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Brake pads Zimmermann or OEM BMW
Reviews
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
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
I bought the Zimmerman/Akebono kit when the E92 needed front brakes. I'm amazed how brake dust has been nearly eliminated and it has good bite.
Pros: reduced brake dust, good bite
Vehicle:
BMW
I hate the brake dust and went with the Zimmerman/Akebono kit, it's amazing how clean the wheels have been since installing them.
Pros: clean wheels, reduced dust
Cons: brake dust
K12GT checking in. It’s the smoothest bike I’ve ever ridden. I wish the brakes weren’t made of wood but, I’m used to “quirks” of BMW’s now, after 200K on 1150 (RT & GS-A)
Pros: smoothest bike ever ridden
Cons: brakes made of wood
Mileage: 200000 km
That's probably the kit I'd go with for my GLI. Again, as a daily driver... it meets the needs. The semi-metallic pads work good in many different temp ranges. However, semi-metallic pads also produce more brake dust, so you'll get more debris on your rotors faster. One of the other downsides is that they're more aggressive on the braking rotor because they're metallic, so you'll need to check your rotors more often for thinning.
Pros: good in many temps
Cons: produces more brake dust
Vehicle:
Volkswagen Jetta
Part number: KIT-5Q0615301FKT12
My local Bavarian car specialist refuses to install ceramic pads and will only do OEM due to low performance in the cold and increased wear on rotors. I was looking forward to less brake dust, especially on the front, but I live on top of one of the steepest hills in the city. I now have OEM pads.
Pros: less brake dust
Cons: low cold performance
Vehicle:
MINI
But seriously, having owned several BMW's and Porsche products (equally bad for brake dust) I've just gotten used to cleaning wheels more often and ignoring dirty wheels when I don't have time or energy to clean them that day.
Cons: lots of brake dust
Hey there, maybe you can help me out with the embarrassingly loud brakes on my g80 m3 (does not have the $8k carbon brakes package).
I bought it new and since day 1, the brakes have squealed incredibly bad. Not bad like "this is performance brakes so you have to tolerate it because you bought a sports car," which is what BMW has told me 50 times now. But awful, ear piercing, screeching every single time I brake. I took the shop foreman on a ride who agreed it was the worst he's ever heard.
Cons: awful, ear piercing, screeching
Vehicle:
BMW
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