Which brake discs & pads to use?

[Steve84N]

I'm about to buy new discs & pads all round, so looking for feedback. 

For pads I'm thinking the ATE ceramic ones for less dust, but do they still bite well enough? 

For discs I'm going to pay the extra for two piece front & rear. It's between Brembo, Bosch, ATE and Zimmerman. Any bad experiences or how well the coating lasts on these?

Thanks 

[Andrew]

Get a price for genuine ones, they were cheaper than the equivalent aftermarket ones for mine and could be guaranteed to the the right ones (two piece and be handed for each side) and would fit.

I've got genuine pads (Galfer) too, again as they were cheaper than after market. And they came with a pad wear sensor which worked in the reset procedure.

They are fine for my needs. 

If I was to go aftermarket, ATE for discs and Textar pads as I've used that combo before.  But any of the makes you mention would be fine as they are all good quality manufacturers.

Curved ball.... 

After fitting febi pads and discs to my wifes Kuga a year ago, I would consider them for my rears if they did two piece discs as the hub coating has lasted really well and perform as good as they did the day they were fitted.

[Cadwell Parker]

I had Brembo discs and pads on my car for 90000 miles over 4 years. The discs were getting close to the min thickness by this time so I replaced them using genuine BMW parts. The Brembo discs were great and I had no real issues with them The centres remained free of corrosion and cleaned up nicely when I took the time to do so. I found the pads lacked initial bite but they worked well when you really wanted them to, they just didn't have so much of a positive feel when braking initially.

The genuine pads I have now feel a lot better in that regard and work very well indeed. I'm kicking myself now for not having photographed them. The rears were Textar but not sure about the fronts. I had considered using ATE discs with the ceramic pads but got impatient trying to identify the correct parts for my car and ordered the genuine parts from Cotswoldswhich weren't much more expensive and the pads came with the wear sensors included so I was quite happy with my choice in the end.

[Bavarian Cortina Fan]

 

It all depends on how precious you are with your car, how you drive and how long you plan to keep it. I know I’m not aligned with a lot of you guys where your 5 is your pride n joy. Mine is just a bloody good commuting tool to me…

Anyway here’s my 2 cents…

Unless you are hooning round country lanes every day, budget parts will do the job fine.

Obviously you don’t want to fit the cheapest chinese made junk you can find, this is a safety critical part after all. I did look at brembo and 1 piece vs 2 piece debate, but unless they’re on offer they were significantly more than budget parts. Fair enough when your 5 was worth 50k but now it’s worth like 5k, is it justifiable?

I bought a set of 4 Ridex discs + pads + sensors as a kit from Autodoc. £230 All in. German made. No issues with judder, dust, or noise. And compared to the worn out parts that was on the car when I bought it, a definite step up.

I’m sure they’re not the best for either performance or longevity, but for my motorway wafting they are more than adequate.

No doubt genuine parts are the best, but be aware that the genuine Galfer pads you buy from a BMW dealer will have a different (cheaper) friction material than the ones fitted when new. That’s just one way car companies make profit.

I let my Indy fit them as you need the fancy OBD diagnostic tool to wind back the electric handbrake for the rears. I’m sure there’s a workaround if you really want to DIY the job

[Steve84N]

Yeh, what you save on parts I'll save by fitting them myself. I've got the software tools required to wind back the brake motor and you can do it manually too. 

You're absolutely right about not needing anything more but I do always use the 'higher quality' brands. 

[duncan-uk]

2 hours ago, Bavarian Cortina Fan said:

No doubt genuine parts are the best, but be aware that the genuine Galfer pads you buy from a BMW dealer will have a different (cheaper) friction material than the ones fitted when new. That’s just one way car companies make profit.

Can you clarify this point? Don’t see why BMW would sell a lesser pad for servicing? Surely that’s called ´passing off’ as I think the legal term is. 
 

i realise other pads have different compositions and thus feel/ wear. Had Bosch on my 330d and felt like mahogany for instance. 

[Matthew]

6 hours ago, Bavarian Cortina Fan said:

Obviously you don’t want to fit the cheapest chinese made junk you can find, this is a safety critical part after all. I did look at brembo and 1 piece vs 2 piece debate, but unless they’re on offer they were significantly more than budget parts. Fair enough when your 5 was worth 50k but now it’s worth like 5k, is it justifiable?

I don't get the point about whether a £50k car or £5k car is worthy of top-quality parts, if you are driving a car on the road, no matter what it's worth, surely your's and your passengers' safety is paramount, it has nothing to do with the value of the car?

6 hours ago, Bavarian Cortina Fan said:

I bought a set of 4 Ridex discs + pads + sensors as a kit from Autodoc. £230 All in. German made. No issues with judder, dust, or noise. And compared to the worn out parts that was on the car when I bought it, a definite step up.

Ridex parts are made in factories in South East Asia. The warehouse is in Germany - I'm not saying there is anything wrong with them, I have no experience of them but they are not made in Germany.

[Andrew]

4 hours ago, duncan-uk said:

and felt like mahogany for instance. 

Can you clarify this point?

Hard? Expensive? Material that is now frowned upon in today’s society?

Or as James the Red Engine found out, wooden brakes were always no good..

 

My Ridex brake back plates were chosen because they were less than half the price of genuine, they were also half the quality, but as a non critical item I’m not bothered and I know I can easily replace them and still be quids in.

