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Matth5

Brakes for a 335i?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 :)

 

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Interested to see how you go with local suppliers, as I'm looking at brakes for my X5. I was going to buy in from the US and just keep them on hand. If they're competitive locally for the 335i then I might not have to. 

In terms of shipping, you'll likely find that the only option a lot of those places have are the likes of DHL, FedEx etc which will be really costly as it's airfreight. I recently used an agent to sea freight some tyres in and it was pretty cheap. Main thing in that case were all the various customs/inspection fees. It was still cheaper but with the exception of the GST it was all fixed cost which means consolidating a number of things together starts to make more sense. And you have to wait for a bit to get it. 

I've used AutohausAZ a couple of times, along with Pelican parts and found them to be good to work with for international shipping. 

Edited by NZ BMW

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

Edited by Matth5

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When I updated my 330ci brakes I went with Aussie company RDA. I bought slotted and dimpled Rotors ex Aus and shipping was only about $35 Aussie dollars. I then bought Hawk pads off Ebay (cheapest). The setup works really well and the Hawk HPS Pads are  very good on the street and even handle a spirited up and down the Rimutakas without any signs of getting hot. That said the new Hawk street 5.0 pads are getting very good reviews and they a quite a bit cheaper than EBC and other quality pads. 

Edited by Herbmiester

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I ordered Mintex rotors from micksgarage.com, based in Ireland for our E39.

set of 4 rotors, INCLUDING shipping, was NZ$210 and took 7 days to arrive. They have regular 20% or 25% off days. It was about 28 KG in the box.

I got "posi-quiet" ceramic pads (that Jooles (Jeffbebe) recommended on here) from ebay for NZ$140 shipped.

 

The rotors are plain ones, but Mintex should be OK quality and the pads were specific ones I wanted, because low dust etc.

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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.

Edited by Matth5

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If you want the RDA rotors just go to Empowered Auto parts direct, I found the shipping was cheaper this way.

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2 hours ago, 3pedals said:

 Comparing two essentially the same a plain non dimpled/ drilled or slotted rotors  using your numbers / links  

Micks Garage is $540 plus $48 clearance charge + GST =  $676.20 - how is that cheaper than $414 from  NZAD

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.

 

If you want the RDA rotors just go to Empowered Auto parts direct, I found the shipping was cheaper this way.

Thanks for the tip :)

Edited by Matth5

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$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

 

Brakes.JPG

Edited by Matth5

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Ordered the RDA dimpled/slotted rotors :D 

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. 

Edited by Matth5

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My RDA dimpled and slotted rotors paired with the Hawk HPS pads work well. Dust levels are low, initial bite is good and under heavy braking the feel is excellent. Test by tire Rack confirm the HPS is a street pad and will lose friction above 700 degrees which is probably only a few laps of any decent track. however most of us don't do track days and the street is what matters. As mentioned a spirited drive over the Rimutakas will not overheat my HPS pads so they pass my test.

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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

 

 

IMG_20161202_182243.jpg

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I will be interested to see how those akebonos go, I am still on the fence with ceramic pads. 

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Think the Pitstop / Midas places will be fine to do a brake job and replace brake fluid on this car? I know they can't flush out the fluid in the DSC unit without having the BMW software (INPA), but unless it's really old that should be ok.
Just a bit more convenient stopping by one of these places on a Saturday rather than booking the car in. 

And seeing as I'm at 140 000km... brake lines with doing? It's a 2010 so car isn't that old but KM's are pretty high.

Edited by Matth5

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I run Akebono ceramics on my e46.  I'd be going Hawk Performance next time.  If that tells you anything.

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Yes I put ceramics in my old 318is not impressed. No dust for sure but pedal pressures were up and feel was down.

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I'm aware that there's less initial bite than regular pads. But I'm hoping with the size of the 335i brakes it won't be much of an issue.
Also I have the style 225 wheels, cleaning them is not pleasant :)

Pads should arrive on Monday, so maybe next weekend I'll get this all installed.  

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Reading up about the Akebonos has me changing my mind. From what I gather they can fade pretty fast with hard driving. I like to thrash my car on twisty roads, I have overheated brakes before... so looks like these wont suit me. 

Think I'll get Textars and put up with the dust. They're cheap and besides the dust, seem to be very good..

Hawk Street 5.0 are twice the price, any reason they're worth it? Less dust, but double the price just for less dust doesn't seem worthwhile.

I'll probably put the Akebonos up on TradeMe, I'm sure someone who doesn't thrash their cars like me would like them. 

 

I'm also reading about EBC Redstuff. Kevlar/ceramic based, low dust but high performance. 

Edited by Matth5

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Also try the Stoptech Street Performance, price is ok and they are supposedly ok for a few laps as they have a slightly higher heat range than other high performance street pads.

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So EBC pad prices aren't too bad in NZ. Although the two places I called in Auckland have no stock of the reds until Jan next year. So I bought them off a UK store on eBay.

Dirt cheap, only about $340. Downside is it could take up to a month to ship. It's "Royal mail international". I emailed the seller to ask if I could pay for faster shipping...

ECStuning and Empowered Auto were on the upper range of the price scale for these so I didn't go with them.

I've got the Akebonos, need to list them on Trademe. FCP sure do ship fast, they're awesome. Pity they don't sell the Redstuff pads.

Edited by Matth5

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When? From what I've read they were rubbish until they changed ownership a few years ago, the Redstuff Ceramic/Kevlar pads seem to get good reviews.

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