Matth5

I have settled on Akebono ceramics. Ordered from FCP Euro. The price was ok and reviews on them are good. RDA discs arrived, they look good

That's a crazy amount of work. The result looks awesome though.

I've done several thousand KMs in the latest gen V6 Commodores (work rentals), had much fun thrashing them in the countryside. They're excellent cars, up there with the Germans for much less money. Massive improvement over the previous gen too. I wish they packed that engine and other hardware into something smaller and sportier, could have done well. Now they're going to be another front wheel drive appliance car, yawn..

I'd say insist on the BMW workshop testing the car. They should have their own tools to log turbo boost as well. Not sure on Torque logging boost with the N54 engine. On the N55 it works ok, I've tried it on mine before. Whats the min and max readings you're seeing? Negative values when cruising or idling is normal as it can create a slight vacuum when not under load.

Ordered the RDA dimpled/slotted rotors Now to look for pads. Something that pairs well with the slotted rotors and won't get shredded, but not super dusty? I'm thinking Hawks (as suggested above) or TRW, had them on my E46, they seemed good. My old E46 with TRW pads and Zimmerman discs had better brake feel than my 335 does ATM. I'll see what I find online.

$742 for Zimmerman drilled rotors + TRW low-dust pads, shipped. Not bad? Customs will probably bring it up to about $900. Found on onlinecarparts.co.uk

Fixed

I'm comparing the price to get all 4 Rotors, that Mick's Garage figure is for all 4. NZAD is about $1000.... Anyway, I did some Ebay hunting, filtering my searches to the good brands to keep the crap out of the way. Found something even better. 4 coated Meyle Rotors for $510! http://www.ebay.com/itm/120915194187?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT 4 Brembo Rotors + Textar pads (Textar make the BMW ones) for $671 http://www.ebay.com/itm/361773592935?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Front Brembo rotors at $150 each http://www.ebay.com/itm/331743087885?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Rears for $122 http://www.ebay.com/itm/331743087817?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT So a set of 4 is $544, maybe you can ask them for cheaper shipping if buying 4. So next I'll just think about whether I want to pay extra for the RDA slotted/drilled ones. I tried searching for Stoptech too, but everyone is charging stupid shipping rates on those. Sometimes shipping is more than the rotor. Thanks for the tip :)

With the money you save on maintenance/repairs, you can probably get an upgraded turbo for the N55 which will turn the tables MHD is out for the N55 now so they can now be tuned just as easily too

Oh those RDA ones sound good, found them on Ebay. Prices seem ok and shipping from Aus is cheaper than the US! A quick bit of Google research gives a good impression. Might go with those and buy the pads separately. Front: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DIMPLED-SLOTTED-BMW-E90-335i-348mm-2006-onwards-FRONT-DISC-BRAKE-ROTORS-RDA7881D-/281317590300?hash=item417fd5c51c:g:mgQAAOSwLF1X3zZk&vxp=mtr Rear: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DIMPLED-SLOTTED-BMW-335i-E90-12-2006-10-2008-REAR-DISC-BRAKE-ROTORS-RDA8000D-/281310427540?hash=item417f687994:g:pbcAAOSw3xJXobtV&vxp=mtr Hmm when you add both to your cart in Ebay it just adds the shipping costs together, maybe they can discount it a tad if you ask them to package front and rear together. Still, works out to about $650NZD. Customs will add 15% I guess? So pushing it to about $750. Edit, NZAD seems to have added some to their site, although they only show if I search E90 and not E92: http://www.nzad.co.nz/vehicle/bmw-3-series-e90-0105-335i-335d-0105 They are the most expensive option though :/ Edit Again. Woah those Mintex rotors from Micks Garage are cheapest by far. $541, free shipping to NZ! Probably about $630 after customs.. Plain though, no slotted options. Assuming their quality is decent they seem like a great option. Doesn't say if they're coated though? Another Edit: Can't find much being said about Mintex rotors, but reviews no their pads aren't great. Does seem they aren't coated. With my wheels, rotors are quite visible, so I'll pass on any that aren't coated.

