CENTRIC brake review... As it happens...

[951Dreams]

My brake linings light/warning came on shortly after I got my E38. I took a look and the all 4 rotors were shot, so to be honest I've kind of been letting it ride, partially waiting on some money that was supposed to be coming, and testing how long they last after the light comes on.

But it's been 3 months and 5k miles. It's time. Originally I was going to go Zimmerman on the rotors and some good brembo or the like ceramic pads. But due to budget constraints and a sense of adventure I decided to give a new company a try (new to me).

When googling E38 brakes I had run across CENTRIC I few times, but dismissed them since I'd never heard of them. But checking out Rock Auto now that it was time to buy, I saw they sold them. So I did some checking. Seems they are the parent company if STOP TECH. I've heard of them, but also never used their stuff. I read a good number of threads from guys who had used CENTRIC in BMW's and other cars, majority had good things to say about them. I decided to pull the trigger on a full set.

I didn't go with the economy version, but chose the carbon alloy rotors, and the ceramic posi-quiet pads. I'll post up part numbers later for reference. I should get my Rock Auto shipment next Thursday, and I'll likely do the install then or Friday. I'll give my impressions at that time. Then I'll keep updating this thread throughout their life for future generations. Good or bad, I'll let you know.

Full set, 4 rotors, 4 sets of ceramic pads, and sensors... $300 delivered and some change. I'm not expecting much for that price, but you never know.

CENTRIC 12534031 High Carbon Alloy Brake Disc Front
CENTRIC 12534032 High Carbon Alloy Brake Disc Rear
CENTRIC 10506810 Posi-Quiet Ceramic w/Shims and Hardware Front
CENTRIC 10506830 Posi-Quiet Ceramic w/Shims and Hardware Rear
CENTRIC 11634010 Front Sensor
CENTRIC 11634011 Rear Sensor




FIRST UPDATE 6-17-18 5-10 Miles:
Very happy with the quality of the parts, especially the rotors. They seem very well made and were well designed. Fit was perfect. The pads likewise seem well made and hefty. The ones I got came with all the hardware needed, my only complaint is that the rubber "sleeves" they give you to replace the guide pin sleeves are a little cheaper made than what I already had. I replaced the first one I did, but since mine were still in good shape, and seemed of slightly better quality, I didn't replace any of the others. Mainly the end the cap goes into is more flimsy on these and the cap doesn't stay in as well. It's nice they provide them, but I'd only use them if my current ones are shot.

The sensors were of good quality, and matched what I already had exactly. I didn't replace the rear one, when I tried to take the one I had apart the car side of the sensor connection just crumbled to dust. There is nothing left to grab onto but the wires. Since it wasn't worn, and was currently working, I just left it in. At some point I'll source a new car side connector and replace the damaged one.

They are whisper quiet so far, but that's to be expected with ceramic.

Performance wise they seem to be about on par with what you'd expect going from semi-metallic to ceramic. In a couple of weeks I'll report back once they are bedded in. But even brand new, I have no complaints with their stopping power.

Second Update 6-22-18 ~600 miles

On a recent trip ,several times, I had to "emergency" brake to avoid stupid drivers pulling out in front of me. Stopping power was more than enough to get into ABS. However the ceramics come with about 10-15% extra pedal effort to get the same level of braking as before. You get into the "hard" part of the pedal. It's not a problem when it comes to stopping, but something you have to get used to. Once your into ABS the extra effort is moot, anything more you might have gained from OE type pads is lost. Same as if you locked up the tires. At that point more "bite" isn't going to gain you anything. I'd be interested to see testing track data, but "seat of the pants" tells me if I just add the extra effort I'm stopping just as fast. Even with the ceramics, this car stops better than most cars I've had in the past.

And I've had zero dust so far, as least none I can see. That's a big plus for me. I'll report any new developments or at 2000 more miles.

