Brake pad recommendations

[jrsteeve]

ok thanks for that. What are the rotors though? Never heard of them before!

[Tomaz]

Originally Posted by jrsteeve

ok thanks for that. What are the rotors though? Never heard of them before!

The rotors are those big shiny disc's that the brake pads grab. Without being rude, if you are not sure what the rotors are, you probably shouldn't change the pads yourself. You might look for a BMW enthusiast who would guide you through the procedure. Good luck

[X5 in AK]

Originally Posted by Tomaz

The rotors are those big shiny disc's that the brake pads grab. Without being rude, if you are not sure what the rotors are, you probably shouldn't change the pads yourself. You might look for a BMW enthusiast who would guide you through the procedure. Good luck

Brake jobs are actually pretty easy to do on BMWs, but sounds like you should find someone to help you out for your first time. Then you will know how to do it correctly, and on the next go 'round, you will be ready to tackle the project yourself.

[Laurence]

Originally Posted by Tomaz

Without being rude, if you are not sure what the rotors are, you probably shouldn't change the pads yourself. You might look for a BMW enthusiast who would guide you through the procedure. Good luck

OK, I'm going to defend a fellow UK member here!
The term rotor is not used in the UK, we would refer to them as "discs".

[X5devon]

Textar are original fittment on the X5 and i get replacment sets from eurocarparts

[Tomaz]

Originally Posted by Laurence

OK, I'm going to defend a fellow UK member here!
The term rotor is not used in the UK, we would refer to them as "discs".

Fair enough, but if I have to learn what a "bonnet" and "boot" and "naught" all mean, you can learn "rotor"

[DZeckhausen]

Originally Posted by JCL

I wouldn't call the Axxis Deluxe pads ceramic, they have an organic compound. They may have added ceramics to their marketing effort, but these are not a true ceramic IMO. Still, I like them, and would buy them again.

Actually, Axxis Deluxe is no less a "true ceramic" pad than Hawk Performance Ceramic, Centric Posi-Quiet Ceramic, or Akebono ProAct Ceramic. Ceramic is simply one of up to 40 ingredients in the mix of particles that goes into a friction compound and makes up from 1 to 5 percent of the total volume. It is not, as some marketers would like to make us believe, a pad carved from a solid block of ceramic. And there's nothing about the word Ceramic in the name of the pad (or on the box) that tells you anything about how the pad is going to perform. Yet people call me all the time asking for "ceramic" pads, as if that tells me anything about what they are really looking for in terms of their ideal mix of performance characteristics.

For example, most people think "ceramic" pads are low dust. However, Axxis ULT pads have "ceramic" prominently featured on the box and those are certainly not low dust pads. I've seen other posts on forums, claiming that ceramic pads are unusually rotor friendly. I’ve also seen people warn others to stay away from ceramic pads because they "eat your rotors" or they "warp" your rotors. All of these statements are probably based on someone's experience with a specific pad (e.g., NAPA Ceramic) that was on their car when they experienced some sort of issue that may or may not have been related to that pad choice. Or a dealership service writer made something up to coerce their customer to stay with OEM pads. And thus is born an Internet legend.

In the specific case of the Axxis Deluxe Plus pads, they have always been a "ceramic" pad, but the box was designed at a time when the marketers had not created a buzz for ceramic. Once ceramic became the hot buzzword, the Axxis Ultimate (featuring "Kevlar") on the box became the Axxis ULT with "CERAMIC" in big letters and "Kevlar" was relegated to fine print. About a year later, the Axxis Deluxe Plus became the Axxis Deluxe Advanced and "ceramic" magically appeared on the box. These steps were taken, not as the result of a dramatic change in pad compound, but rather to avoid losing sales to other brands who had already jumped on the "ceramic" marketing bandwagon. (Remember when Sugar Pops became Corn Pops? Same stuff, different spin.)

By the way, it is possible, but not common, for a "ceramic" pad to also contain strands of copper or steel, thus making it a "semi-metallic" pad. These are not mutually exclusive ingredients and the performance of the pad depends on these and other ingredients, as well as the manufacturing techniques. When you ask your vendor for pads, you should tell him/her what you really want in terms of performance (cold bite, friction level, pedal feel, dust level, rotor wear, etc.) and explain what compromises you are willing to make in one characteristic in order to gain more of another. Don't fall for the marketing campaigns and simply ask for a single ingredient.

[osofast]

Bought my brake sets online. I went with OEM manufacturers

Font Pads - Jurid
Rear Pads - Textar
Rotors - Zimmerman

[JCL]

Good balanced information Dave, thanks. (Also, I have and would recommend them to other BMW owners no matter what the ceramic composition is)

[fatboyoz]

Originally Posted by Tomaz

Fair enough, but if I have to learn what a "bonnet" and "boot" and "naught" all mean, you can learn "rotor"

Tomaz,
What type of brakes do you have on your X5, disc brakes or rotor brakes?
Colin.