OK, I have a 1998 BMW Z3 that needs front and rear brakes... including rotors. Without going crazy of fancy aftermarket/specialty parts... what are your recommendations on what brake pads should be used? I plan to replace the rotors with stock BMW rotors. Should I stick with the standard pads? is ceramics the way to go? the brake dust on the wheels does drive crazy... but do the ceramic pads work well? I'll assume there is less dust (if any)... but do they stop you as well? Could I just use ceramic pads in the front?

Thanks!
Pap

4/1/2007 4:05:23 PM

if you post some pics of naked chicks...we will tell you.

4/1/2007 4:14:33 PM

since you're going to use oem rotors, you should pick up some oem pads while you're there.

4/1/2007 4:15:56 PM

OEM should be fine

4/1/2007 4:17:10 PM

OK, sounds good... but should I go with ceramic or not? I believe there is a OEM ceramic available.

4/1/2007 4:20:05 PM

is this just a DD/weekend car? if so stick to what you've always had. no need to upgrade brake pads to anything more hardcore unless you track/autoX. Plus you will just get worse brake dust if you do.

4/1/2007 4:24:00 PM

ceramics generate less dust and last longer, bu they also dont stop as well under normal condiions and squeal like hell

4/1/2007 4:27:44 PM

yeah, this car get just ordinary use... but the brake dust from even the everyday use is annoying... that's why I would consider the ceramic pads as a solution as long as they performed just as well in regards to stopping.

4/1/2007 4:27:49 PM

goto autozone/advance and get lifetime warranty pads, and lifetime/2 year warranty rotors.

4/1/2007 5:28:03 PM

I put ceramics on the front of my jeep, pretty happy with the no brake dust and they seem to be lasting a lot longer than normal pads. no problems with squeaking either.

4/1/2007 6:49:01 PM

ceramic pads will extend the life of your rotors. ceramics will also reduce the dust sticking to your wheels. they're very resistant to fading. the oem pads don't squeal or is barely noticeable, but higher performance ceramic pads do squeal. just buy the oem porsche pads like you were considering. i believe pbr supplies them, so it may be cheaper for you to get the pads directly from pbr or a dealer, instead of going to the porsche dealership. akebono is another popular oem supplier of ceramic pads.

4/1/2007 8:06:56 PM

hawk HPS are great street pads that don't dust and feel really good. a little pricey for a street pad though.

i'm running cheap mintex pads on the E30 for street and they don't dust much at all, but they don't bite as well as a stock bmw pad. for the price and lack of dust they might be a good choice.

stock bmw (most german cars for that matter) have rediculous brake dust.. its seriously mind boggling how the pads are lasting more than a month

4/2/2007 1:30:12 PM

+1 for Hawk, or OEM.

Can you not get the rotors resurfaced? Cheaper than new BMW units.

4/2/2007 3:02:14 PM

you cant resurface bmw or volvo rotors, they are surface hardened

4/2/2007 5:30:48 PM

^ bingo, we get cars in at work all the time that have a lip worn at the outside edge of their rotor where you cant turn em but they just replace the pads...

4/2/2007 6:30:07 PM