Third Update 9-28-18 ~4000 miles

Still stopping good, still little to no dust (that you can see). However they have started be become noisy at low speeds. Like in drive thru's and parking lots. It IS possible this is self inflicted. I had an open can of hi-temp grease sitting by my side while I was doing the work. I dropped one pad straight into the grease. I did clean it really well, but it is what it is. A little disappointing for a "posi-quite" pad, but I'll live with it for now. But otherwise wear and performance is great!

Update four 4-28-19 10,000 miles

Brakes are still going strong. No rotor warp (awesome for a heavy car!), no fading, no worries. I haven't noticed the low speed noise I was noticing around 4k, but then, it's been cold and I've had the windows up. I moved recently and I have a lot of hard highway braking (my new house is off a major highway, but in a rural area. I have to stop from 70 to zero twice quickly and in a very short distance every day. I also have a VERY steep and VERY long driveway. These are getting really tested!) For $300 dollar brakes, still VERY impressed!

[billh]

I have used Centric almost exclusively on all of our BMWs for about 5 years now.

Personally, one of the better brake combinations out there

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[951Dreams]

I have used Centric almost exclusively on all of our BMWs for about 5 years now.

Personally, one of the better brake combinations out there

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I'm glad to hear that! My biggest concern was balancing and front rotor warp. From what I can tell warp is an issue sometimes on these tanks of ours for the front rotors. I've always had warping issues with part store brand rotors so I was a little hesitant. I live at the top of a long winding hill, doing that several times daily seems to warp rotors quick. And there is nothing worse than chaseing your tail thinking you have a tire balancing issue only to find it's your rotor.

But if you believe their list of features on the ones I got, they are balanced. We'll just have to see about the warp. I'm really hoping these work out cause they are easy to get and the price is right.

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[purplecty]

I just picked up a set of ATE premium one slotted rotors from bavarian on clearance for $70 and a full set of Brembo ceramic pads for $100. FCP has blank Zimmerman rear rotors for $37 each which in total would be around $250...

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[nmlss2006]

The rotors are fine. The pads are OK, there are better.

Rockauto has some very attractive prices on both.

[racer2086]

I did a review on my Centric 104 pads. I went with ATE rotors (OEM) after the Brembos I had on there caused my brakes to pulse after a while. I love the bite of the pads (hard to fine in the aftermarket it seems). They dust half as much as OEM, but will still leave the wheels dirty long term, but nothing like OEM.

Only thing I noticed is they are noisy. I had to go back and re-clean and grease the front ones. Now I have to do the rears. Other than that, I can't complain. I think they were a whole $30 per set.

[shanecarmaster1]

I love the bite of the pads (hard to fine in the aftermarket it seems). They dust half as much as OEM, but will still leave the wheels dirty long term, but nothing like OEM.

Someone we all know and love is going to try HP+ sport pads for this reason. The more bite, the merrier!

[951Dreams]

The fronts are done.... And the amount of time it took will never ever be discussed. Ever. Never.

In my defense, I was showing my 16yr old how to do brakes. And realized I had used all my brake cleaner last year, so had to do a Walmart run. Then had to unpack all the parts, figure out what was what, and get used to some new tools. Then I took my passenger wheel well liner off and removed my window washing fluid tank to repair a leak I thought I had. I didn't have a leak it turns out, that will be another thread.

The lip I saw on the rotors when I checked them out, after my light came on, made me think they were about shot. But once I got them off it seemed maybe they were ok. Changed them anyway, I'm not used to a lip like that, but I guess it's normal for these cars??? These things have some meat on those front rotors!! 3 of the pads were paper thin, maybe 1-2mm was all that was left. One pad was about 3-4mm. Not sure why it didn't wear like the others.

I will say, the second one took me maybe 45 mins start to finish, I had the hang of it by then. But I'm not done yet. Got a cool auto-feeding bleeder that hooks to my compressor. But of course I can't find my sealing tape, and the quick connect leaks like crazy. It was 5am, and I didn't feel like running to Walmart again, so I called it. But the fluid change is all I have left.

