New Brake Rotors

[jclaib7]

I was looking at the front and rear R1 Concepts E Line drilled/slotted rotors as a brake upgrade for my 128i. Is this a good product and upgrade? I can't afford the full big brake kit

I found them on mod bargains .com

[Kgolf31]

Drilled/Slotted rotors offer no benefit.

[jclaib7]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Drilled/Slotted rotors offer no benefit.

So are you saying.....?

- That the stock brakes are good enough for a DD,cruiser and no upgrade is really required.

- The slotted/cross drilled rotors only offer benefits on a tracked car.

- Or, they are of no benefit period, ever... In which case, why make them?

[Jockey]

Originally Posted by jclaib7

So are you saying.....?

- That the stock brakes are good enough for a DD,cruiser and no upgrade is really required. YES

- The slotted/cross drilled rotors only offer benefits on a tracked car. YES AND NO

- Or, they are of no benefit period, ever... In which case, why make them? Because they look cool

Some answers

[Pkaia524]

Drilled rotors are a waste of your $ on a DD unless you know how to threshold brake, and you do it repeatedly from high speeds in a timeframe that doesn't let your rotors cool down. Not a likely scenario for a DD (at least I hope not -- if it is I pity the commuters driving next to you.

Same opinion about a big brake kit. Unless you are turning you car into a dedicated track car, don't spend the $.

Why don't you invest the $ in some driving schools? The driver is more important than the car.

[GermX-85]

are you planning on tracking the car?

[hoki06]

Am I having deja vu?

OP, read this:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...7#post16015227

[JimD]

I agree this would be more cosmetic than a practical benefit. I believe slotted rotors would be better than drilled or drilled and slotted, however. The holes represent stress risers that can result in cracks in the rotor. Slots do not have that negative consequence.

[jclaib7]

No tracking. It would be for a performance and looks. Based on the info above, I won't be doing this anytime soon.

[morrisonmagic]

Originally Posted by jclaib7

I was looking at the front and rear R1 Concepts E Line drilled/slotted rotors as a brake upgrade for my 128i. Is this a good product and upgrade? I can't afford the full big brake kit

I found them on mod bargains .com

I am putting on the stoptech kit from autoanything. $675.00 slotted rotors front and back, braided lines and stoptech 309 pads less dust and less fade over stock. Cheap brake upgrade solution.

[JohnnyG_TO]

I was obsessing over finding rotors with the best "value" for my 135 and settled on IAP Dura drilled/slotted, partly because they appeared similar to the BMW drilled/slotted performance option (34116786392). They were delivered the other day and they appear not just similar, but IDENTICAL to the BMW parts - riveted aluminum hat on the fronts that look identical to stock, the rears are dimpled/slotted just like BMWs, and the holes and slots appear identical to pics of the BMW parts. I honestly believe these are the EXACT same parts...at less than half the price!

I considered R1 Concepts as I used them last year in my old RX-8 and was pleased with the product and service, but they don't show 135 rotors on their web site and I couldn't get a response from their customer service! I sent them 2 emails - which I still haven't received replies to (after a month!) - and also tried their on-line chat. Enough is enough!

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by JohnnyG_TO

I was obsessing over finding rotors with the best "value" for my 135 ... I considered R1 Concepts as I used them last year in my old RX-8 and was pleased with the product and service, but they don't show 135 rotors on their web site

They must have listened because they now offer two lines of rotors for the 135i.
Here they are. Anybody give these a try yet?

eLine series
"Silver zinc plated"
http://www.r1concepts.com/detail/pro...35i/submodel:/

R1 premium series
"High carbon metallurgy. Black E-coat"
http://www.r1concepts.com/detail/pro...35i/submodel:/

[dsh135]

I was obsessing over finding rotors with the best "value" for my 135 and settled on IAP Dura drilled/slotted, partly because they appeared similar to the BMW drilled/slotted performance option (34116786392). They were delivered the other day and they appear not just similar, but IDENTICAL to the BMW parts - riveted aluminum hat on the fronts that look identical to stock, the rears are dimpled/slotted just like BMWs, and the holes and slots appear identical to pics of the BMW parts. I honestly believe these are the EXACT same parts...at less than half the price!

This is very interesting and a good find. Either BMW has these guys make their performance rotors or Dura has copied these down to the fine details. The only thing I noticed is that Dura makes no mention of being an OE supplier, which other companies typically do mention if they are (builds cred). When I replaced my worn rotors this summer I just went with Zimmerman non-drilled/slotted with the Coat-Z anti-corrosion coating. The price was decent and without having to stress over how/where they are made (German manufacture) they seemed like a good solution. I haven't tracked them yet but with my usual "spirited" street braking they've been every bit as good as stock and no unusual wear. Love the anti-corrosion coating on the hub.

[JohnnyG_TO]

I installed the IAPs last week, with EBC Red Stuff pads. So far, loving the combination. Great initial bite and excellent performance in general. The stock brakes are great as is, but this combo takes it up to the next notch. All in all - including new hardware (pins, springs, etc), total was about $800 including shipping, duties and taxes to Canada.

As an aside, my service front brake warning light had come on about a week before I made the swap and I must say, very surprised to see LOTS of pad left - likely around 25% in the front, and 50% in the rear. I could have easily delayed this swap for a year.

[chris82]

You won't see any benefit of slotted/drilled on a DD. But if you do it for looks then do slotted and not drilled; the holes just weaken the rotor

[JohnnyG_TO]

Definitely was for looks...not the least bit ashamed to admit it. If these are indeed off the same production line as the BMW part (and they do appear to be), then that's all the assurance I need.

Of course, we've all heard this about drilled rotors before, and have been shown pics of cracks between holes as proof, but for a DD, I think the risk is overstated. In general, crappy rotors are crappy rotors - regardless of solid, slotted or drilled.

[lakefront]

Well said. ^^^^

[BMWX1-35i]

Slotted are the one's I just got. Cross drilled is just tossing money out the window. I got EBC redstuff and Centric high carbon slotted rotors for front and rear.

[bNks334]

Does anyone know if there is a lightweight rotor for the 128i? I only see lightweight 2-piece rotors advertised for the 135i.

My stock rotors are warped after only 20k miles. I am thinking slotted rotors and high performance pads might help, but I definitely want a lightweight solution for the performance benefits!

[hoki06]

Originally Posted by bNks334

Does anyone know if there is a lightweight rotor for the 128i? I only see lightweight 2-piece rotors advertised for the 135i.

My stock rotors are warped after only 20k miles. I am thinking slotted rotors and high performance pads might help, but I definitely want a lightweight solution for the performance benefits!

Probably just pad deposits on your rotors from city driving, not warping. Go find an open road and do a handful of hard (threshold) 60mph-10mph braking and see if it goes away.

[bNks334]

Originally Posted by hoki06

Probably just pad deposits on your rotors from city driving, not warping. Go find an open road and do a handful of hard (threshold) 60mph-10mph braking and see if it goes away.

I don't believe it is just deposits. I drive the car pretty hard when no one is around. This includes hard braking. I cant imagine deposits would persist/get worse over time either. I definitely don't want to think it could by anything else either because rotors would be the cheapest fix, lol.

[MightyMouseTech]

Just curious. Were the wheels off/on recently before you noticed the warp?