[Torqu3]

So my car is coming up on needing rear brake pads. iDrive says 1300 miles, but the squealing noise says now. Should I go OEM or upgrade to different pads? What does everyone suggest? Rolling stock right now, but will be getting a Stage 2+ in a year or so. Don't want to do a full brake rework since the front pads still have lots of miles(38000, says iDrive) left on them. Don't want to spend tons of money on them, at least no more than OEM. I heard stoptech is good. Are those okay on OEM rotors? Street Pads or Sport pads? What about brake fluid. iDrive says I've got like 6 months. Should I go ahead and do it now? What fluid should I use? Is it a really hard DIY job? Thanks!

[335dlci]

please note: the mileage is not always correct. it is just a rough estimate of remaining mileage of brake pad left. brake pad squeal can occur when you have 7.5mm of pad remaining...you don't have to wait 6 more months to change your fluid. its perferrable to use a pressure type of brake bleeder to bleed the system. I can not comment on non oem brakes from my personal experience.

[rulonger]

lots of discussions about brakes in the Brake / Suspension section.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=38

I am in a similar situation and have been reading up on suggested upgrades. Unless you are tracking your car, the consensus seems to be to keep the stock calipers and upgrade rotors and pads. Main reason cited for upgrading pads is to have less dust.

I personally will be going OEM because I do not see the need for upgrade on my DD.

[kydiesel35]

Zimmerman rotors (oem), oem pads.

[chau]

I run OEM pads in the rear. The only reason I'm running aftermarket pads in the front is because of the dust generated by OEM pads suck.

[Torqu3]

I guess the brake kits on FCP Euro are looking pretty good, and the price is hard to beat. Zimmerman rotors and Akebono pads. As for the brake fluid, how hard is it to do myself? ECS has a brake fluid kit that comes with a bleeder and 1 liter of fluid. Any good DIY guide I should look at? I'd be more than willing to do all of my brake work in one go.

[Owen81]

The Akebono Euro are a great pad, they won't have the bite of OEM though. Just so you know.

[335dlci]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

I guess the brake kits on FCP Euro are looking pretty good, and the price is hard to beat. Zimmerman rotors and Akebono pads. As for the brake fluid, how hard is it to do myself? ECS has a brake fluid kit that comes with a bleeder and 1 liter of fluid. Any good DIY guide I should look at? I'd be more than willing to do all of my brake work in one go.

It's very easy if you have a pressure brake bleeder, a bottle to catch old fluid with a hose and 9 and 11mm box end wrenches.

[BB_cuda]

I just did the fluid change using the pressure unit made by Motiv from idparts.com. The 45 mm cap fit the master cylinder perfectly. I will be doing rear brakes soon pending a UPS delivery getting rectified. They lost the rotors. I used close to 1 liter of DOT 4 fluid. I had fluid changed 2 yrs ago but it was still very clean looking.

[Torqu3]

Originally Posted by Owen81

The Akebono Euro are a great pad, they won't have the bite of OEM though. Just so you know.

Maybe I'm uneducated, but I've never experienced bad brakes. IMO if they get me from 80 to 0 in a reasonable amount of time, I'm good. I don't have a need to really use my brakes heavily ever. Engine braking and coasting get the job done for me most of the time. If I do it right, I can get through my commute without using my brakes at all. So as long as they get me stopped, I'm happy.

[Torqu3]

Originally Posted by BB_cuda

I just did the fluid change using the pressure unit made by Motiv from idparts.com. The 45 mm cap fit the master cylinder perfectly. I will be doing rear brakes soon pending a UPS delivery getting rectified. They lost the rotors. I used close to 1 liter of DOT 4 fluid. I had fluid changed 2 yrs ago but it was still very clean looking.

Glad to hear someone else is going through what I am. So you just pumped all of the fluid out through the master cylinder, and then filled up the brake fluid reservoir ? Sorry, I'm not too familiar with brakes. What pads and rotors are you going to use in the rear?

[WreckerX5d]

Think I've gone through 3 sets of rotors and pads on my car so far. The ones I like the most are my current ones, and I bought them from a vendor on here. Think they were $560 shipped for the drilled ones.

The Stop techs I had were pretty soft on the initial brake, but they still gripped the rotor pretty well.

[BB_cuda]

First, I used a turkey baster and removed most of fluid form master cylinder. Then I filled it back with new. I put fluid in bleeder reservoir and pumped it to where most of the tube leading to the adapter cap was full of fluid. Next, installed bleeder cap on master cylinder and pumped it to 20 psi. I then bled from farthest caliper first (right rear). I sometimes had to go repump up the reservoir to same beginning pressure. Don't let reservoir go empty. I had to open and add fluid half way through all 4 wheels.

