[electriCK]

Hi All,

New to the BMW community and have operated as a silent observer - so thanks to all those who take the time to provide meaningful information to the rest of the community.

Recently my car developed some steering wheel shake & wobble during light to medium braking when slowing down from 60-80mph. As with most cars, the cause is usually warped rotors. Soon after my self-diagnosing, the brake sensors raised their alarms warning that the pads were at their minimal recommended thickness. So time for a full replacement!

Poked around forum and found suggestions, but no reviews for the hardware in question.

I pulled the trigger on BavAuto for their Meyle blank rotors and Pagid Red pads. Previously on the car I had all OEM parts (textar pads and the OEM blank rotors).

Before providing the review, i think it's important to frame the use of the brakes and my style of driving. I don't autocross or track, so i didn't need hardcore performance pads. I've also have experience with high performance pads and didn't want to deal with the dust and squealing that's characteristic of said pads. I do go on the occasional mountain/canyon run and back road runs. My driving style would probably be classified as spirited.

I also was not considering any slotted or drilled rotors as I personally wouldn't need that sort of hardware for my driving needs.

If you're considering the Zimmerman rotors, I say take another look at the Meyle blank rotors. They come with the same coating as the "coat z" found on the zimmerman rotors, and typically cheaper.

There are plenty of pad options on the market, but decided to go with Pagid Red as BavAuto claimed they have the same performance as OEM with less brake dust.

After proper bedding, I finally got to go hard on the brakes and overall i'm definitely happy with this set up. I always felt that the OEM brakes were a little grabby for my taste. The Meyle/Pagid combo is more linear - AKA less initial bite when tapping the brake. Personally, this is what I am used to and prefer a more linear brake feel. I personally think it's easier to be modulate and predict the level of braking during spirited drives.

The day I got the brakes installed I also had my car detailed. Approximately 3 weeks later, the wheels have a very light coating of dust (this includes a few runs braking from 100mph back down to 60mph). So the pads dust as advertised - minimal. The stock pads made my wheels gunmetal days after a wash.

The steering wheel shake/wobble disappeared after the new rotor/pad install. This definitely gave me more confidence to take on higher speed runs knowing that the car will come to a solid stop without having to wrestle the steering wheel.

Overall, i definitely recommend the product combo. They work as advertised, provide a linear brake feel, and most importantly, great stopping power.

Hope this helps anyone in the market for brakes.

CK

[cpie168]

Excellent review! Thank you OP!

[Robertm0213]

Sorry to bring up an old thread: I bought the same package! But I have come around to having an obnoxious excruciatingly loud brake squeal!!! I have had the brake for well over 2-3k miles. Do I need to go back and add more anti brake squeal ? Do I need to read on bedding them more ? Thanks and sorry for all the questions.

[electriCK]

Originally Posted by Robertm0213

Sorry to bring up an old thread: I bought the same package! But I have come around to having an obnoxious excruciatingly loud brake squeal!!! I have had the brake for well over 2-3k miles. Do I need to go back and add more anti brake squeal ? Do I need to read on bedding them more ? Thanks and sorry for all the questions.

Sorry to hear. Never a fun thing having massive brake squeal. I would say definitely go back and add more anti-squeal compound. I went fairly heavy with the compound during the install.

15K miles or so later, very limited brake squeal and really only on cold mornings before the brakes have some heat.

[Yangorang]

Haven't tried the Pagid Red's yet but they're definitely on my list. So far I tried Akebono's and Cool Carbons:
Akebono: poor cold bite but minimal dust and no noise
Cool Carbons: really good brake pedal feel but quite a bit of dust and squeals when hot