vs
Brake pads WAGNER or OEM BMW
$930 at a local BMW expert shop. That's front and rear, pads and rotors.
Pros: reasonable price
Vehicle:
BMW
My dealer charges about $1100 for rear brakes and rotors, and about $1200 for front brakes and rotors, so $2300ish total. I got all pads and rotors done at a local shop for about $1100, and transmission fluid (+ pan and filter) done for $750 at the same shop.
Pros: cheaper at local shop
Cons: expensive at dealer
Vehicle:
BMW
My favorite is Wagner OEX pads. They're build on galvanized steel and the friction material is mechanically attached instead of glued on.
Pros: galvanized steel backing, mechanically attached friction material
A common brake upgrade to the E34 5 series was to install E38 (7 series) brakes. Only downside is you also have to install larger wheels.
Pros: better braking performance
Cons: requires larger wheels
Vehicle:
BMW
My understanding is the OEM brakes have well-rounded performance. In spider chart terms, it would look like a round pizza with one slice taken off, and that would be due to dust. They still excel with high performance, solid longevity all at a reasonable cost
Pros: high performance, long lasting
Cons: lots of dust
Vehicle:
BMW X3
Wagner OEX or Bosch Quietcast
Both are ceramic brake pads that will last longer. Brake fade is experienced in all brakes used excessively but it takes a lot longer in ceramic pads. The only draw back is stopping distance is slightly increase when cold but when warm it's decreased. Bonus is they produce less dust & its very light in color so your wheels look cleaner.
Pros: longer lasting, less dust
Cons: increased cold stopping distance
The best pads out there right now are the Wagner OEX pads cuz they're built on a galvanized steel backing plate with a mechanical fastening system for the friction material instead of glue. They don't rust out like plain steel pads
Pros: galvanized steel backing plate, no rust
Ok, so, at a particular location I worked at we used Wagner Thermoquiets. Decent pads, but this particular location seemed to get the worst quality pads ever. The only way we could keep the customer from coming back was to make sure everything was well lubricated, and we also used some sort of orange goop to stick the brake pads to the calipers. Then we took it out for a break-in session, I believe it was 5 stops from 30mph, gently using the brakes, then another 5 with moderate brake pressure. And if the customer was too hard on the brakes it might still come back.
Pros: decent pads
Cons: worst quality pads
The brakes. Looks all OE. The dust is unbelievable awful.
Cons: awful brake dust
Vehicle:
BMW Z4
Mileage: 3000 km
And jesus christ. $600 for rear pads and rotors? the the parts are like $250 and labor shouldn't be over $200...
Cons: expensive rear pads and rotors
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