BMWs hard on brakes?

[ecrabb]

OK, so some of you may know I'm replacing the wife's daily driver/family car 2012 Altima with a nice clean 2007 X3 we found with low miles. So, I took the X3 in last week for the state safety and emissions inspections and the stealer's free "world class inspection" (that no doubt earns them lots of work).

One thing that showed up in the inspection that I'd neglected to even look at was brakes. The rear pads apparently measured 4-7mm and the fronts 4mm. Front and rear pad and rotor replacement was recommended at just under $1200.

I was a little surprised it would need rotors since it only has 43,000 miles on it. So, I checked it when I got back to the house and sure enough, there's a pretty healthy lip on the rotor. So, then I walked around and compared it to all my other vehicles...

- '07 X3, ~43k miles, rotor has a pretty healthy lip
- '04 ZHP, ~43k miles, rotor has a pretty healthy lip
- '07 Hummer H3, ~62k miles, swapping out original front pads next weekend, rotor has a very minor lip
- '12 Nissan Altima, ~61k miles, brakes in good shape, rotor has almost no lip

I did the second set of pads and new rotors on my wife's old Maxima at about 80k miles. I realize it totally depends on how a car was driven and where, and I realize the BMW's probably have a sportier, more aggressive pad. But, assuming a mix of typical city and highway driving and that you're not tracking your car, what kind of service do most people get out of a set of rotors on their cars? Assuming roughly 40k miles per set of pads, can you get a rotor though two sets of pads on a normal street-driven car?

On the upside, it looks like ECS sells a nice kit with Meyle coated rotors and Akebono pads for about $425, so I'll likely do that when the time comes. Seems like a good Saturday afternoon project for late January when it's cold and snowy outside.

Just curious what others' experiences were with the OE rotors and pads.

Thanks!

Cheers,
SC

[Smilez]

OEM BMW rotors and pads are on the soft side which provide great braking power, the down fall is they give off tons of dust and wear out a lot faster. Most of people on this forum usually buy brakes from me and have been happy with them. I provide great pricing free shipping and 1 year warranty.

Let me know if you want a quote or PM me at your convenience.

[ecrabb]

Thanks! Will do!

SC

[az3579]

The amount of life you get out of your pads depends on so many different things...

Driving in a city will wear your brakes very quickly. If you tend to make harder stops instead of long and smooth brake applications, that'll also wear them faster. Track usage goes without saying.

The type of pad also makes a difference. EBC Redstuff is my preferred brand and type, because it dusts next to nothing and is a hard wearing pad, meaning a long bed in time and long service life. Since I drive mostly highway, they'll last even longer. Stock BMW pads are going to wear out the pads AND the OE rotors very quickly because they're designed to work together, hence why they stop very well but dust so much.

In your case, you have an X3, which is AWD. That means you're more likely to have to do all 4 brakes at the same time come brake service, where your ZHP is likely to only need rear brakes every 2 front brake services.



There's too much to even consider when determining brake life. Also remember that BMWs are not Nissans, therefore need more maintenance (especially for brakes) for the considerable performance increases you get. The Altima may not need brakes for 80k+ miles, but it also doesn't perform as well either.

[stephenkirsh]

My e46 325 didn't need new rotors even after 1.5 sets of pads and 110k miles. My dad DDed it before I got it and I autox it. We're both super light on brakes, so driving style is probably 50% of it.

[stephenkirsh]

My ZHP had brand new rotors on it when I got it. That was 21,000 miles ago and there's still no lip on the outside of the rotor and a VERY tiny one on the insides. I DD it and autox and track it. OEM rotor, ceramic pads.

[danewilson77]

Daily driven e46 = ~ 100k miles.

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[az3579]

Just for reference, I have 60-70k miles on my old slotted rotors, and they are still usable. That includes at least 6 track events on them. I keep them as backups.

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[san]

My car has 107k miles and I don't think the rotors or pads were ever changed... At least that is what the previous owner told me... They are still very good...


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[Karl Lazlo]

My car has 107k miles and I don't think the rotors or pads were ever changed... At least that is what the previous owner told me... They are still very good...

I got well over 100k on F&R brakes.

With 247k on the clock, it has had three sets of front (last change was premature as I didn't need them, I wanted a BBK) and the rears were done within 25K.

I drive a lot of highway miles so I get a lot of life out of the pads and rotors.