Curious about 1'r brakes

[horsepower_and_hounds]

All,
Am new to the 1'er family so my questions come more to learn about the personalities about the car than complaints.

Why does it seem the 128i creates so much more brake dust than any other vehicle I have ever known. Also it seems the front rotors are wearing faster than most others with 13k on it. The car definitely stops better than most and am really happy with the performance.

Is this why BMW requires rotors & pads to be replaced together?

Thanks for any feedback or advice

Eric

[crew_chief152]

I think this is more of a BMW issue. It doesn't matter which BMW you drive they all produce lots of dust. I know on my 135, it produced lots of dust. The harder you brake the more dust you get. This is why most people change to aftermarket pads when it is time for a change. I switched to Stop Tech pads with aftermarket BMW performance rotors. It has made a world of difference in braking and in dust.

[tccox]

Thats odd because my 128 produces hardly any brake dust at all.

[JimD]

If you wash your bimmer often you may not notice much dust. Manual transmission cars, especially if driven sedately, wear brakes a lot slower and produce less dust. But BMW pads are dusty. The front wheels are the first thing to look dirty on mine (which is a manual and not trypically driven hard).

Jim

[KingOfJericho]

I had the same thing with my G35, which also had Brembo brakes. The Lotus had AP brakes up front and something different in the rear but I still had quite a bit of dust.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by tccox

Thats odd because my 128 produces hardly any brake dust at all.

Same here.

Initially, I thought the pads gave off a lot of dust, but after a couple hundred miles, they seem to dust less... Unusual, but I'm not complaining.

[Bimmer B]

Tons of brake dust, excessive I'd say! Although I live outside the city and commute on a mountain road.
When it came time for rotors and pads I switched to EBC Red Stuff pads and ECS drilled slotted rotors
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E82-135i-N54_3.0l/Braking/Rotors/ES2550968/
It's a great combo I think. The dust issue is gone and they stop well too!

[135Pats]

My car throws off tons of dust, and I don't tend to wail on the brakes, though city driving does involve alot of stopping. Within maybe 2 days of cleaning, the dust rears its ugly head like clockwork. Cool Carbon once these pads lose their bite, the dust gets old in a hurry.

[SilverII]

armorall wheel protectant... it works great

[Bill B.]

From what I understand, BMW changed its brake pad material somewhere around the MY2010-MY2011. My E46, E85, and E83 OEM brakes dusted like crazy. My 2012 135i barely dusts at all.

However, the 135i brakes have much less bite than the old OEMs. I put a set of akebono ceramics on the E83 and that is what the 135i brakes remind me of.

[Zeros and ones]

Originally Posted by ehagerty

All,
Am new to the 1'er family so my questions come more to learn about the personalities about the car than complaints.

Why does it seem the 128i creates so much more brake dust than any other vehicle I have ever known. Also it seems the front rotors are wearing faster than most others with 13k on it. The car definitely stops better than most and am really happy with the performance.

Is this why BMW requires rotors & pads to be replaced together?

Thanks for any feedback or advice

Eric

Yes this is correct... bmw requires rotors and pads because both the rotor and the pad wear out at an even pace.

I have taken my bmw into service twice and both times it called for a brake job.

Originally Posted by Bill B.

From what I understand, BMW changed its brake pad material somewhere around the MY2010-MY2011. My E46, E85, and E83 OEM brakes dusted like crazy. My 2012 135i barely dusts at all.

However, the 135i brakes have much less bite than the old OEMs. I put a set of akebono ceramics on the E83 and that is what the 135i brakes remind me of.

Really... I find it to be the other way around... my e39 brakes dust just as my as my 128i but my 128i with the BMW performance brakes which are the same brakes as on the 135i, brakes much better and bites harder.

[Bill B.]

Originally Posted by Zeros and ones

Really... I find it to be the other way around... my e39 brakes dust just as my as my 128i but my 128i with the BMW performance brakes which are the same brakes as on the 135i, brakes much better and bites harder.

Hmmm. There are some threads in the various forums that have discussed the change. Those first noticing it were the e90 owners in around 2010. For me, the initial bite of the pre-2010 pads would loosen you fillings. Based on how my 135i pads behave, I've got to believe BMW switched to a ceramic pad.

Not that I'm complaining, I'll gladly give that up to have a pad that is better to modulate, and dusts waaay less.

[flinchy]

Originally Posted by ehagerty

All,
Am new to the 1'er family so my questions come more to learn about the personalities about the car than complaints.

Why does it seem the 128i creates so much more brake dust than any other vehicle I have ever known. Also it seems the front rotors are wearing faster than most others with 13k on it. The car definitely stops better than most and am really happy with the performance.

Is this why BMW requires rotors & pads to be replaced together?

Thanks for any feedback or advice

Eric

really soft pads, yeah it sucks a bit lol

they shouldn't wear fast though, as far as i can tell mine have never been changed, the sensors say 20-25,000km to go and i'm at 94,000 now