[Philly_sweden]

How long does these last? I do not track my car.

Do they look ok or need replacement?

29k miles

Thanks!

/ Filip

[Macphisto]

Hej! I am not an expert and unable to tell you by the photos but I recently had all four rotors, pads and sensors replaced at 82,400 miles. The front pads were at 3.5MM and the rears at 4MM. All rotors were grooved and dished. I do not track my car.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by Philly_sweden

How long does these last? I do not track my car.

Do they look ok or need replacement?

29k miles

Thanks!

/ Filip

1. There is no way to tell if they need replacement by these photos. The disc surface looks good, but it needs to be measured with a specific type of caliper to see if it's at or below minimum thickness (stamped right on the rotor hat).

The stock brake pads were fitted to perform double duty, street and track, and EAT rotors very quickly. If you are never tracking your car you NEED to get Akebono pads, which will dust 90% less, and you'll never need to replace the rotors because the wear on them is so minimal.

[Philly_sweden]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

1. There is no way to tell if they need replacement by these photos. The disc surface looks good, but it needs to be measured with a specific type of caliper to see if it's at or below minimum thickness (stamped right on the rotor hat).

The stock brake pads were fitted to perform double duty, street and track, and EAT rotors very quickly. If you are never tracking your car you NEED to get Akebono pads, which will dust 90% less, and you'll never need to replace the rotors because the wear on them is so minimal.

Thanks guys!

Only cruising in the M2

[GTIGUY1992]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

1. There is no way to tell if they need replacement by these photos. The disc surface looks good, but it needs to be measured with a specific type of caliper to see if it's at or below minimum thickness (stamped right on the rotor hat).

The stock brake pads were fitted to perform double duty, street and track, and EAT rotors very quickly. If you are never tracking your car you NEED to get Akebono pads, which will dust 90% less, and you'll never need to replace the rotors because the wear on them is so minimal.

Do you have a link or part # to the akebono pads that are recommended? What's the brake feel like on them?

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by GTIGUY1992

Do you have a link or part # to the akebono pads that are recommended? What's the brake feel like on them?

See https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=28496652

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by GTIGUY1992

Do you have a link or part # to the akebono pads that are recommended? What's the brake feel like on them?

Search these:

Akebono 1880 (front)
Akebono 1656 (rear)

I found the best price at CariD believe it or not! Search around and see who has the best price shipped currently.

[F87source]

You should also look into replacing your bleeder valves because they are badly corroded.

[Philly_sweden]

Originally Posted by F87source

You should also look into replacing your bleeder valves because they are badly corroded.

Thanks! That bad?

[F87source]

Originally Posted by Philly_sweden

Thanks! That bad?

NP.

Well they certainly don't look great, and you don't want it to snap inside of the caliper. Or have the nut round off and not be able to remove it. Bleeder valves are really cheap so might as well swap em out.

[7tune]

OP... haha, my dude! You have nothing to worry about. Bleeder screws and that's it.

THIS is what original unchanged 85k mile rotors look like... not pretty.

[Philly_sweden]

Originally Posted by 7tune

OP... haha, my dude! You have nothing to worry about. Bleeder screws and that's it.

THIS is what original unchanged 85k mile rotors look like... not pretty.

Thanks mate 😍

[F87source]

Originally Posted by 7tune

OP... haha, my dude! You have nothing to worry about. Bleeder screws and that's it.

THIS is what original unchanged 85k mile rotors look like... not pretty.

Wow that's really bad, how did your aluminum hat get so badly corroded?

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by F87source

Wow that's really bad, how did your aluminum hat get so badly corroded?

Judging by the color I'm sure that's brake dust embedded into the hat. Track heat + no wash will do that over time.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

Judging by the color I'm sure that's brake dust embedded into the hat. Track heat + no wash will do that over time.

rotors couldn't last 85k on track, so it's likely not due to track heat. It could be brake dust but I'm not sure how that'd get stuck into the aluminum if you washed your car regularly.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by F87source

rotors couldn't last 85k on track, so it's likely not due to track heat. It could be brake dust but I'm not sure how that'd get stuck into the aluminum if you washed your car regularly.