After RR, I did LR then RF and last LF. Go search on net as there are several good videos on this. Be super careful with not getting fluid on paint. I put several towels around area of master cylinder. Pedal felt no different before versus after.

[Persian Whisperjet]

You will be surprised by how easy to the process is with a power bleeder. You do not even have to remove the wheels although it makes the process easier and is a good opportunity to rotate tires. Having a little fluid catch bottle makes life easier especially if it has a magnet on it so you can stick it on the hub.

I have OEM pads and have never had an issue including track day. No problems with dust although I think there was a changeover (I'm late 2011) and earlier formulations were dustier.

[Torqu3]

Originally Posted by Wrecker335d

Think I've gone through 3 sets of rotors and pads on my car so far. The ones I like the most are my current ones, and I bought them from a vendor on here. Think they were $560 shipped for the drilled ones.

The Stop techs I had were pretty soft on the initial brake, but they still gripped the rotor pretty well.

Do your track your car? That sounds like a lot of rotors to me. It looks like I can get some cross-drilled slotted rotors and pads for a good price, which is really exciting. I love the look of those brakes. Also considering painting my calipers while I'm at it. Dark blue like what is used on the M Performance logo. A subtle change that I think would look good. Dark Blue or black, but my wheels are already black. And some new brake fluid as well. May as well go all out on my brakes.

[BB_cuda]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

Glad to hear someone else is going through what I am. So you just pumped all of the fluid out through the master cylinder, and then filled up the brake fluid reservoir ? Sorry, I'm not too familiar with brakes. What pads and rotors are you going to use in the rear?

OEM pads and (hopefully) Zimmerman rotors if they come. If they are truly lost, not sure what I will get.

[WreckerX5d]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

Do your track your car? That sounds like a lot of rotors to me. It looks like I can get some cross-drilled slotted rotors and pads for a good price, which is really exciting. I love the look of those brakes. Also considering painting my calipers while I'm at it. Dark blue like what is used on the M Performance logo. A subtle change that I think would look good. Dark Blue or black, but my wheels are already black. And some new brake fluid as well. May as well go all out on my brakes.

No, I just put 130k+ miles on my car since I got it. The drilled were not too bad, braking in rain improved since the water has a place to go. People claim dry braking is reduced but I have yet to notice that.

[Torqu3]

So I'm at a loss here. First, does anyone know if 335i and 335d brakes are interchangeable? It looks like the rotors are the same size, but are the pads also the same size? R1 Concepts is having a sell on drilled and slotted rotors, along with either ceramic or semi-metallic pads. $400 shipped for front and rear everything is hard to beat. I really love the look of drilled and slotted rotors. Would y'all reccommend ceramic pads, or semi-metallic pads? Any specific fluid I should use, or does it really not matter? Looks like a great time of year for sales, so why not go all out?

[lnxguy]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

So I'm at a loss here. First, does anyone know if 335i and 335d brakes are interchangeable? It looks like the rotors are the same size, but are the pads also the same size? R1 Concepts is having a sell on drilled and slotted rotors, along with either ceramic or semi-metallic pads. $400 shipped for front and rear everything is hard to beat. I really love the look of drilled and slotted rotors. Would y'all reccommend ceramic pads, or semi-metallic pads? Any specific fluid I should use, or does it really not matter? Looks like a great time of year for sales, so why not go all out?

Brakes should be identical. (335i vs 335d)

[Puerto Rican 335d]

Stop Tech Cross Drilled Rotors along with OEM calipers and Hawk HPS pads cant go wrong except a little dust now and then

[WreckerX5d]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

So I'm at a loss here. First, does anyone know if 335i and 335d brakes are interchangeable? It looks like the rotors are the same size, but are the pads also the same size? R1 Concepts is having a sell on drilled and slotted rotors, along with either ceramic or semi-metallic pads. $400 shipped for front and rear everything is hard to beat. I really love the look of drilled and slotted rotors. Would y'all reccommend ceramic pads, or semi-metallic pads? Any specific fluid I should use, or does it really not matter? Looks like a great time of year for sales, so why not go all out?

They are. Those are the rotors I got, except non slotted. I couldn't remember who I bought them from before. I believe I went with ceramic pads.

[TorqueAddict]

In the past was able to 'flash' the ceramic pads with hard braking. This time i went with Zimmerman cross drilled rotors and Hawk HPS pads (which are semi metallic). I also switched to SS brake lines and Motul RBF 600.

Breaking is phenomenal now.