Front & Rear Rotors

[B135i-e82]

Hey peeps

Got my service done a month ago and my mechanic had told me I may need to replace my front and rear rotors & break pads!

Yesterday got the dreaded engine light and visited my mechanic again and now definitely needing them
LUCKY I DIDNT GO AND BUY MY DP'S AND INTERCOOLER!! now they will have to wait

Anyway wasn't sure where to post this but chasing some front and rear rotors and break pads
Can anyone recommend me a few brands etc?


Cheers

[FLYN55]

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[froop]

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1213251

As for pads, purely depends on what your goals are. If they're just for the street street then get an aftermarket street pad which has low dust and low noise and you'll be laughing. Cool Carbons or some street Hawk pads would do. If you plan on tracking the car, then definitely don't get those and go Ferodo DS2500s or Project Mu HC+. They'll dust, but you'll be able to slow down the car with some proper heat in the pads.

[froop]

Just re-read your OP.

A check engine light 100% has nothing to do with your brake pad and rotor life. You need to get your codes read to find out what is causing the CEL.

That said, it doesn't mean you don't need new brake pads and rotors either but that's a completely separate indicator. If you car has the red handbrake symbol on permanently then that would indicate your brake pad sensors have reached their "minimum" depth and surpassed the estimated time/kms to "actual" minimum depth. Of course neither of these indicators is exactly accurate either and you're better off just taking a torch to the pads and seeing how much meat is left. If it's less than 2-3mm then I'd change it. If not, then no need if you're not planning on tracking the car.

As for the brake rotors. You roughly need to get them changed every 2 OE pad changes depending on your usage. There is a minimum thickness stamped onto the actual rotor so the most accurate way is to measure the thickness of the rotor to see whether they've actually reached that amount.

[vtl]

I'm running Ferodo DS2500 pads. Works well on the track and very impressed with the street performance. Works when cold, dusts about the same as OEM. Basically noise free but some faint squeaking sometimes. After the 2nd track day I got mega squeal from the pads. Removed the fronts and chamfered the leading edge of the pads, back to being noise free

Worth coding out brake fade compensation in your DSC unit if you track your car too. The calculates the brake temperature based on how heavy and frequently you're braking and artificially boosts the pedal accordingly. On the track this destroys your confidence as you're not quite sure what the brake pedal is going to feel like. I've coded it out on my car and it makes a massive difference.

[Giveway74]

Any details on which section to code out the brake fade compensation ?

[vtl]

Originally Posted by Giveway74

Any details on which section to code out the brake fade compensation ?

Its coded via NCSExpert in your DSC unit:

C0F_FBS - Brake fade compensation
C0F_FLR - Engine power reduction

May as well code out the 2nd one while you're there. Reduces engine power if it calculates your brakes to be too hot. My coding index is 'F' if yours was 'B' then it would be 'C0B_FBS'. Just do a search for _FBS when you are looking at the trace file to edit.

[B135i-e82]

Originally Posted by froop

Just re-read your OP.

A check engine light 100% has nothing to do with your brake pad and rotor life. You need to get your codes read to find out what is causing the CEL.

That said, it doesn't mean you don't need new brake pads and rotors either but that's a completely separate indicator. If you car has the red handbrake symbol on permanently then that would indicate your brake pad sensors have reached their "minimum" depth and surpassed the estimated time/kms to "actual" minimum depth. Of course neither of these indicators is exactly accurate either and you're better off just taking a torch to the pads and seeing how much meat is left. If it's less than 2-3mm then I'd change it. If not, then no need if you're not planning on tracking the car.

As for the brake rotors. You roughly need to get them changed every 2 OE pad changes depending on your usage. There is a minimum thickness stamped onto the actual rotor so the most accurate way is to measure the thickness of the rotor to see whether they've actually reached that amount.

Hey froop,
Thanks for that, been calling a few places for rotors and found the ones u posted in that link have been the cheapest.