Then on to the rears.... Maybe.... If I can move tomorrow....

The rotors seem top notch, the pads are decent. I'll have an update on them after a few miles.

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[951Dreams]

So all four wheels are done. 4 rotors, 8 pads, and 2 sensors. Turns out the rears, wear wise, were almost brand new. But the pads, rotors, and hardware were rusted all to heck. If I had gotten the parts local I'd have returned them. But after mulling it over I decided to just go ahead and do them too. Partly so I can test out the full line of products, partly so I can know what I have installed, partly so I can report on having ceramic all around, but mostly because I suck at returning things and didn't want to waste the parts.

Initial assessment is that I may have lost some bite. That's to be expected going from semi-metallic to ceramic. But to be fair, they haven't bedded in yet so it's not a legit comparison. I bled and tried to flush my fluid with ATE Type 200, but I never got perfectly clean fluid, the reservoir fluid kept turning dark. My pedal feels a bit soft, not sure if it's due to me not getting a prefect bleed, the calipers being all the way in, or just my head. I always think my pedals are soft after a break job.

After I did the fronts, I did the 60-10 bedding routine. And while it brought the car down from speed with authority, I did wonder if they were slightly lacking. But to be honest, I've only braked hard a very few times with the old brakes, so once again it might be all in my head. I really should have gone out and done testing with the old brakes before the job. Ah well.

Initial thoughts are that I'm very happy with the quality of the parts, they seem well made and perfectly designed. Performance seems right on par with what I was expecting going from semi-metallic to ceramic. I'll keep updating this thread to report on how they wear and dust generation. (Dust was a big reason I switched to ceramic. Tired of my silver wheels being black 3 days after washing them)

EDIT:

I'll be adding a summary review "as it happens" to the original post with dates and mileage. That way anyone looking into these brakes for the E38 won't have to read the whole thread to get to the meat of the review.

[Breaker38]

Great update and following thanks. Looking forward to hearing their performance once they bed and the first few cleans.

[kouks]

After trial and error with multiple brake setups I've settled on this for all my Bimmers:

Zimmerman coated rotors
Bosch Quiet Ride pads

1. Quiet
2. OEM grip
3. Very low dust
4. Good cost and value, I'm not for paying a fortune for a slight increment in performance.

To the OP, please give us a review in about a month of use.

[racer2086]

The softer pedal you feel is likely a result of the extra pedal effort needed for the ceramic pads. I had semi-metallics on there that had terrible bite (Wagner Thermoquiet) and the pedal felt so soft because I had to push it so much more.

Interested to see your long term review. I like my current centric semi-metallics, so I want to see how you like the ceramics long term.

Similar to kouks, I've been through some trial and error but settled on ATE blanks for rotors and the Centric 104 semi-metallics. OEM bite, fraction of the dust. You should have like no dust with yours.

[951Dreams]

My biggest messup was not going out and flogging the old brakes before I did the replacement. I honestly just don't drive this thing that hard. I have the 951 for that kind of driving. Don't get me wrong, I've pushed it to see what it could do. You always need to know these things. But once I had a feel for it I went back to granny mode.

I can tell they are different. I notice they need more effort when cold, but that's normal for ceramic. After about a mile normal driving seems about the same as the semi-metallic. Hard braking is where in not so sure. I've had trouble bedding these, the high carbon rotors and ceramic seem to be difficult to get hot. After my first try the fronts didn't even seem warm, but the rears (they were the old brakes still then) were like ovens. They were radiating heat. Now I just can't seem to get them to bedding temps. Sometime this week I'm going to go out at 3am and really push them, and hope some cop doesn't think I'm drunk.

I haven't been able to get into the ABS yet. But I never did with the old ones either. Even the few times I had to emergency brake. Or if I am, I'm not aware. Do these pulse when the ABS kicks in? There was one time I thought it might have kicked in but it didn't pulse.

