Do your own brakes?

[23109VC]

I've often times done my own brakes on the prior cars. I am new to a CPO X5.

I am approaching 60,000 miles and I am assuming at some point in the near future I'm going to need new pads and possibly rotors for the front. Both the dealer and local independent are giving me quotes in excess of $800 for rotors pads and sensors.

I've looked on tire rack and it appears that I can buy all the necessary parts for $300-400 tops. It would not be OEM BMW parts but it would be generic. Centric/ akebono / Hawk. I've used these parts before on my Acura and they are decent parts just not branded BMW.

I was just kind of curious how many of you opted to do your own brakes to save four or 500 bucks?

If I buy OEM parts I really wouldn't save that much money as the labor costs are only about $200ish...

Just curious what many of you are dojng?

I did not prepay for a maintenance plan

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by 23109VC

I've often times done my own brakes on the prior cars. I am new to a CPO X5.

I am approaching 60,000 miles and I am assuming at some point in the near future I'm going to need new pads and possibly rotors for the front. Both the dealer and local independent are giving me quotes in excess of $800 for rotors pads and sensors.

I've looked on tire rack and it appears that I can buy all the necessary parts for $300-400 tops. It would not be OEM BMW parts but it would be generic. Centric/ akebono / Hawk. I've used these parts before on my Acura and they are decent parts just not branded BMW.

I was just kind of curious how many of you opted to do your own brakes to save four or 500 bucks?

If I buy OEM parts I really wouldn't save that much money as the labor costs are only about $200ish...

Just curious what many of you are dojng?

I did not prepay for a maintenance plan

Do it yourself

[DonJuan]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

Do it yourself

I'd say go for it, just make sure you choose quality aftermarket parts and don't go "El Cheapo" 😊
Just be prepared to feel a decrease in braking performance, but you'll get use to that over time.
I have a BMWCCA membership so getting the original parts with the club discount makes more sense to me since the difference to aftermarket is not huge, also I'm a fan of the BMW brake bite.

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by DonJuan

I'd say go for it, just make sure you choose quality aftermarket parts and don't go "El Cheapo" 😊
Just be prepared to feel a decrease in braking performance, but you'll get use to that over time.
I have a BMWCCA membership so getting the original parts with the club discount makes more sense to me since the difference to aftermarket is not huge, also I'm a fan of the BMW brake bite.

You can easily get brake pads that give just as much Bute if not more in the aftermarket arena. Generally only ceramics or real cheap stuff give you less Bite. Hawk makes a plethora of options.

[DonJuan]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

You can easily get brake pads that give just as much Bute if not more in the aftermarket arena. Generally only ceramics or real cheap stuff give you less Bite. Hawk makes a plethora of options.

Well, most people will go with the "no dust" options that usually are ceramic or "euro ceramic" which have less bite than OEM.

There's definitely good a mount of choices out there, all with their pros and cons.

[RED_Y_]

I would do it myself, I just don't have a garage or other good place to work on the car. But I am not going to the dealership, my plan is to get my own parts and pay labor to a local BMW shop.

[andrewmr]

There is absolutely no reason not to do the brakes yourself.

Pick up a set of good aftermarket pads and sensors and have at it.

I've used Ferodo and Hawk in the past with good results. Better brake pedal as well as less dusting.

Of course each of those companies sell different pad compounds so do a little research.

Not sure about the X5, but my other cars allow me to do rotors every other set of pads.

[Bilbofraggins]

500 to do it yourself... 1500-2000 at a dealer....Ummmm

[Mr.47]

Don't go for centric rotors, go to rockauto get yourself some Pagid or Bosch rotors (around $225 for all 4 rotors). Brembo or pagid pads ($70 for front and rear pairs) and if you haven't grinded your pads down to the brake sensor you could probably reuse it with no issue.

Out the door you'll be spending $300 for quality parts that won't give you squeeks, pulses, or vibrations

[smyles]

I haven't shopped for OEM pads yet (still covered by BMW), so dunno how much more expensive they are compared to good aftermarkets, but just wanted to comment that to my eye they produce much less dust than on previous gen bimmers, so it could still be a viable option if there's a concern with performance.

On E70 I diy'd using Bosch rotors/pads.

[DonJuan]

Originally Posted by Mr.47

Don't go for centric rotors

Hmmm, why not? I've had good experiences with Centric in the past.

I even would recommend Meyle rotors, had great experiences on my son's e46 Xi and my e30 vert. German made, very nicely coated (won't rust) and great price.