If you track every so often and don't clean them then the dust can embed itself into the top oxidized layer for sure. That oxidization gives the brake dust something to hold onto. I use Eagle One Mag wheel cleaner (re: acid) to get it off, then polish to the desired finish.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

If you track every so often and don't clean them then the dust can embed itself into the top oxidized layer for sure. That oxidization gives the brake dust something to hold onto. I use Eagle One Mag wheel cleaner (re: acid) to get it off, then polish to the desired finish.

Yeah I suppose, that would be the most plausible idea. But that's a crazy amount of rust and that would mean the previous owner tracked alot + barely washed the car, and that doesn't hold up with the rotors lasting 85k miles. There's just no way these rotors can last that long if you track, I've seen m4 guys who track alot take out their rotors in as little as 20k miles to 40k miles.

[7tune]

Originally Posted by F87source

Wow that's really bad, how did your aluminum hat get so badly corroded?

The car was used as a highway driver pretty much all its life. It came from northern Japan originally where there’s a ton of snow in winter and highways and roads are salted so I suspect that’s the cause. The chassis looks to be fine though and I can’t spot any rust anywhere but the rotors are really bad, agreed. I’m going to replace the entire braking system regardless lines, bolts and all.

To the best of my knowledge the car has never seen a track.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by 7tune

The car was used as a highway driver pretty much all its life. It came from northern Japan originally where there’s a ton of snow in winter and highways and roads are salted so I suspect that’s the cause. The chassis looks to be fine though and I can’t spot any rust anywhere but the rotors are really bad, agreed. I’m going to replace the entire braking system regardless lines, bolts and all.

To the best of my knowledge the car has never seen a track.

Road salt won't corrode aluminum like that. Aluminum corrosion makes aluminum oxide (whitish color) and that strengthens the aluminum and protects it from further corrosion. If the corrosion does persist you'll get small pock marks, nothing crazy or orange like that.


I'm currently reviewing some rotors and brake lines, so if you'd like to see those it should be out in a few weeks.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by F87source

Road salt won't corrode aluminum like that. Aluminum corrosion makes aluminum oxide (whitish color) and that strengthens the aluminum and protects it from further corrosion. If the corrosion does persist you'll get small pock marks, nothing crazy or orange like that.

From the few that I have refurbished I've found what's underneath the rust/brake dust is a black substance. The surface is naturally pitted, and inside those pits it's always black. It's the same black as when you polish the hat. It's like the aluminum itself has changed, but not corroded.

Before
After
OE pitted surface

[7tune]

The more this discussion continues, the more I am convinced the previous owner just drove and serviced it for fluids at the regular BMW scheduled intervals without thinking about the finer details - like the brakes and that is why she was traded in. A lot of Japanese owners are like that.

There's a reason OE and OEM parts are almost impossible to find in Japan. Believe me... I've looked everywhere. Not even the Akebono brakes we talked about above show up anywhere online in Japanese websites as if they don't exist... and they are f***ing made by a Japanese company.

Furthermore there isn't a single outlet I can find anywhere for reasonably priced rotors. Japanese "retailers" don't exist. FCPEuro are a Godsend in this regard.

Japan is really messed up like that when it comes to Euros. They want it to either be Genuine BMW serviced (stigma, monopolistic competition or otherwise) or it comes from an aftermarket place like Studie who have nothing but far richer clients than myself...

This is annoying me no end...

[F87source]

Originally Posted by 7tune

The more this discussion continues, the more I am convinced the previous owner just drove and serviced it for fluids at the regular BMW scheduled intervals without thinking about the finer details - like the brakes and that is why she was traded in. A lot of Japanese owners are like that.

There's a reason OE and OEM parts are almost impossible to find in Japan. Believe me... I've looked everywhere. Not even the Akebono brakes we talked about above show up anywhere online in Japanese websites as if they don't exist... and they are f***ing made by a Japanese company.

Furthermore there isn't a single outlet I can find anywhere for reasonably priced rotors. Japanese "retailers" don't exist. FCPEuro are a Godsend in this regard.

Japan is really messed up like that when it comes to Euros. They want it to either be Genuine BMW serviced (stigma, monopolistic competition or otherwise) or it comes from an aftermarket place like Studie who have nothing but far richer clients than myself...

This is annoying me no end...

Servicing within OEM intervals is super normal in North America too, it's just most owners don't know nor care to put in extra effort because they'll sell the car long before the issues set in.


But yeah that sucks you can't find OEM parts in Japan. I guess just ship in a super large package every 4 years, that's what I do.