Brakes - OEM vs OE Quality...
Discussion
Hi all,
I have a 2011 R57 Cooper SD. Bought last year as a bit of fun. It's done ~37k miles. It was cheap but in good condition and has already had new clutch. I took it to an independent garage after buying it for a service and a general health-check and they said it was in great condition... except - it needed a new battery, and a full set of new brakes (discs and pads, front and back.)
(And wiper blades. But don't they always need wiper blades?)
Not really surprised about the battery; suspect it's the original so overdue and stop/start had stopped stop/start-ting which I think is a pretty clear indicator.
However, on the subject of brakes. Two things really.
1) Does the relatively low mileage have any bearing on brakes or do they just go off over time? Maybe the pads but discs as well? i.e. is it realistic to need a full set of brakes after just 37k miles. They said the sensors in the brakes are the reason why they couldn't reset the service indicator.
2) They quoted around £550 fitted for OEM parts. I got a quote from the other indy over here, and they quoted £490 fitted for Brembo. I haven't asked the actual BMW dealer for a quote. Do these prices seem - sensible / crazy? For the sake of £60 - is it worth going for OEM?
The first indy did say they would fit only if I could supply but I've not started looking to see if I can beat the OEM prices they've quoted.
Thanks for any help / advice!
I have a 2011 R57 Cooper SD. Bought last year as a bit of fun. It's done ~37k miles. It was cheap but in good condition and has already had new clutch. I took it to an independent garage after buying it for a service and a general health-check and they said it was in great condition... except - it needed a new battery, and a full set of new brakes (discs and pads, front and back.)
(And wiper blades. But don't they always need wiper blades?)
Not really surprised about the battery; suspect it's the original so overdue and stop/start had stopped stop/start-ting which I think is a pretty clear indicator.
However, on the subject of brakes. Two things really.
1) Does the relatively low mileage have any bearing on brakes or do they just go off over time? Maybe the pads but discs as well? i.e. is it realistic to need a full set of brakes after just 37k miles. They said the sensors in the brakes are the reason why they couldn't reset the service indicator.
2) They quoted around £550 fitted for OEM parts. I got a quote from the other indy over here, and they quoted £490 fitted for Brembo. I haven't asked the actual BMW dealer for a quote. Do these prices seem - sensible / crazy? For the sake of £60 - is it worth going for OEM?
The first indy did say they would fit only if I could supply but I've not started looking to see if I can beat the OEM prices they've quoted.
Thanks for any help / advice!
Rear brakes on our R55 (Clubman) only last about 20k, fronts probably about 30-40k.
The discs on your car are unlikely to be worn down enough to need replacement, however if the car has not done many miles, and particularly if aggressive wheel cleaners have been used, then they could be pitted from rust. Again our Clubman needed the original rear discs replacing due to corrosion rather than wear.
As for replacement parts I use OE quality Pagid discs pads and wear sensors from Eurocarparts. you can pretty quickly check the prices yourself online. I like the Pagid discs because they come with quite a good coat of paint on them to slow down corrosion on the hub. Don’t waste your money paying extra for Brembo discs, as they are still just machined discs of steel and you won’t get any more performance from them unless you go for race type parts (grooved, drilled etc) but they or the pads won’t last very long.
The discs on your car are unlikely to be worn down enough to need replacement, however if the car has not done many miles, and particularly if aggressive wheel cleaners have been used, then they could be pitted from rust. Again our Clubman needed the original rear discs replacing due to corrosion rather than wear.
As for replacement parts I use OE quality Pagid discs pads and wear sensors from Eurocarparts. you can pretty quickly check the prices yourself online. I like the Pagid discs because they come with quite a good coat of paint on them to slow down corrosion on the hub. Don’t waste your money paying extra for Brembo discs, as they are still just machined discs of steel and you won’t get any more performance from them unless you go for race type parts (grooved, drilled etc) but they or the pads won’t last very long.
Edited by chrisch77 on Thursday 6th February 10:19
ECP will give you a choice of manufacturers but the parts they list should be interchangeable for your car.
If you want OEM part numbers take a look on realoem.com (you can enter last 7 digits of VIN to select your exact vehicle) and then you could cross reference BMW part numbers against ECP replacement parts.
If you want OEM part numbers take a look on realoem.com (you can enter last 7 digits of VIN to select your exact vehicle) and then you could cross reference BMW part numbers against ECP replacement parts.
Looking on carparts4less, which is the same company as ECP, a full set of pagid discs & pads all round come in at £171 which isnt a bad price. Brembo are a fraction more but not much. You would also need wear sensors. Its a pretty straight forward job to replace them, but depends on how comfortable you are with the tools. Based on that price though, you can decide if you think the hourly rate the garage is charging is worth you paying them to do it.
You dont have to change the discs at the same time as the pads, but some garages have a policy of doing this. You can check the condition yourself once you get the wheels off. If there is a marked ridge on them where the pads have worn it away, or heavy corrosion - particularly on the inner side usually then it makes sense to change them.
You dont have to change the discs at the same time as the pads, but some garages have a policy of doing this. You can check the condition yourself once you get the wheels off. If there is a marked ridge on them where the pads have worn it away, or heavy corrosion - particularly on the inner side usually then it makes sense to change them.
Edited by rabbitstew on Monday 10th February 15:47
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