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      02-24-2019, 05:36 AM   #1
Rmtt
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128i brake question

So at some point I plan to change rotors, pads, powdercoat my calipers, etc. Is it always suggested that the "pad wear sensor" gets changed out when doing brakes on this car?

Just trying to get some info before I do eventually get into it. Car has pretty new brake hardware now, but I will be swapping wheels soon and figured it may be the time to do this as well.

The appearance of the rotor hats are killing me.
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      02-24-2019, 07:30 AM   #2
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If the hardware is new but rotor hats ugly (rusty?) then did someone before you change only pads and not rotors too? And only very poor quality rotors would look that bad.
Yes, you can keep old sensor, but if you are going for new rotors pads, wheels, why not the couple extra dollars for new sensors. Those who track their car often are most likely not changing their sensors when they change between track and street pads. I use same pads on track as street.
Tons of videos out there (Bav Auto & Pelican Parts come to mind) on how to replace brakes.
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      02-24-2019, 09:18 AM   #3
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The stock rotors don’t have painted hats and start rusting after 1 rain. I used Centric “premium” rotors with painted hats and they are still looking good 2 years later.

Pad sensors only matter if you want to rely on the brake pad warning on the dash. I don’t, and I zip-tied the sensors to my struts and rear control arms.

The sensors are not sophistocated and don’t require replacement until they trip. It is just a piece of metal that wears down with the pad and at a certain point, it breaks the connection between the two wires coming from the car. When that happens, the dash light trips and you have to replace the sensor to get the light to turn off. The alternative is to solder the 2 wires together and zip tie the old sensor to a control arm rather than replacing the sensor.
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      02-24-2019, 12:18 PM   #4
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Yeah...its the rust. I will definitely go with painted hats. I don't track the car, but I still can't stand the site of ugly rotors, calipers, etc.

As for the sensor...that makes sense. I can just wire them in series, solder, and the use some heat shrink tubing around them. Then I can tie them out of the way.

Thanks guys.
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      02-24-2019, 07:29 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rmtt View Post
Yeah...its the rust. I will definitely go with painted hats. I don't track the car, but I still can't stand the site of ugly rotors, calipers, etc.

As for the sensor...that makes sense. I can just wire them in series, solder, and the use some heat shrink tubing around them. Then I can tie them out of the way.

Thanks guys.
Some personal experience here: the rotors have an easy solution - buy the ones with painted hats. The calipers, the solution is not as simple. You need to either paint or powdercoat them. 2 years ago when I redid my brakes, I bought remanned calipers and figured that they would stay in decent condition since I moved to Texas (no road salt). Nope. They looked good for 2 weeks, then got rusty. A few weeks ago I bought another set of remans and painted them with G2 caliper paint (lime green!). In hindsight I do wish I'd have powdercoated them instead, as the paint chipped off in a few spots just from handling them during install. But I touched up the chips with high-temp clear so they won't rust where the paint came off, and that's good enough for me.
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      02-25-2019, 06:52 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rowsdower View Post
Some personal experience here: the rotors have an easy solution - buy the ones with painted hats. The calipers, the solution is not as simple. You need to either paint or powdercoat them. 2 years ago when I redid my brakes, I bought remanned calipers and figured that they would stay in decent condition since I moved to Texas (no road salt). Nope. They looked good for 2 weeks, then got rusty. A few weeks ago I bought another set of remans and painted them with G2 caliper paint (lime green!). In hindsight I do wish I'd have powdercoated them instead, as the paint chipped off in a few spots just from handling them during install. But I touched up the chips with high-temp clear so they won't rust where the paint came off, and that's good enough for me.
I have painted and powder coated calipers on my Corvettes, and had great results with both methods.. I know a lot of people don't like paint, but if you take your time, they can really look good.

I have bought rotors before and painted the hats myself, but I will probably just buy the painted ones as by the time I was done with the work...it would have been easier to had got them already painted.
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      02-25-2019, 07:09 AM   #7
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When I got the BWMP caliper kit, I got some high temp silver paint to cover the rear calipers and was quite satisfied with the result. Doesn't look blingy, but doesn't look like trash even after some winter driving and track days. Very satisfied with the decision.
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