Brake Pads and rotors
01-08-2011, 12:40 PM
#1
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My Ride: 2004 530I E60
I am looking to upgrade my brakes (pads and rotors) nothing too crazy! So I found theses rotors and pads. I was wondering if anyone else is using them. I have a 2004 530i with about 42k so its time to change the pads anyways.
I also want to update the headlights. Mine look a bit yellow and dull. I want something more bright any suggestions?
Cool Carbon Front/Rear Pads for BMW 525i/528i/530i/xi
$199.50
R1 Concept Premium FRONT Rotors for E60 525i/528i/530i/xi
- Style Slotted/Drilled
$256.00
R1 Concept Premium REAR Rotors for E60 525i/528i/530i
- Style Slotted/Drilled
$209.00
Thanks
I also want to update the headlights. Mine look a bit yellow and dull. I want something more bright any suggestions?
Cool Carbon Front/Rear Pads for BMW 525i/528i/530i/xi
$199.50
R1 Concept Premium FRONT Rotors for E60 525i/528i/530i/xi
- Style Slotted/Drilled
$256.00
R1 Concept Premium REAR Rotors for E60 525i/528i/530i
- Style Slotted/Drilled
$209.00
Thanks
01-08-2011, 01:05 PM
#2
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My Ride: 14 550i
Hi,
I'm an authorized dealer for R1Concept rotors. Where were you looking to purchase them? I sell a fair amount of brake and rotor packages on this forum.
Instead of the Cool Carbon pads, I actually recommend the Hawk HPS pads. They have less dust than OEM brake pads but a lot better bite. Hawk Performance has a very good reputation in the automotive world and used as the official racing pad of SCCA.
Michael
Acute Performance
I'm an authorized dealer for R1Concept rotors. Where were you looking to purchase them? I sell a fair amount of brake and rotor packages on this forum.
Instead of the Cool Carbon pads, I actually recommend the Hawk HPS pads. They have less dust than OEM brake pads but a lot better bite. Hawk Performance has a very good reputation in the automotive world and used as the official racing pad of SCCA.
Michael
Acute Performance
01-08-2011, 01:22 PM
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My Ride: 2004 530i
For lighting I recommend using:
angel eyes - MTEC V.2 / 6k
Low beam upgrade - 6k, D2S i believe
these match nicely
hit up - John@motorcepts ( forum member ) aka ... lighting expert
angel eyes - MTEC V.2 / 6k
Low beam upgrade - 6k, D2S i believe
these match nicely
hit up - John@motorcepts ( forum member ) aka ... lighting expert
01-08-2011, 01:26 PM
#6
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01-08-2011, 05:53 PM
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I puchased a set of Concept R1 Premium rotors from Michael at Acute Performance----- excellent vendor, and these rotors are WAY better than the "non-Premium" replacement rotors. The black electro coating keeps the rust away, and they are very good quality for the money. (btw, I got the rotors with just the drilled holes, no slots)
For my 2004 545i I also purchased the Cool Carbon brake pads (from Bavarian Autosport--- www.BavAuto.com), after much searching and comparing brake pad performance in other BMW forums. The Hawk HPS pads are probably a good choice as well--- can't say cause I haven't had the chance to compare them personally. But I can say that the Cool Carbons are "different" than the OEM pads---- much less dust (I would say they produce only a quarter of the dust compared to OEM) and really NO FADE at all when driving hard.... but the tradeoff is less initial or "touchy" bite---- you need more pedal pressure, but I actually like that because it allows you to modulate your braking force better. When just starting to drive with cold brakes, you need to be a tad cautious, but the brakes warm up with just a dab or two.
In the future I would consider the Hawk HPS pads, but I am still happy with the Cool Carbons. Would be interested to hear from others with the Cool Carbons.
Sounds like the Hawk HPS and Cool Carbons have similar benefits but go about their work a bit differently.
