Advice on purchasing this brake kit please

[Zed519]

I’m at 90k miles and officially time to change my rotors (and pads) on my 18 F80 (mostly highly)

I was going to buy these, I currently have the original rotors and my last pads were akibonos which I’m very happy with. But this deal seems solid.


link to brake kit

[M3SQRD]

This isn’t a brake kit which includes brake calipers and floating rotors that are a different size from stock rotors. What you’ve linked is a brake service replacement kit to perform a brake service on your car.

There’s no mention of who makes the brake rotors so it’s impossible to know how well they’ll perform. They’re not a semi floating rotor like the oem brake rotors which have an aluminum hat with steel pins connecting the iron rotor to the aluminum hat. This means the rotors in this package will distort more with increasing temperature, resulting in uneven pad wear, potential warping, etc. The EBC red stuff pads are a ceramic brake pad. The BMW stock pads are semi metallic. A ceramic pad have lower performance and temperature capabilities than a semi metallic pad.

If you’re looking for a more affordable, daily driver brake service kit then this should work fine. However, if you want equivalent performance and capability as stock rotors and pads or are looking for increased rotor and pad performance then this kit is not for you.

[Zed519]

Thanks. I was just looking for maintenance ie pads and rotors. I do not track my car, but your advice is appreciated. I’ll stick with OEM.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by Zed519

Thanks. I was just looking for maintenance ie pads and rotors. I do not track my car, but your advice is appreciated. I’ll stick with OEM.

Your welcome.

If you’re using the f8x for daily driving, typical errands, weekend drives in the mountains and/or twisty roads, etc., this service kit is a good option. I have no experience with EBC pads but a lot of g8x owners run them and I haven’t read any major complaints.

The oem rotors are manufactured by SHW and if you buy their rotors instead of the BMW branded version, you can save a decent amount. Here’s link to the SHW and BMW branded rotors:

SHW
https://www.bimmerworld.com/OEM-F80-...112284810.html

BMW
https://www.bimmerworld.com/BMW-F80-...112284810.html

There are plenty of different pads out there with a wide range of price. Do you prefer pads that are similar to stock or do you prefer something with less dust, longer life, etc?

[Zed519]

I switch from OEM to akibonos a couple years ago. I like em, much better than OEM.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by Zed519

I switch from OEM to akibonos a couple years ago. I like em, much better than OEM.

Akibono pads are often ceramic pads so you’ll probably like the brake feel and performance of the EBC reds in the ECS brake service kit.

What’s the cost of four SHW front and rear rotors with Akibono brake pads + two pad wear sensors? Pad wear sensors don’t have to be replaced if they weren’t used but it’s easier to have them replaced at the same time just in case one or both fail. Put this price together and compare it to the ECS kit.

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

Akibono pads are often ceramic pads so you’ll probably like the brake feel and performance of the EBC reds in the ECS brake service kit.

What’s the cost of four SHW front and rear rotors with Akibono brake pads + two pad wear sensors? Pad wear sensors don’t have to be replaced if they weren’t used but it’s easier to have them replaced at the same time just in case one or both fail. Put this price together and compare it to the ECS kit.

The nice thing about akebono is that they come with the wear sensor.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by N1rve

The nice thing about akebono is that they come with the wear sensor.

Did not know that. That saves you a decent amount and makes Akebono pads an even more affordable option. How do they perform compared to stock pads? I’ve heard people complain about lack of initial bite (I think BMW pads have too much initial bite for a street pad) and poor fade resistance (sounds like they probably bought the wrong pads to begin with).

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

Did not know that. That saves you a decent amount and makes Akebono pads an even more affordable option. How do they perform compared to stock pads? I’ve heard people complain about lack of initial bite (I think BMW pads have too much initial bite for a street pad) and poor fade resistance (sounds like they probably bought the wrong pads to begin with).

Initial bite is not as aggressive. It's something you can definitely tell compared to stock but you eventually get used to it and you just apply the brakes a bit harder. They are a bit easier to modulate when coming to a complete stop without it being too "abrupt"..? In terms of daily driving, it's not something you would notice and when it comes to panic/emergency stops it would still lock up the rotors and have ABS kick in and you just pray your tires are good enough lol. The lack of brake dust is night and day...like stock pads your wheels turn brown within 3 days..like the body of the car will have more dust than the wheels would have brake dust after a week or 2 lol.

It's really meant for someone who wants to alleviate brake dust and have very quiet brakes. I have never heard a squeal from them. If you're someone that likes to tail gate, brake aggressively and late, ride the brakes going down the canyons, I would recommend something else as the lower initial bite would not give you that same confidence.

There is this really weird characteristic when the brakes are wet it bites harder than stock for it's initial bite. I've only noticed this since it's been raining in California consistently but I've been running these pads for like 2 years now and around 20K miles now. IDrive says I still have 12k Miles for the front and 20K miles left for the rears.

[M3SQRD]

N1rve

Thanks for the detailed response!

They sound like a solid pad for the price and performance. Lack of brake dust and noise is nice. You’re right about how quickly BMW pads cover everything in brake dust! BMW pad initial bite is similar to a race/track pad’s initial bite and its modulation is poor in certain situations. Some brake pads are grabby in humid conditions so that’s probably why you feel it when it’s raining.