (to be replaced the next time) although it was the first pads change. The car's brakes wear estimation had been telling me I only had about 2200 km. left for the last two years (I drove much more than that).

The best way to estimate seems to be recording the thickness at every maintenance and do your simple calculation.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Of course not. I would do them myself and get parts from FCP euro or some other place.

[DocL]

I got Akebono Fr/Rr pads with the sensors from Rock Auto. I think the total cost for the parts was under $200. A few hours later the DIY was done. I spend extra time cleaning all of the suspension parts while I'm doing the pads because, well, I can lol.

Doing any brake work at a stealership is like taking candy from a kid.

[ricardofors68]

It pays you back to do some of the maintenance yourself. Brakes are easy to do. I would not pay the dealership to do brakes for me.

[rbryantaz]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

I haven't found this to be the case. What I have found is that their pads are progressive and super aggressive in normal driving (hence the dust, which is mostly rotor, not pad), and they don't put enough meat on the rotor for weight saving reasons. 1.6mm isn't enough for the heavy vehicles they are putting them on.

That was what one of the brake suppliers senior technical guy told me about the e90 M3 rotors. I had to make a few calls to get to their engineer. He said their premium line was essentially a copy of the OE e90 M3 rotor (they matched the metalurgy) and was a much softer than other cars and what they use on the standard rotors and brake pads will wear on them more. I don't want to say which it was given the nature of "copy" but I am pretty sure from talking to him that he knew what he was talking about.

This made sense to me because I have never seen wear lips on the outside of edge of rotors on any of my cars like the ones that were on the rear M3 rotors.

-Rich