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Thread: Brake Pads: OEM vs Aftermarket

  1. #1
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    Brake Pads: OEM vs Aftermarket

    I will be changing the rear brake pads (and rotors) on my 2011 328i coupe very soon. Just curious if the OEM pads are worth the premium. Frankly, I am looking for a quiet and relatively dust free pad with good stopping power. I do not mind paying more for a quiet pad. This is a daily driver and not a track car so I'm assuming OEM will do the job nicealy as they have for the last 106,000 miles. I am open to suggestions for an alternative quiet and low dust pad. Thanks in advance.

  2. #2
    dworthy's Avatar
    dworthy is offline Wagon meister :) BMW Tech Expert
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    The OE provider to BMW tends to be Textar, you just don't pay the BMW price for them is all. Now if you are looking for a pad with low dust qualities, Akebono is a good brand for the price. As an FYI, less dust tends to wear out the rotors faster. Also you can invest in a "Wheel Wax" or have the rims ceramic coated to keep the dust down too.

    Like an oil thread, you may see several other member post their preferences for brake pads, and some may get a bit argumentative.
    Darin
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  3. #3
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    I always, always recommend OEM pads. A lot of aftermarket pads don't have the same initial "bite" as the BMW pads do. Textar and Jurid are usually the OEM suppliers of brake pads. However, just this week, we had an instance of a customer installed Textar pads on their X5, and after about a week the front wheels are nearly black with brake dust. This wouldn't happen with BMW pads. It seems that the pads had a softer material than the BMW pads. The customer was not too happy about the dust (we were not the ones who installed them).
    ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician

  4. #4
    dworthy's Avatar
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    I too like the initial bite from the Textar pads, and have used them on my 05 wagon with ATE power slot rotors. On my M3 I have kept the OE pads and rotors from BMW upgraded to the CSL style, you know to maintain the value of the car of course.
    Darin
    Current:
    16 220i Active Tourer Platinsilver MET (C08)/Dakota Black (PDSW), P7ACA, P7LDA, P7LHA, P9BDA, 6sp Manual - Wife's new toy!
    05 325it Electric Red(438)/Gray(N6TT) ZCW, ZSP 5sp Manual Back set cover, trunk mat, Euro Infra-Rot front windshield, and mud flaps! Mr. Wagon My new Winter car.
    05 M3 Imolarot II(405)/Gray(N5TT) ZCW, ZPP 6sp Manual C.F. Lip, CSL diffuser, SSK, Euro Infra-Rot front windshield and a trunk liner! Mr. Go_Fast Stored for the Winter
    Past:
    95 318is Montreal Blue Met (297)/Beige(K1SN) RIP, killed by an Idiot.
    84 M535i gray market Burgandy Rot Met/Black Leather Lowered by Intrax on bilies, poly everywhere, B&B cat back system, K&N, and a hitch! Da Beast - Still running w/400k+!
    91 316i euro Tizianrot/Gray cloth - E-36 w/M-40 RIP, but great on gas! Best was 38 MPG
    82 528i euro Saphire Blue Met/Blue Leather RIP
    79 525 euro Green/Green RIP
    79 318 Silver/Black - The first one that got it all started
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  5. #5
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    I use textar pads and rotors

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    RELATED BUT DIFFERENT
    What is the general rule of thumb about brake pad life? I'm all over the idea that front brakes go at a rate of 2 to 1 to the rear (F, then F & R, then F, repeat) but what is the expected life of the front pads. The reason I ask is that I bought a car with 67,000 miles, I expect that I am roughly 15,000 miles into the second set of front pads.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by JDStrickland View Post
    RELATED BUT DIFFERENT
    What is the general rule of thumb about brake pad life? I'm all over the idea that front brakes go at a rate of 2 to 1 to the rear (F, then F & R, then F, repeat) but what is the expected life of the front pads. The reason I ask is that I bought a car with 67,000 miles, I expect that I am roughly 15,000 miles into the second set of front pads.
    Thank you, gentlemen for your advice regarding the brand of pads to use. As far as pad life goes, I believe it is 100% dependent upon two things: (a) the type of transmission your vehicle has; automatic vs. manual and (b) the driver himself. I see poor drivers all the time. Holding their foot on the brakes while going down a hill as opposed to downshifting; hard breaking when they knew there was a stop up ahead, and other bad habits. As I mentioned, I have 106,000 on the original pads and if I really wanted to I probably could get another 10,000 miles out of them before metal on metal. The sad fact is 95%+ of folks simply do not know how to drive or there would a lot more cars with manual transmissions if they did.

  8. #8
    dworthy's Avatar
    dworthy is offline Wagon meister :) BMW Tech Expert
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    Yeah, on most auto cars, I tend to see the front brakes worn by 50k miles on average. I think I got close to 70k out of the wagon before putting new pads on it, but again like you noted above it all comes down to how the car is driven.

    One think I will say, stay far away from Duralast, pure crap in a box IMO.
    Darin
    Current:
    16 220i Active Tourer Platinsilver MET (C08)/Dakota Black (PDSW), P7ACA, P7LDA, P7LHA, P9BDA, 6sp Manual - Wife's new toy!
    05 325it Electric Red(438)/Gray(N6TT) ZCW, ZSP 5sp Manual Back set cover, trunk mat, Euro Infra-Rot front windshield, and mud flaps! Mr. Wagon My new Winter car.
    05 M3 Imolarot II(405)/Gray(N5TT) ZCW, ZPP 6sp Manual C.F. Lip, CSL diffuser, SSK, Euro Infra-Rot front windshield and a trunk liner! Mr. Go_Fast Stored for the Winter
    Past:
    95 318is Montreal Blue Met (297)/Beige(K1SN) RIP, killed by an Idiot.
    84 M535i gray market Burgandy Rot Met/Black Leather Lowered by Intrax on bilies, poly everywhere, B&B cat back system, K&N, and a hitch! Da Beast - Still running w/400k+!
    91 316i euro Tizianrot/Gray cloth - E-36 w/M-40 RIP, but great on gas! Best was 38 MPG
    82 528i euro Saphire Blue Met/Blue Leather RIP
    79 525 euro Green/Green RIP
    79 318 Silver/Black - The first one that got it all started
    M-Flight Member

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