Time For Brake Maintenance, OEM vs. Aftermarket?

[koda]

Hi! I have a 2018 M4 that is ready for some new pads and rotors. It's my DD right now but I do enjoy some spirited driving occasionally and plan on getting into more track events this year (In SoCal so I'm a short drive away from a lot of tracks that I already frequent when there are events being held).
Anyway, with that being said, I figured it might be time to look into upgrading parts vs. throwing more OEM replacements back in. The current plan is to run Akebono pads (Less brake dust when daily driving, will be swapping pads for track days anyway), SS lines (In there already so I figured I might as well), and Castrol SRF (Same reason as the lines, only because I will already need to replace the fluid anyway). As far as rotors and other changes/upgrades, I'm not sure what a good route to go is. I have seen a few options for different OEM replacements (Girodisc, EBC, Paragon) and discussions here about them but I wanted some other inputs I guess. If there are any other rec's for pads or anything please let me know! Thank you

[M3SQRD]

If you plan on tracking your car, Girodisc and Paragon are your best option because with future rotor replacements are just rotor rings. Although, it you purchase your Paragon rotors thru FCPeuro, they’ll give you full rotor-hat replacements, not just rotor rings. EBC rotors haven’t been widely used on the forum but they could be a good option depending on cost and durability.

Street pads are harder to recommend because people want/like different characteristics from a pad. Ceramics are good if it’s for just DD but they won’t perform well with higher brake temps (mountain driving, etc. you’ll likely experience brake fade). If you want less dust and similar/better performance than stock pads then you’re limited to a small number of pads, some cost less than oem, some more than oem. So…How much dust are you willing to deal with compared to stock (low, med, high is oem)? Initial bite compared to stock (high like oem, med, or low)? How much noise are you willing to live with compared to stock (low, med, high, oem is low-high, I’ve had no noise with all Ms I’ve owned)? Overall brake performance compared to stock (low, med is oem, or high)? How much are you willing to spend compared to stock (low, med is oem, or high)? There are a few that meet low dust, high initial bite, low noise and high performance with prices comparable to orm and more expensive. Hawk, Porterfield, Carbotech, EBC, PFC and Ferodo offer good options but each one has potential trade offs compared to oem.

What track pads do you have experience with? As you know, a true track pad is something you can’t run on the street but some people do run them. Cost has a wider range than street pads.

BMW’s ABS and DSC systems are designed for low viscosity (LV) fluid. High temperature track brake fluid is normal viscosity (NV) and its high temperature properties are close to LV fluids. However, at street temperature NV fluid properties are very different from LV fluid properties. This difference in street properties could affect the ABS and DSC system performance. I run Motul LV fluid on the street, and Red Line RL-700 NV or AP Racing R4 NV on the track.

[RugbyBro]

I just went with OE rotors from FCP and some brake cooling plates. Going to use this season as a test bed to see how much I can eek out of the stock rotor/caliper combo when augmented with better cooling (im sure it's more than people realize). I'm in the process of rebuilding a set of OE calipers with high temp boots+seals and stainless steel pistons.

[DocL]

I agree with what has already been mentioned. I love the Akebono pads for spirited street driving. I tracked my car last week and the pads definitely weren't as good as OEM. I had to let up on the throttle and brake a little early to keep them cool.

[tropicatango]

Try titanium shim plates between the pads and the piston, they highly reduce heat transfer in the caliper, worked very good

Ran titanium plates
Motul Rbf 600 oil
Ferodo ds1.11
Oem rotors ( m2 competition)

Absolutely no fade, caliper did not change color and every seal are perfect

[TyreReviews]

I went for the turner rotors as they were a little cheaper and like FCP have a lifetime replacement. Only fitted them today, bedding them in tomorrow so will report back.

[TimmyM56]

I've been looking for alternatives as well as I need to replace my front and rear brakes soon. Same thing, mostly a daily driver, but also driving spiritly sometimes.

I see that FCPEuro and ECS Tuning have both the OEM BMW rotors, the OE/OEM SHW, and VNE rotors, at a better price compared to the OEM BMW ones. I see as well ECS Tuning sells their brand of rotors for a much cheaper price. From what I see, they look to be one-piece rotors compared to the OEM two-piece, which I'm guessing would weigh a little more? Has anyone tried these out for their F8x, for daily or even track use?