Brake dilemma.

[New21er]

At Xmas time I bought myself some BMW performance (drilled/slotted) rotors front and rear. I want the "cool" look. I also bought OEM pads and sensors. So now I am ready to do this. My 2011 135i is at 30k, and when I pulled the wheels off I'm seeing a lot of pad left. So my dilemma is, should I put the new rotors on with the "old" pads or should replace the pads while I'm in there? OR, since I'm still under warranty will BMW replace the old pads (if I wear them out before the warranty expires)???

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by New21er

At Xmas time I bought myself some BMW performance (drilled/slotted) rotors front and rear. I want the "cool" look. I also bought OEM pads and sensors. So now I am ready to do this. My 2011 135i is at 30k, and when I pulled the wheels off I'm seeing a lot of pad left. So my dilemma is, should I put the new rotors on with the "old" pads or should replace the pads while I'm in there? OR, since I'm still under warranty will BMW replace the old pads (if I wear them out before the warranty expires)???

I just went through this so I share your frustrations. Many people on here have their pads lasting past 50 and 60k miles. None of the dealers I spoke to would pay to replace the pads/sensors under the maintenance plan unless it was necessary. For safety reasons, especially with 30k on, you probably should put the new pads on to make sure they mate up perfectly with the new performance rotors. If you check the BMW USA site for the performance rotors it also "requires" new pads if you put the rotors on.

I'd also tell you that you might want to consider saving the money then if you have to foot the bill for new pads and just put on the front rotors and pads perhaps (if you can return the rears). I kinda wish I'd done that and saved a lot of money. The front performance rotors look awesome and the rears in comparison look dinky and I don't think they really add THAT much to the look to warrant the added cost, especially if you have to put new pads/sensors on for a couple hundred more bucks. My concern was I wanted the fronts and rears to "match" but since the rears aren't drilled, they don't really match anyways and the rears only account for I think 30% of the braking on our cars. Food for thought. I then looked at pics of a member's TTRS he was selling and it has drilled front rotors and standard plain rear rotors and it was hardly noticeable and looked fine to me.

[New21er]

Thanks for the input Greg. I think I will put the new pads on to insure proper mate up. Besides, at this rate (30k) I'm probably not getting any free brake work by BMW.

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by New21er

Thanks for the input Greg. I think I will put the new pads on to insure proper mate up. Besides, at this rate (30k) I'm probably not getting any free brake work by BMW.

What does your onboard computer say for remaining brake pad life? Should say how many miles to go, though I have no idea how to do check. I think for safety reasons you're best bet is to put the pads on and if you or an indy shop do it, all the better. For warranty and maintenance plan reasons, I decided to pay through the wazoo to have the dealer do it so it was well-documented since those rotors then get covered under the 4 yr/50k plan or until then from date of install if you do after taking delivery since they're authentic BMW parts.

I only had 3500 miles at the time and it was debatable whether I could use the existing pads. They said if I did, I would likely feel some juddering/shaking of the steering wheel perhaps for awhile, which was not a feeling I wanted.

[New21er]

I'll have to read up on that. All I know is there is a lot of pad left. It's best ,like you said, to replace pads and rotor at the same. As my "weekend warrior" the brakes should last forever!!

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by New21er

I'll have to read up on that. All I know is there is a lot of pad left. It's best ,like you said, to replace pads and rotor at the same. As my "weekend warrior" the brakes should last forever!!

You can go new pads on old rotors, but unfortunately not the other way around and old pads on new rotors. I'll at least be curious to hear what you think of the performance rotors since only a few people on here seem to have them. The fronts will look dramatically different and awesome, but the rears, eh. I just don't know if the rears are only so so just because the fronts are so damn good that they don't look as good in comparison or if they're just ho hum on their own accord.

I'm in the same boat as you though, they will last me as long as I have the car as i'm up to 4500 miles after 10 months.