Alright, so I worked on the brakes today.
After getting the car up in the air and the wheels off, I looked at the rotors and decided that I was not going to take them off and get them machined. They looked really good except for a small lip on the inner and outer diameter, on all four. I decided that I would slap the pads in, check the fitment, then test it out on the road. If I wasn't happy with it, I was going to put the car back up in the garage and have them machined.
Turns out it's not an issue at all, at least not in my case. So all I did today was replace the front and rear pads, as well as the front and rear sensors.
I used Powerstop pads. I wanted to use the Z26 pad because I have used it on my Hellcat but they only make them for the rear for the G30, which is odd, so I went with the Z23 pads in the link below.
https://www.powerstop.com/product/po...0Brake%20Discs
Overall, I am very happy with the pads. They don't have the initial bite that the factory Brembos have but the brake pedal feel is very linear and I haven't noticed any detectable performance difference. We'll see how they do with dust but I am confident they are going to be great, based on how the Z26 is almost dust free on my Hellcat. If you are going to track your car at all, this isn't the pad for you.
As far as the process goes, changing the brake pads on this car is just like any other car you've ever worked on. There is a manual way to retract the electronic parking brake but I have a scan tool with BMW software, so I used that. The front pads are super simple, just knock out the two guide pins and you can remove both pads and the anti rattle clip all together. Very similar to any other premium brake caliper. The brake pad sensor for the front is on the drivers side. I bought mine from BMW and they fit into the Powerstop pads no problem. Very easy to replace, just follow the wire up from the pad, remove it from the clips, disconnect it from the connector up in the wheel well and then replace with the new one.
I wish the rears were a true performance caliper like the fronts but they're not, they're just a single piston setup like any other non performance caliper. Still very easy, two 13mm (?) bolts to remove part of the caliper and then replace the pads and hardware. The brake pad sensor is on the passenger side for the rears and you'll have to remove 2 x 10mm fasteners from the wheel well liner to expose the box where the connection is made. Not a problem though, easily accessible.
I did scuff the rotors up with some 60 grit sandpaper but I am not sure it was really necessary. If the rotors look good and not glazed over, I'd probably just slap new pads on them and call it good next time (as long as they measure above the discard thickness).
The pads came with new anti rattle clips and grease for the front, as well as new rubber boots for the guide pins and new hardware for the rear. I just cleaned up the front guide pins with a wire brush and some steel wool since they did not come with the pads. The Powerstop clips for the front pads fit great but the hardware for the rear didn't fit quite as well as OEM, however it is still just fine to use. If you're OCD, maybe buy the OEM hardware as well.
Afterwards, I just followed the bed in procedure from Powerstop. That's it, overall not much to write home about. If you are going to do the rotors, there is just one bolt on each that needs to be removed to get the rotor off. That bolt is required to be replaced from BMW, so make sure you buy those from the dealer before you get the rotors off. I think they were like $4 each.
This is the scan tool I used. First time using it but so far so good. Spent some time with it and it seems pretty capable. Only complaint is it is a little slow communicating with the car. It's not terrible, just not cell phone fast.
https://www.foxwelleshop.com/wholesa...RoCOUgQAvD_BwE
Hope that helps anyone looking to do this project!