I just picked up a set of these pads: Wagner ThermoQuiet Semi-Metallic MX548 for the rear and Wagner ThermoQuiet QC946 Ceramic for the front. I don't want to use the existing rotors, would like to start with a fresh set.
Besides the Wagner brand of solid rotors, are there any better rotors like Beck Arnley I could use? Even drilled ones? Or is it best to stick with the same manufacturer of the pads as the rotors?
Mixing and matching pads and rotors is okay for general purpose use. Technically there are soft and hard rotors as well as soft and hard pads. Is this just a daily driver? If you want better braking then generally softer is better, but at the expense of the life of the parts.
I don't see why you wouldn't just pick up a new OEM set of rotors for how cheap they are.
By the way a quick search would have yielded you many results.
Yeh, I would park it before using Wagner brake pads, but it's OP's choice. As far as rotors, I might use the Zimmerman's that Phyrgian recommended. Or if you want to stay cheap, go to partsgeek.com and they'll have a selection. And your BMW uses only vented rotors.
There's a good chance you'll have problems with those pads. 8 out of 10 times I've seen generic pads cause vibration issues in short time. Lots to explain but I can if you'd like in a PM or something (don't want to cloud your thread)
Personally I'd throw those pads in the rubbish bin and start all over. Go with OE or OEM.
Mango, I'm very happy so far with my cheap BrakeBest ceramic pads. I haven't experienced any vibration issues yet, but I've only put a few thousand miles on them.
Just get some parts from centric, it's fine. Wagner will provide amply good stopping power, but I would not expect them to be as good as OEM. If you want to return them for a more effective budget-friendly setup, do this:
Total cost: $218.58 + free shipping, and now you've got a safe braking setup good for 40,000 miles.
There's nothing wrong with Wagner pads, but they're not going to provide the same type of performance and build quality that you will find with Bosch products. On a performance car, it's much easier to notice the quality drop on parts since the parts are well-designed for performance from the factory.
If you're interested in learning more, check out Bosch's QuietCast pad product info:
Remember that all of these products have been tested thoroughly, and are safe for street use. They would not be sold by large-scale companies and corporations if they directly caused crashes daily. Your odds of going wrong are much smaller if you go through a reputable vendor.
Now, if you want a good performance setup, I can help you with that as well. If you do that, you'll want to look at brands such as Zimmermann, EBC, Textar, Hawk, Akebono, and ECSTuning brands. I've had solid luck with ECS's stuff.
Just get some parts from centric, it's fine. Wagner will provide amply good stopping power, but I would not expect them to be as good as OEM. If you want to return them for a more effective budget-friendly setup, do this:
No, you're right, a well-respected company that's regularly contracted by most major auto manufacturers to develop complex systems, and also spend a fair amount of time, effort, and money to create (knowingly seldom-read) product performance sheets based upon countless man-hours and test results for mass-scale production to shops for installation on consumer vehicles, clearly are okay with selling cheap rebranded products with little quality control.
I stopped in Autozone to buy brake cleaner and a Asian dude was buying Duralast pads for his 545i.....he mentioned to the clerk that his neighbor who works on Fards will change his brake for a few dollars:lmao:
I've heard meyle rotors are actually manufactured in china but the box is labeled to be germany. I went with brembo blanks and they are quiet and smooth. They are made in italy so you know you are getting a good product. They are also coated to prevent rust and corrosion.
I went with Zimmerman rotors and Textar pads in the rear. $180 shipped with a new sensor from BMA Parts. No complaints and I'll do the same for the fronts when they are due.
Any reason why you don't want to use the old rotors? So long as they are well within thickness spec and there is no irregular wear, they can be reused. Just be sure to bed the pads afterwards.
Anytime I've reused rotors I always have them turned. So long as they are still thick enough before and after. Rotors can have uneven wear that isn't quite noticeable.
If you want better than stock performance, you might consider slotted rotors. They don't have the same issues that drilled rotors have that solidjake mentioned. I believe Centric has slotted rotors ***8230; I use ATE Premium One rotors with a unique slotting system:
If you're interested in those, buy 'em now, as I believe that ATE stopped bringing them into the US. One source that has them is BMPDesign.com.
If you want better than stock performance, you might consider slotted rotors. They don't have the same issues that drilled rotors have that solidjake mentioned. I believe Centric has slotted rotors ... I use ATE Premium One rotors with a unique slotting system:
If you're interested in those, buy 'em now, as I believe that ATE stopped bringing them into the US. One source that has them is BMPDesign.com.
I've used Wagner Thermoquiet ceramic pads on another car and I liked them. They looked high quality and were made in USA. They are good pads for a DD IMO. They were quiet, brakes were very strong, and didn't make a lot of dust.
Wagner rotors on the other hand are rubbish made in China junk. In Canada they rust very quickly. Wagner also makes cheaper made in China pads, I wouldn't get those.
I like the Performance Friction Z-rated pads that Rob43 mentioned. I used those on the Porsche when I was just starting out on the track, and they were a good street/beginner track pad.
As Sansho said, there's one for the front and one for the rear. Are you planning to DIY your brakes? If so, don't just blindly order sensors for both. They are easy to check visually. A word of caution, my front sensor connector broke when I tried to disconnect the original sensor. The plastic was brittle and it just crumbled. I ended up going without the new front sensor, and simply cut the broken factory connector off the wires and spliced them together.
Assuming your pads have gotten low enough for one or both of the brake sensor to break, yes you'll need to replace the broken sensor. If the pads haven't worn to the point of breaking one of the sensors, then it can be reused if you're careful when you take it off the existing pad. There's one sensor in front and one in the rear.
While there may be a reason to bypass the brake pad sensor, for example you use track pads that don't allow connecting the sensor, be careful with that. Think a couple of years down the road … you've forgotten about that, you sell the car, the idiot you sold it to gets killed in an accident. The family lawyer as the car inspected and finds the sensor has been bypassed. Regardless of cause, you'll get sued for more money than is on the earth for contributing to the drivers death.
Spring the $9 for an OEM sensor, or if you want to go cheap, $4 for non-OEM.
First of all, I would never sell a vehicle without disclosing ALL known problems, workarounds, hacks, etc. Second, my current E46 will never be sold. I will part it out and send the remains to the scrap yard when/if that day comes.
My main point was that on older cars the connector may be brittle and break when you start messing with it.
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