I'll definitely need to change the pads as the red hand break light is continuously on, my mechanic thinks I've got up to 3 months then ill need to change but want to change before winter hits!

Not planning on tracking the car but probably should change them soon before it starts grinding

[froop]

You'd be surprised how long you can drive on the stock brake pads after the warning comes on. I think I got about 20,000kms extra after the red handbrake light came on. Then again, I didn't do any hard driving during that time. If you're going to take it for a sporty drive it's better to have more meat.

For street pads, I've had Cool Carbons and currently have Project Mu NC400s.

The Cool Carbons were quiet, very low dust and had a good pedal feel. The bad thing, is that they stick to the rotors after you wash them and leave deposits on the rotor.

The Project Mu NC400s have extremely low dust and the performance is really good. They don't leave any deposits on the rotor like the CCs however my set currently are extremely noisy. They're not supposed to be like that so maybe it's something to do with the way I installed them or maybe I need to bed them in. More likely they just need to be reinstalled with some more lubricant. One bad thing about them is that they don't fit inside the stock shims so when you go from drive to reverse and vice versa they make a loud clank noise.

[vtl]

Originally Posted by froop

You'd be surprised how long you can drive on the stock brake pads after the warning comes on. I think I got about 20,000kms extra after the red handbrake light came on. Then again, I didn't do any hard driving during that time. If you're going to take it for a sporty drive it's better to have more meat.

For street pads, I've had Cool Carbons and currently have Project Mu NC400s.

The Cool Carbons were quiet, very low dust and had a good pedal feel. The bad thing, is that they stick to the rotors after you wash them and leave deposits on the rotor.

The Project Mu NC400s have extremely low dust and the performance is really good. They don't leave any deposits on the rotor like the CCs however my set currently are extremely noisy. They're not supposed to be like that so maybe it's something to do with the way I installed them or maybe I need to bed them in. More likely they just need to be reinstalled with some more lubricant. One bad thing about them is that they don't fit inside the stock shims so when you go from drive to reverse and vice versa they make a loud clank noise.

Try chamfering the leading edge of the pads. Also I noticed my brake pad guide pins had a lot of crud and were heavily scored. Cleaned them up with some sandpaper when I knocked off the edge of the pads and now I'm noise free. Used zero grease on the shims or guide pins, ISTA says not to

[B135i-e82]

Originally Posted by froop

You'd be surprised how long you can drive on the stock brake pads after the warning comes on. I think I got about 20,000kms extra after the red handbrake light came on. Then again, I didn't do any hard driving during that time. If you're going to take it for a sporty drive it's better to have more meat.

For street pads, I've had Cool Carbons and currently have Project Mu NC400s.

The Cool Carbons were quiet, very low dust and had a good pedal feel. The bad thing, is that they stick to the rotors after you wash them and leave deposits on the rotor.

The Project Mu NC400s have extremely low dust and the performance is really good. They don't leave any deposits on the rotor like the CCs however my set currently are extremely noisy. They're not supposed to be like that so maybe it's something to do with the way I installed them or maybe I need to bed them in. More likely they just need to be reinstalled with some more lubricant. One bad thing about them is that they don't fit inside the stock shims so when you go from drive to reverse and vice versa they make a loud clank noise.

hey froop,
Thanks for that info, good to know I can drive on them a bit! im off to Melbourne end of this month so was glad to know I don't have to shell out all this cash before I go away haha
Don't do any hard driving that much anyway, just a few hard pulls and that's it, my car is street used so I don't usually smash on the breaks anyway.
I'll keep the projects in mind and see how much they cost!

[Giveway74]

Originally Posted by vtl

Its coded via NCSExpert in your DSC unit:

C0F_FBS - Brake fade compensation
C0F_FLR - Engine power reduction

May as well code out the 2nd one while you're there. Reduces engine power if it calculates your brakes to be too hot. My coding index is 'F' if yours was 'B' then it would be 'C0B_FBS'. Just do a search for _FBS when you are looking at the trace file to edit.

Thanks VTL