Brakes are like tyres, you want to spend money on them, not save it.

[Percha]

I use Brembo, and Pagid up front and they feel very good. I wanted two piece as thats how they rolled of the production line. I am due to replace the back discs and pads in the next few months, I will go for major brand probably similar to the front and go two piece again. 

I agree dont skimp on the brakes, go for good quality brand or from BMW parts.

[Liam2594]

Genuine is the best way, small cost to pay for known quality parts. Saying that ATE, Brembo & Textar previously all which felt good too. Have usually found genuine BMW braking parts tend to be ATE, Textar or TRW. 

[Bavarian Cortina Fan]

20 hours ago, duncan-uk said:

Can you clarify this point? Don’t see why BMW would sell a lesser pad for servicing? Surely that’s called ´passing off’ as I think the legal term is. 
 

i realise other pads have different compositions and thus feel/ wear. Had Bosch on my 330d and felt like mahogany for instance. 

Yup. I’ve worked in automotive development and manufacture for 30 years. All the big suppliers brands (Bosch, ATEetc) have aftermarket divisions. Three factors are at play here:

1) The new car & part has to pass very rigid tests which the OEM specifies. For service, those tests are NOT required. Standards can be relaxed. Different lower targets can be applied. They can tailor the compounds to whatever the manufacturer asks for, which allows for a cost saving

2) That cost saving is important because as each year passes, the volume of pad sales swings from higher for OEM for new cars to significantly higher for service. Think about the size of the ‘car park’ of registered F10s when the model is reaching the end of its life. Worldwide. All needing pads. These parts aren’t like a sun visor which has like zero service demand. And if the service pad has less durability, that gives you even more pad sales. This is a BIG earner for the OEMs

3) When you spank £50k on a shiny new car your expectations are higher than once the honeymoon is over. This is especially true when the car is out of production, like my F10.

Pads are unique in that for OEM they are shipped pre fitted to the caliper. for service they come as a just a pad set. The OEM then decides what else comes in that kit (shims, instructions etc) and an OEM branded box.
The same production line may be used to provide aftermarket parts branded by the supplier. The supplier then selects what compound they will use. It may - or may not - use the same compound as the OEM. All depends what is included in their supply contract with the OEM.

I’ve never worked for BMW so I can’t say what BMW do. But the suppliers will have offered this way of working to BMW. It’s industry custom & practice which I’ve experienced working with several brake system suppliers.

FYI the same happens with tyres. Your new car tyres are better than the same branded tyre you buy in service.

[Bavarian Cortina Fan]

16 hours ago, Matthew said:

I don't get the point about whether a £50k car or £5k car is worthy of top-quality parts, if you are driving a car on the road, no matter what it's worth, surely your's and your passengers' safety is paramount, it has nothing to do with the value of the car?

 

Agree up to a point. But OEM parts are massively over engineered for my needs

if I was on track days or thought I was Colin McRae, I would not touch budget parts…

 

[Steve84N]

Decided to order Brembo two piece discs and Brembo pads in the end. I was tempted by the ATE ceramic pads but feedback is mixed and I don't want to gamble getting something I don't like, even if it means more brake dust. Think I'm going to get some seals to refresh the calipers too. I've just received some Goodridge braided lines in Vintage Black. 

I'm about to order a larger carrier to upgrade from 348x36mm to the 374x36mm discs I've ordered. My C63 used 360x36mm so these will be more than ample, yet lighter due to having the aluminium bell. There's approximately a 1.7kg weight saving over the solid discs, which is worth having on rotating unsprung mass. 

[Steve84N]

Brakes always look bigger off the car but 374x36mm is colossal! They made separate parcels per disc. Waiting for my larger carriers to arrive from the states and then I'll be able to do the upgrade from 348x36mm.

The weight difference for the two piece 348 or 374 discs is 12.2kg vs 13.66kg, so for 1.46kg I think it's worth it. I've always enjoyed any upsizing of brakes I've done in the past. 

[Percha]

I went Brembo, and was impressed with the quality!

[Johnjonjo]

I changed mine a few weeks ago, front pads and dics, easy DIY. 
I used Valeo pads and Ridex discs, both bought for a very reasonable cost from Autodoc. 
All feels good as originals they replaced but took 2 weeks to arrive. 

[HandyAndy]

I'm on Zimmerman drilled and ate pads at the moment... Can't fault either.

Mine's an ex-Kent traffic car... I have stood on the anchors doing around 150mph and had no problems bringing a loaded car to a near stop in plenty of space on the  348x30 fronts, which only got changed a year later. There can't be a need to put bigger discs on, surely? 🤔

[Steve84N]

@HandyAndyneed no, want yes. 😁

I've always liked the improved braking when I've upsized previous cars. It's not that I'm hitting the limit but it gives them even more spare capacity and makes normal use that bit more effortless. 

[HandyAndy]

Over here I could see reasoning behind that.... but back in blighty, if you're doing over 80mph a) where's the traffic, and b) you won't keep your licence too long.

I'm lucky enough to be able to go ton-up quite regularly between baustellern... indeed coming back from my MoT trip home a few weeks back I spent around 40mins without dropping below 130mph.... for purely technical reasons you understand... cleaning the dpf, etc.... 😇