How did you go about organising the sea freight? Maybe I'll do some "Christmas shopping" and have the whole lot sent over together.

After a bit of Google research I quickly found a thread documenting major issues with those Callahan rotors in my eBay link. So I won't be touching those

With FCP shipping is 236.60 USD. That's about half the value of the order. I know rotors are heavy but this is pushing it IMO. Seems everyone in the US charges similar rates for this. I'll get some local quotes next.

I didn't go as far as researching that particular brand... Just thought drilled/slotted might be nice to have. NZAD website didn't list anything for my car. Guess I'll email them. Yea FCP have some nice kits, shipping is very expensive for brakes though so I was hoping somewhere local would have good prices.

I'd suggest an N55 if you find one within your budget. They seem more reliable. Get a warranty if you can, Autosure has already made a loss on me after a water pump leak was found and my stock chargepipe exploded!

Anywhere local with good deals on brakes for an E92 335i or am I better off buying online from the USA? Want a refresh. New rotors, pads, maybe even lines. Would be keen on slotted (maybe drilled) rotors. Something that's coated so the centre section doesn't get all rust, my front rotors are not coated and look crap. These look ok? Pretty cheap. Shipping is $200 but it doesn't get much cheaper from what I've seen... http://www.ebay.com/itm/272401225748?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true Wouldn't mind ceramic pads, my wheels are a massive pain to clean, but not if they make the brakes feel weak.

Apex wheels come in a big variety of sizes, mind sharing the specs? It could help.

Oh wow. Bummer. Hmm, wonder what M2 bits would make for a nice upgrade on a 335i? Someone will part this out I imagine.

Any BMW, especially a 335i will have expensive issues at some point, iDrive is the least of you worries. Only get them if that doesn't scare you, they're wonderful cars but you need to be prepared for the costs. About 3-4k if turbos fail I believe. 330i is a great choice, no turbo but still good power and one of the most reliable BMWs.

Just flashed MHD Stage 1 tune on my BMW 335i and took it for a test drive. That was fun. Feels like the car has a bigger engine, much more kick

"Exhaust burble on overrun" I'm curious to hear this. Mind recording a soundclip? Or are there any on Youtube that sound the same?

Good read, especially then end, lol

Think you have a good point there. The E46's are still great cars with wonderful handling. Took me 6 months to sell my E46 328i after I got my 335i. I'd take them on back-to-back drives on the back-roads out of Auckland. The E46 felt every bit as agile, maybe more, you feel a bit less isolated in it too which inspires more confidence. I also felt like it had better braking. Although my pads, rotors, fluid and lines were all near new on the E46 so that may have helped. The 335i took me longer to feel confident in, I was taking corners slower than in my E46 for a while. Once you get there though, its still a very agile car, it's surprisingly hard to lose grip in corners, you need some brute force from the engine to make it slide I've never driven a 335i hard with stock suspension, only a test drive at a dealer. Find mine pretty sharp with the KWs, so I reckon those suspension upgrades should make yours feel more agile. MHD for the N55 is out now. Maybe next weekend I'll try out one of their tunes on my car

Meguiar's is known for high quality, but not cheap. Having a look through my supplies to see what's work recommending... I'd recommend Meguir's Ultimate Liquid wax. Very long lasting, and one of the easiest to apply. Pricy though. Get a decent automotive glass cleaner, think most brands are fine here really. I have Armourall one and it's fine, no need for anything premium here IMO. Get a spray detailer, very handy for giving the car those quick wipedowns. Meguirs should be good, I've got the Turtle Wax one and it's good though. You don't need to wax the car after every wash, use the detailer for those in-between cases and it'll maintain that 'freshly waxed' look for a while. Leather conditioner if your car has leather, I have Oakwood, it's ok. Not that I've noticed a major difference when using it but I guess it maintains it. For interior surfaces I've got the Armourall one , it's decent on just about any surface and doesn't leave residue or anything. Have the carpet and upholstery cleaner from them too.

Maybe you should start a project thread with all the stuff you're doing. Will be interesting to hear what difference you feel with the M3 control arms. Can't say I have any complaints about the stock ones I have but maybe I don't drive it hard enough.