[puckybadger]

No matter what you drive never go cheap with brakes or tires.

[smyles]

Re Meyle rotors, I highly doubt they are made in Germany, as Meyle mostly just slaps its label on parts produced elsewhere (= China) nowadays. Note they don't put "Made in Germany", but rather Meyle Germany on the boxes. Doesn't necessarily mean parts are crap, just know what you're paying for.

[Mr.47]

Originally Posted by DonJuan

Hmmm, why not? I've had good experiences with Centric in the past.

I even would recommend Meyle rotors, had great experiences on my son's e46 Xi and my e30 vert. German made, very nicely coated (won't rust) and great price.

Centrics is that they're ok for normal use and normal braking condition. However when you start braking hard ie emergency stops or highway speed to a stop on heavy vehicle is when it starts to warp the rotor.

Compared to bosch, meyle (like you mention) pagid or brembo have better better QC in manufacture and is less likely to warp, even if its outsourced to china (bosch meyle sometime made it china) in the end you get what you pay.

[turboawd]

If you change the pads before they wear out completely and touch the rotor, you should be able to reuse the rotors.
And are the oem pads ceramic? Or partially? Because they don't dust as bad as older bmws I've had.

[DonJuan]

Originally Posted by turboawd

you should be able to reuse the rotors..

It will depend on the thickness, there is a minimum allowed. BMW cars, pads and rotors are usually changed at the same time.

[DonJuan]

Originally Posted by smyles

Re Meyle rotors, I highly doubt they are made in Germany, as Meyle mostly just slaps its label on parts produced elsewhere (= China) nowadays. Note they don't put "Made in Germany", but rather Meyle Germany on the boxes. Doesn't necessarily mean parts are crap, just know what you're paying for.

Yeah they have a factory in Turkey and also some other places.

Per their website:

Due to the high degree of effort that our MEYLE engineers put into these steps, we take pride in our MEYLE parts, which are "ENGINEERED AND QUALITY APPROVED IN GERMANY". MEYLE parts are developed strictly in line with the guidelines and specifications of our own engineers at the Hamburg location, and overseen and tested in the production process.

Production is carried out at our own plants in Turkey as well as at the facilities of selected partners in an international network. MEYLE engineers have many years of experience and an in-depth understanding of innovative manufacturing processes, allowing use to manage our global production processes with high precision and quality.

Our production process is certified in accordance with the ISO/TS 16949 standard, which allows us to supply production parts to original equipment and vehicle manufacturers (OEMs). Thanks to high flexibility and short production times, we can optimally respond to current spare part requirements in the independent aftermarket.

https://www.meyle.com/en/the-meyle-b...ng-competence/

[sdk8103]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

Do it yourself

I did mine today and it was a piece of cake. The only thing that could have been a problem was the male Torx bolts. I didn't look at them close enough and used a regular socket on one and chewed it up pretty good. I know have a set of Torx sockets, so that won't happen again.

[CT335xi]

For all you guys that do your own brakes , what do you guys do about the reset on the computer about the life on the pads , is there a way around it ? Just curious, my buddies have a Indy shop that works all bmws and euro cars and they have that expensive get scan tool that resets anything. It was nice in the old days before all the new tech where you slap on rotors and pads and maybe a sensor and you were good to go.

[sdk8103]

Originally Posted by CT335xi

For all you guys that do your own brakes , what do you guys do about the reset on the computer about the life on the pads , is there a way around it ? Just curious, my buddies have a Indy shop that works all bmws and euro cars and they have that expensive get scan tool that resets anything. It was nice in the old days before all the new tech where you slap on rotors and pads and maybe a sensor and you were good to go.

Check out You Tube. The process takes maybe a minute using the trip reset button. You don't need a scan tool for this.

[CT335xi]

Originally Posted by sdk8103

Check out You Tube. The process takes maybe a minute using the trip reset button. You don't need a scan tool for this.

That’s awesome thanks!!

[ComasF15]

I like OEM so the CCA discount helps. A brake job usually is straight forward if you have the tools. You will need a dial runout gauge and a caliper. Measure the runout +- 2.4mm, thickness the same +-. Note brake pad thickness for replacement. I buy the right tools with the money I save by doing it myself.

Lube the sliding surface with silicon grease and I use high temp never seize (copper) on the back of pads. Do not over lubricate.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...kes/1Vnc0BjfbK

on edit: If you are doing this before the sensor is touched I see no reason you can't reuse them. However they aren't expensive so replacing them is probably what I'd do.