Whatever pads you buy, you MUST "bed" your brakes soon after you've installed them. This transfers a film from the brake pads onto the rotors through a series of increasingly aggressive braking applications from increasing speeds. The objective is to gradually warm up the rotors and pads to a high temperature that transfers a coating of the brake pads evenly onto the rotors. But the most important thing is that during the bedding process you CANNOT stop and have the hot pads "sitting" on the rotors---- that will produce a "lump" in the material transfer that will cause braking vibration. So, you'll need a long, uninterrupted stretch of deserted road to do this properly with no stop signs or lights (I did mine in the middle of the night to avoid traffic). You'll need to decelerate from 50mph to 10mph about 5 times with increasing pedal pressure, then do 5 more from 60 to 10mph, and another 5 or so from 70 to 10mph---- with just a bit of cruising between each brake application. The idea is to gradually build temperature to a high degree. Once warmed up, you are doing high-pedal pressure "panic stops" down to 10mph (no stopping, remember) and finally cruise a while to cool down the brakes before you actually stop. Sounds like a hassle, but it really is important to do this with any new performance pads, and especially with new rotors as well.
You can search and find much more info on how to bed those brakes properly---- just be sure you do it to get the best performance out of your pads + rotors.
(lengthy replies are my specialty)
For my 2004 545i I also purchased the Cool Carbon brake pads (from Bavarian Autosport--- www.BavAuto.com), after much searching and comparing brake pad performance in other BMW forums. The Hawk HPS pads are probably a good choice as well--- can't say cause I haven't had the chance to compare them personally. But I can say that the Cool Carbons are "different" than the OEM pads---- much less dust (I would say they produce only a quarter of the dust compared to OEM) and really NO FADE at all when driving hard.... but the tradeoff is less initial or "touchy" bite---- you need more pedal pressure, but I actually like that because it allows you to modulate your braking force better. When just starting to drive with cold brakes, you need to be a tad cautious, but the brakes warm up with just a dab or two.
In the future I would consider the Hawk HPS pads, but I am still happy with the Cool Carbons. Would be interested to hear from others with the Cool Carbons.
Sounds like the Hawk HPS and Cool Carbons have similar benefits but go about their work a bit differently.
Whatever pads you buy, you MUST "bed" your brakes soon after you've installed them. This transfers a film from the brake pads onto the rotors through a series of increasingly aggressive braking applications from increasing speeds. The objective is to gradually warm up the rotors and pads to a high temperature that transfers a coating of the brake pads evenly onto the rotors. But the most important thing is that during the bedding process you CANNOT stop and have the hot pads "sitting" on the rotors---- that will produce a "lump" in the material transfer that will cause braking vibration. So, you'll need a long, uninterrupted stretch of deserted road to do this properly with no stop signs or lights (I did mine in the middle of the night to avoid traffic). You'll need to decelerate from 50mph to 10mph about 5 times with increasing pedal pressure, then do 5 more from 60 to 10mph, and another 5 or so from 70 to 10mph---- with just a bit of cruising between each brake application. The idea is to gradually build temperature to a high degree. Once warmed up, you are doing high-pedal pressure "panic stops" down to 10mph (no stopping, remember) and finally cruise a while to cool down the brakes before you actually stop. Sounds like a hassle, but it really is important to do this with any new performance pads, and especially with new rotors as well.
You can search and find much more info on how to bed those brakes properly---- just be sure you do it to get the best performance out of your pads + rotors.
(lengthy replies are my specialty)
01-09-2011, 04:23 AM
#9
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My Ride: 2004 530I E60
I puchased a set of Concept R1 Premium rotors from Michael at Acute Performance----- excellent vendor, and these rotors are WAY better than the "non-Premium" replacement rotors. The black electro coating keeps the rust away, and they are very good quality for the money. (btw, I got the rotors with just the drilled holes, no slots)
For my 2004 545i I also purchased the Cool Carbon brake pads (from Bavarian Autosport--- www.BavAuto.com), after much searching and comparing brake pad performance in other BMW forums. The Hawk HPS pads are probably a good choice as well--- can't say cause I haven't had the chance to compare them personally. But I can say that the Cool Carbons are "different" than the OEM pads---- much less dust (I would say they produce only a quarter of the dust compared to OEM) and really NO FADE at all when driving hard.... but the tradeoff is less initial or "touchy" bite---- you need more pedal pressure, but I actually like that because it allows you to modulate your braking force better. When just starting to drive with cold brakes, you need to be a tad cautious, but the brakes warm up with just a dab or two.
