Crazy, I just posted on xoutpost about problems with the TRW ceramic pads and Zimmerman rotors I put on my e53 X5 a few weeks ago. I was a fan initially after breaking them in per the instructions, but a few weeks later, not so much. After sitting for several days the steering wheel shuddered badly on braking, like a massively warped rotor when my wife picked me up at the airport.
I pulled the front wheels and verified all the suspension and brake torques were good but found 1/3 of the right rotor badly rusted. I’m positive that this is what was causing the steering wheel to rhythmically shudder on braking. I took the car out again and hammered the brakes per the Zimmerman brake in procedures, again and sure enough, shudder fixed.
bottom line is that I don’t feel a huge difference in braking with the ceramic pads and Zimmerman rotors, but they are much more quiet than the OEM version I’ve been running for 20 years. I also still can’t say why the steering wheel shudder happened, or if I caused it somehow
Current BMW
2002 E53 X5 4.6i (4.4 to 4.6 swap)
Former BMWs
1996 BMW Z3
1998 BMW E36 M3 Sedan
2004 BMW E46 M3
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