I'm also not sure what might be something worth mentioning, and what might be just in my head. I'm prone to get hyper sensitive when I've done work or when I'm using new parts. I notice things that were likely always there, but now that I'm focusing on things I notice stuff I didn't before. I annoy myself honestly. But I will say if I stop thinking about it these seem to perform as well as what I had.

But to be clear, I've noticed nothing that would lead me to think these won't do the job. In fact I'm impressed how well and quickly they slow this 4400 pound beast down from 60 or 70 mph. I will get around to some extreme testing soon. I just want to know what their limits are.

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[racer2086]

I hear ya. I do the same thing when I install new parts. In fact, I did the same thing when I put the Thermoquiets on my car. Thought it was just me. Then I drove the 540 with OEM brakes and realized, no I was waaaay right. When you get used to the brakes in your car and then drive a car with factory brakes, it is like night and day, hence why I scrapped my pads after only a short time.

I could dig in with them and they would slow the car down good, but it was hard to approach ABS level unless on wet pavement. Now, not an issue with my current set up.

[purplecty]

OEM pads bite the best. I bought my sport and the PO put some autozone ceramics on which have no dust but the braking is kind of weak. When id drive ny 98 with oem pads it would damn near throw me through the windshield. Night and day difference but i HATE brake dust... Im about to try brembo ceramics soon...

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[racer2086]

Seriously, though. For those that want OEM bite with less than half the dust, you HAVE to try the Centric 104s. I love them. My wheels haven't been washed in over a month. Yes the are "black" but that "black" is a gray compared with the OEM dust on the 540, which look like they've been powder coated black.

[nmlss2006]

Uh, no. OE pads don't bite the best at all.

Try the PBR/Reppco Ultimates for something street friendly. From there, there are a lot of places to go... but OE isn't my first choice.

As usual, if you don't want the black, you want pads that are not sold in Europe.

[951Dreams]

So after about 600 miles my overall impression is that these stop well enough, but do take about %10 more effort when hard braking. And you spend more time in the area where the pedal stops "moving" and becomes hard. Once you hit the hard spot, there is lots more braking to be found, but you spend more time there. Nothing greatly surprising from switching to ceramic. Several times I had to emergency brake on a recent road trip due to stupid drivers, and every time when I really pushed them the braking was more than enough. I have no problem getting into ABS if I needed to. But just a really different feel, and I'm having to get used to it. But with ceramic being the hardest of the pads, and with the least "squish" of modern pads, the hard feeling is not a problem, just different.

Normally by now my front wheels would have been black. But I checked yesterday, and I can see no dust at all right now. I'll trade a bit more effort for the reduced dust. The important part here is that I still have plenty of braking power, just a different feel to braking. I had worried that feel came with reduced performance, but testing shows me I have the same stopping ability, just have to apply a bit more effort. Once you get into ABS (lockup if ABS wasn't working) the extra effort becomes moot anyway.

[951Dreams]

At 4000 miles now. The brakes are doing well, stopping is great, wear is great. But they have started to get noisy at low/idle speeds. I did drop one pad in a can of hi-temp grease during the install. I tried to clean it off as good as I could, even using break cleaner, but I've always heard if you get even oils from you hands on pads they could be noisy. It's a little annoying, but I'm not going to replace them again just for a little noise.

Wish I could say for sure if this is self-caused or something to do with the breaks themselves. But no way to really know. It's not a deal breaker, but I had really hoped to avoid noise like this. My last car did it too, but those were auto-parts store breaks. I had hoped to avoid this issue with these.

I'll post up in the future with any more updates. Or around 10k miles.

[951Dreams]

10,000 mile update. Brakes are still going strong. No rotor warp, no fading, no worries. I haven't noticed the low speed noise I was noticing around 4k, but then, it's been cold and I've had the windows up. I moved recently and I have a lot of hard highway braking (my new house is off a major highway, but in a rural area. I have to stop from 70 to zero twice quickly and in a very short distance every day. I also have a VERY steep and VERY long driveway. These are getting really tested!)