In the future I would consider the Hawk HPS pads, but I am still happy with the Cool Carbons. Would be interested to hear from others with the Cool Carbons.
Sounds like the Hawk HPS and Cool Carbons have similar benefits but go about their work a bit differently.
Whatever pads you buy, you MUST "bed" your brakes soon after you've installed them. This transfers a film from the brake pads onto the rotors through a series of increasingly aggressive braking applications from increasing speeds. The objective is to gradually warm up the rotors and pads to a high temperature that transfers a coating of the brake pads evenly onto the rotors. But the most important thing is that during the bedding process you CANNOT stop and have the hot pads "sitting" on the rotors---- that will produce a "lump" in the material transfer that will cause braking vibration. So, you'll need a long, uninterrupted stretch of deserted road to do this properly with no stop signs or lights (I did mine in the middle of the night to avoid traffic). You'll need to decelerate from 50mph to 10mph about 5 times with increasing pedal pressure, then do 5 more from 60 to 10mph, and another 5 or so from 70 to 10mph---- with just a bit of cruising between each brake application. The idea is to gradually build temperature to a high degree. Once warmed up, you are doing high-pedal pressure "panic stops" down to 10mph (no stopping, remember) and finally cruise a while to cool down the brakes before you actually stop. Sounds like a hassle, but it really is important to do this with any new performance pads, and especially with new rotors as well.
You can search and find much more info on how to bed those brakes properly---- just be sure you do it to get the best performance out of your pads + rotors.
(lengthy replies are my specialty)
For my 2004 545i I also purchased the Cool Carbon brake pads (from Bavarian Autosport--- www.BavAuto.com), after much searching and comparing brake pad performance in other BMW forums. The Hawk HPS pads are probably a good choice as well--- can't say cause I haven't had the chance to compare them personally. But I can say that the Cool Carbons are "different" than the OEM pads---- much less dust (I would say they produce only a quarter of the dust compared to OEM) and really NO FADE at all when driving hard.... but the tradeoff is less initial or "touchy" bite---- you need more pedal pressure, but I actually like that because it allows you to modulate your braking force better. When just starting to drive with cold brakes, you need to be a tad cautious, but the brakes warm up with just a dab or two.
In the future I would consider the Hawk HPS pads, but I am still happy with the Cool Carbons. Would be interested to hear from others with the Cool Carbons.
Sounds like the Hawk HPS and Cool Carbons have similar benefits but go about their work a bit differently.
Whatever pads you buy, you MUST "bed" your brakes soon after you've installed them. This transfers a film from the brake pads onto the rotors through a series of increasingly aggressive braking applications from increasing speeds. The objective is to gradually warm up the rotors and pads to a high temperature that transfers a coating of the brake pads evenly onto the rotors. But the most important thing is that during the bedding process you CANNOT stop and have the hot pads "sitting" on the rotors---- that will produce a "lump" in the material transfer that will cause braking vibration. So, you'll need a long, uninterrupted stretch of deserted road to do this properly with no stop signs or lights (I did mine in the middle of the night to avoid traffic). You'll need to decelerate from 50mph to 10mph about 5 times with increasing pedal pressure, then do 5 more from 60 to 10mph, and another 5 or so from 70 to 10mph---- with just a bit of cruising between each brake application. The idea is to gradually build temperature to a high degree. Once warmed up, you are doing high-pedal pressure "panic stops" down to 10mph (no stopping, remember) and finally cruise a while to cool down the brakes before you actually stop. Sounds like a hassle, but it really is important to do this with any new performance pads, and especially with new rotors as well.
You can search and find much more info on how to bed those brakes properly---- just be sure you do it to get the best performance out of your pads + rotors.
(lengthy replies are my specialty)
(short replies are my specialty)
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