Brake Pads

Vic Mayer · Vic Mayer's Garage

Can any body give me a good recommendation on what type of
brake pads to use on my car. I purchased a set of cross drilled stock rotors for my 325Is I am not using the car for track or driving school. But I am looking for long life & no noise. We do a lot of driving in the summer time Highway & city. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks Vic

umnitza · 04-10-2003, 12:33 PM

Axxis Ultimates

Hawk HPS

Long life and no noise = lots of dust. Do you want to clean your wheels every other day?

The Axxis Ultimates (that I happen to sell) are pretty good trade-offs and with proper bedding will make you very happy

Jared at Pelican Parts · 04-10-2003, 12:34 PM

Matt, what do you reccomend for no dust? Im sick of cleaning my BBS wheels every saturday.

stupenal · 04-11-2003, 12:15 AM

I agree with Umnitza, I've heard way too many good things about Axxis ultimates. There's a group buy that was going on, not sure if umnitza was sponsoring it though.

Cleaning BBS wheels = unfun

Eli at Pelican Parts · 04-11-2003, 11:50 AM

Vic,

I'd say you've yourself a dilemma, hard breaks usually mean a longer life for the pad but no guarantee on noise or the longevity of your rotors. On the other hand a softer pad translates in to a shorter life with no noise and dustier rims.

You have to ask yourself "what is most important here". I too have recently put X-drilled and slotted on my RX7 and had to make some choices.

I decided to go with the softer pads for two reasons first being the most important, X-drilled and slotted rotors cannot be turned so a shorter life for my pads means a longer life for my rotors. Secondly I hate brake squeak, no matter how nice your car is….. pulling up on the scene with squeaky brakes takes away all your "cool points".

Eli at Pelican Parts · 04-11-2003, 11:52 AM

Vic,

One last thing I forgot to mention, be prepared for a slightly shorter life when utilizing X-drilled rotors.

Good Luck,

SteveSteinhauer · 04-11-2003, 05:13 PM

How about going with good pads and those brake dust shield things (Kleen Wheels?) that mount between the rim and the brake drum? My only concern is - would that trap too much heat at the pad/rotor?

Eli at Pelican Parts · 04-14-2003, 12:08 PM

I'm not too sure how much heat these covers hold but you've left out something very important here. "THE LOOK" I'm sure part of the reason people opt to go with the X-drilled and slotted styles is for the look. I would rather clean my rims on a daily basis than cover up those nice looking patterns........just my thoughts.

SteveSteinhauer · 04-14-2003, 05:29 PM

yeah *sigh* I can't see mine - I've got those lame chrome dish 15's on mine.... and they're a ***** to clean!

Eli at Pelican Parts · 04-15-2003, 10:06 AM

I know it seems stupid to do this but I actually pull the tires off my car every now and then just to clean the inside of the rim. This adds that "new rim" look to them. It's little trick in detailing that everyone seems to overlook. Down side is the time it takes (1-2 hours on average) depending on how efficient you and your tools are.

Jared at Pelican Parts · 04-15-2003, 10:25 AM

Not stupid. I do this at least once a month. I found that P21S wheel cleaner is the best stuff I've ever used. It's an emulsifier that works really well on dirt and brake dust. I pull the wheels off, spray the insides, outsides, etc.. Then let this stuff sit for 15 minutes, then I come back with a brush and hit the heavy spots, then I rinse the wheels COMPLETELY. (it takes a lot of water to get all this stuff off) Makes my wheels look like new.

champeny · champeny's Garage

1995 325i
I need to replace my pads also - have stock discs. What do you recommend among the options available on the Pelican Parts online store? What is closest to the original stock pad?

Also - how difficult is it to replace the rear shocks on this car (I've done it before on American cars)? Any tips or unique tools required? Do the shocks sold on Pelican Parts' site come in pairs or by the each?

stupenal · 04-15-2003, 07:38 PM

I "think" the procedure for replacing rear shocks goes as follows. Remove rear speakers and all the trunk carpeting. Take off the dust cap on the rear mounts. Jack up the rear of the car, take off wheels and support the brakes with a jack (that way there isnt added stress on the rear suspension). Undo the top 2 bolts of the shock mount (13mm i think) and it should come down. Loosen the rear shock with 18mm wrench at the bottom. Using two wrenches, loosen the nut on the top of the shock mount, and ur shock is now free. Thats what I remember from reading some websites. Here's a better description:
http://www.logun.org/shocks.htm

umnitza · 04-16-2003, 09:37 AM

sorry, I wasn't sponsoring any group buys.
that was my buddy.

He and I sell them for the same price.

I only sell them in conjuction with wheel purchases because they are proven to dust less and have the same bite.

There are WAY to many properties to pads that are not in my "domain" of expertise.

I just relay what I'm told from my buddy, who is an expert.

The rear shocks are pretty straightforward with the right tools, you do have to remove the rear speaker though, that's a pain.

nah325i · 04-17-2003, 05:12 PM

When it comes to rear shocks I would not suggest suporting the hub assembly by the brake rotor, instead put a floor jack under the controll arm or ball joint ( in a secure place of course, and removing the rear speakers is not a pain. It is a 5 min. job. NO ONE should be scared of doing rear shocks yourself and definatly replace your rear shock mounts while you are at it.

stupenal · 04-17-2003, 07:08 PM

I found removing the dust cap quite difficult off the top of the shock mounts. I also found another 4 channel amp behind the carpet that the previous owner installed. I had one aftermarket kenwood mounted behind the cd changer, and now I find ANOTHER kenwood amp. Geez, no wonder my subs were so strong. I wish I could find a nice wad of $100 bills next.