brake pads - harder "dustless" or OEM brand

browsed through some older posts regarding "dustless" brake pads...PBR brand was one brand that was mentioned as being good...

my local mechanic said to avoid those harder brake pads (wear out rotors faster and are prone to squeal) and just go with the BMW OEM pads and use a teflon based wheel cleaner to keep away the dust...

BMW OEM pads are a bit expensive (he qouted me about US$85 for a pair)...I browsed through BavAuto.com and saw Pagid replacement pads for about US$54...salesman from BavAuto says these are about the same as OEM pads...

any other thoughts on Pagid pads? good? bad?

thanks.

Reply to
sportrider90
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PBR Deluxe (dust-less) are not overly hard and will not squeal. Even Metalmasters have never squealed for me. BMW has thin rotors to start with, so any pad you use will wear them down seemingly too fast.

Yes, forget them. Believe me, you will be happier with PBR/ Axxis/whatever they are called these days.

Reply to
Bob Smitter

Dustless are Ok but can be a lot more expensive and harder. BMW OEM or the OEM make are perfect for 99% of driving. Harder pads need to get warm/hot before they grip as stock pads so braking effect would not be the same or as efficient as stock pads at street speed.

Reply to
Oscar

Pagid are supposed to be OEM. I had their "fast road" pads fitted to my 3 and the increased braking ability was very good without the brake fade I used to get. ...but this was with repetitive heavy braking. I seem to remember they didn't dust so much. First brake of the day was a bit disconcerting but other than that there was no reduction at regular speeds - they're not race pads.

I have them on my 7 too but haven't noticed so much of a difference. The fronts still get pretty dusty.

Reply to
adder1969

Probably because they are. I mention them all the time.

BMW disk brakes are inherently prone to brake squeal, OEM or not. It isn't much of an issue. We can tell you how to 'drive out of' squeals, if you get them. PBR pads aren't dustless; they dust less and their dust is light grey, about the same color as your alloys, so it doesn't look as dirty as soon. I generally expect two sets of pads per rotor for normal wear. You should, too. BMW rotors aren't that expensive, so just change 'em every second pad change. If your local mechanic also wants to machine the rotors, *get another mechanic*.

... or a lot cheaper and not much different.

Gee; so are PBR Metalmasters. So are PBR Deluxe.

Apparently, you've never driven them on the street. You may be right about competition compounds, but the two I mentioned (and have used for decades on the street) are dual purpose street/track pads, not all- out competition pads. Even the more extreme Metalmasters usually give me one or two marginal 'cold' stops in the morning. The Deluxe line is more street-friendly.

-- C.R. Krieger (Been there; done that)

Reply to
E28 Guy©

I do NO street courses or anything, but, I went with the "lifetime" pads from autozone (.com) for about $40... the are supposed to be low dust, more rotor friendly pads. So far, I like the feel and have noticed less visible dust... plus when they as they wear out, I get the next sets free!

I wish they had lifetime rotors :-). I bought Brembo solid rotors - any feedback on those?

thanks

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote in news:1175563936.033488.149530 @p77g2000hsh.googlegroups.com:

Reply to
BMW Guy

The "lifetime warranty" pads I got from AutoZone for my Jeep were PBR Deluxe.

-- C.R. Krieger (Been there; done that)

Reply to
E28 Guy©

The only brake pads that don't wear out are the ones that don't work!

Reply to
Oscar

You evidently misunderstand the 'lifetime warranty' commercial concept. An acquaintance of mine with a 1962 car has not paid for a new battery for it since some time in the late 60s, and he still has and uses the car. Fortunately, the dealer is question is good humo(u)red about it.

Reply to
Dean Dark

Nobody claims that they don't wear out. They have a lifetime warranty. They are warranted for the life of the car. When they wear out you can go in and get another set for free. All it means is they are charging way too much for them and a lot of people forget and don't go back for their free pads. Kinda like those rebates you see all the time

Reply to
Fred W

Might be true of some "lifetime" parts, but All my vehicles have "lifetime" pads from Autozone and they were all significantly cheaper than the dealer and about the same as the other local/inet part stores. So far no complaints about dust or performance, but as I mentioned, we do not race or do road courses....

Reply to
BMW Guy

On Apr 20, 12:39 pm, BMW Guy wrote: [Fred W]:

Well, Fred, I think you know I'm not an idiot about these things. If they were charging way too much, do you really think a Certified Cheap Bastard=A9 like me would have bought 'em? ;^) These were priced at about what I'd expect to pay for generic 'house brand' pads - only they weren't. ;^D

I mess around on track occasionally, but the places I get my pads for the BMW aren't so foolhardy as to offer me a lifetime warranty. >:^(

-- C=2ER. Krieger

Reply to
E28 Guy©

Well, just imagine how much cheaper they could sell them for if they didn't warrant them for life...

Reply to
Fred W

2c a bucket full I would expect and you would probably need a bucket full too
Reply to
Oscar

You guys are too much...

my first post mentioned my warning message kept coming back - been several thousand miles now (no idea how many KM :-) ) and everything still great. I am still impressed with the low dust lifetimes pads (only on the back - we'll see how they do on the front once I wear what I have out).

The Brembo rotors for the back had the 2 "wear indicators" drilled into them - any thoughts on those? I like the fact you can do a quick check on rotor life (assuming you dont warp anything).

Mike

Reply to
BMW Guy

I like that feature. I don't see how two divots out of the face of the rotor will cause a problem. I have the Brembos on one of my cars and they seem to be running true after ~15k miles

Reply to
Fred W

My brother decided to keep his E28 520 (which I owned before him) and run it to at least 250,000 miles. And had a lifetime warranty exhaust fitted - but not a stainless steel type. The firm that sold it went out of business. The one that took over honoured the warranty. The first time. But not later. That particular model has a pretty poor exhaust system that doesn't seem to last - my later E34 did about 7 years and 120,000 miles on the original. Although the silencers weren't as efficient as new towards the end of its life. The only work it had on the exhaust in over 140,000 miles was a replacement rear section.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

The E28 has no worse nor any better exhaust than the E34. It is more a matter of usage then design. Your brother no doubt drove the car for short distances (less than 5 mi) most of the time. You no doubt drove yours farther most of the time. A short commute is death to a conventional (not corrosion-proof) exhaust system.

I have never had an E28 exhaust that didn't come to me in already-poor shape fail. The reason is, I virtually never drive my car less than

10 miles, no matter where I'm going, as I live that far from town. Therefore, my exhaust systems get thoroughly warmed from end to end every time they're driven and no condensation - and no rust - occurs inside. My wife's Jaguar X-Type is on its original exhaust at ~85,000 miles. My Jeep is on its original at over 85,000. Both are in excellent shape.

When I lived in a city, I had to deal with rusty exhausts all the time. When I moved out, with long commutes, my exhaust troubles went away.

-- C.R. Krieger (Been there; done that)

Reply to
E28 Guy©

Quite the reverse, actually. He lives in a smallish village and most of his journeys are into town - which is long enough to warm the system fully. Mine, on the other hand, are often about as bad as they can be - only a few miles of city roads. However, he does live in the north of Scotland where the roads are heavily salted each winter - not so common in London.

I wondered if my E34 had a stainless exhaust? It certainly lasted long enough to have been. When it gave out I didn't look to see what the problem was - it may have just split rather than rusted through. But as I said earlier had got noisy due to the absorption material in the silencer failing, so it had to be replaced anyway.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Seems like the deeper divot is pretty deep - I didn't realize they could waer that much before replacement.

Reply to
BMW Guy

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