E46 M3 front docs and pads
Discussion
Front discs and pads are OK at the moment but within the next six months I will replace these items. Looked at demon tweeks web site and they list a fair selection. Any advise please on which offer a good performance for sensible money. Rears also so they match up.
My driving style is basically 'old boy' and I don't do track days.
Thank you.
My driving style is basically 'old boy' and I don't do track days.
Thank you.
Alot of people will fit ATE stuff from ECP, and you can get the discs for around £277 a pair from eBay.
That said if it were me I'd go genuine ; I am on the genuine setup and TBH it's pretty good for what I use the car for ; alot of initial bit and generally haul the car to a stop. The pads including sensors from BMW online are £45.
As said try Cotswold BMW and Harry Fairburn for pricing. That said, with a bit of bartering your local dealer should come pretty close, if not the same in pricing.
That said if it were me I'd go genuine ; I am on the genuine setup and TBH it's pretty good for what I use the car for ; alot of initial bit and generally haul the car to a stop. The pads including sensors from BMW online are £45.
As said try Cotswold BMW and Harry Fairburn for pricing. That said, with a bit of bartering your local dealer should come pretty close, if not the same in pricing.
I have chosen to stick with BMW discs, Pads however i dont like the BMW ones, they dust very badly.
For pads I've used EBC Redstuff and Yellowstuff both are good, and dust is minimal.
For discs if you must have something other than BMW, Pagid and ATE make them (can get from euro car parts online) but they are no cheaper priced each (single) same as BMW. Performance friction make some but are £400 each i think, and not sure how much better they are given same sized discs, and retains the factory caliper.
Alcon do a reasonable priced big brake kit at around £1750 (fronts) which would be an improvement with bigger disc and caliper, but not sure you'll need that unless your hard on the brakes or doing track days etc.
Cooper BMW list on ebay, and are about the best prices for Genuine I've found, fronts are £375 a pair, rears about £220 if i remember I last bought mine from Coopers.
Andy
For pads I've used EBC Redstuff and Yellowstuff both are good, and dust is minimal.
For discs if you must have something other than BMW, Pagid and ATE make them (can get from euro car parts online) but they are no cheaper priced each (single) same as BMW. Performance friction make some but are £400 each i think, and not sure how much better they are given same sized discs, and retains the factory caliper.
Alcon do a reasonable priced big brake kit at around £1750 (fronts) which would be an improvement with bigger disc and caliper, but not sure you'll need that unless your hard on the brakes or doing track days etc.
Cooper BMW list on ebay, and are about the best prices for Genuine I've found, fronts are £375 a pair, rears about £220 if i remember I last bought mine from Coopers.
Andy
Thanks guys, sounds like I will stick with OEM given the prices are reasonable and my driving style will not justify a 'racy' set-up.
Incidentally last night was my first drive in the dark, ountry roads unlit. The headlights are a complete joke, how the car passed an MOT with the lights so bad is a mystery. It was akin to plane spotting with searchlights, terrible, adjustments will be made on Monday when it's in the garage.
When I could see where I was going I gave the throttle a tickle and found out what the car is like past the five thousand revs area
Incidentally last night was my first drive in the dark, ountry roads unlit. The headlights are a complete joke, how the car passed an MOT with the lights so bad is a mystery. It was akin to plane spotting with searchlights, terrible, adjustments will be made on Monday when it's in the garage.
When I could see where I was going I gave the throttle a tickle and found out what the car is like past the five thousand revs area
I won't be buying OEM discs again (Textar/Pagig branded). They are not zinc coated, so go rustic brown moments after rain, and the edges remain rustic forever more. The ATE discs are just as good, but are zinc coated, so I'll be fitting those next time round.
At the moment my OEM discs were painted black at the edges after being cleaned, so now they look good and not rustic brown at the ends.
As for pads, I have PFC Z-Rated, they were bought from Evolve, and are very competitively priced, just probably out of stock as they were ordered on request when I got them. I find them stronger than OEM pads, with less brake dust, but a little more squeal when applying light brake pedal pressure as very low speeds.
At the moment my OEM discs were painted black at the edges after being cleaned, so now they look good and not rustic brown at the ends.
As for pads, I have PFC Z-Rated, they were bought from Evolve, and are very competitively priced, just probably out of stock as they were ordered on request when I got them. I find them stronger than OEM pads, with less brake dust, but a little more squeal when applying light brake pedal pressure as very low speeds.
crankedup said:
Thanks guys, sounds like I will stick with OEM given the prices are reasonable and my driving style will not justify a 'racy' set-up.
Incidentally last night was my first drive in the dark, ountry roads unlit. The headlights are a complete joke, how the car passed an MOT with the lights so bad is a mystery. It was akin to plane spotting with searchlights, terrible, adjustments will be made on Monday when it's in the garage.
When I could see where I was going I gave the throttle a tickle and found out what the car is like past the five thousand revs area
Incidentally last night was my first drive in the dark, ountry roads unlit. The headlights are a complete joke, how the car passed an MOT with the lights so bad is a mystery. It was akin to plane spotting with searchlights, terrible, adjustments will be made on Monday when it's in the garage.
When I could see where I was going I gave the throttle a tickle and found out what the car is like past the five thousand revs area
No problem, the OEM BM discs are pretty good or i find they are.
On your lights, i'm really surprised as i find them amazing! as far as amazing goes for an old Xenon setup, never going to be as good as new LED kits on new cars, but they are way better than My 2015 Porsche Boxster!
Are they pointing downwards? if so mine had the auto levelling arm snapped, and as a result they default to the downward facing symptom, its a very small plastic arm on the drivers side behind the wheel, simple to fix and cheap to buy, once fixed you'll find the headlights level correctly.
Did your INDY not find this on the inspection? presuming you have had this done already of course...and also assuming this is the reason your lights are poor! its one reason though so worth checking.
Andy
andyman_2006 said:
No problem, the OEM BM discs are pretty good or i find they are.
On your lights, i'm really surprised as i find them amazing! as far as amazing goes for an old Xenon setup, never going to be as good as new LED kits on new cars, but they are way better than My 2015 Porsche Boxster!
Are they pointing downwards? if so mine had the auto levelling arm snapped, and as a result they default to the downward facing symptom, its a very small plastic arm on the drivers side behind the wheel, simple to fix and cheap to buy, once fixed you'll find the headlights level correctly.
Did your INDY not find this on the inspection? presuming you have had this done already of course...and also assuming this is the reason your lights are poor! its one reason though so worth checking.
Andy
My son had a drive last night as well, he is well impressed with the performance suggesting it feels almost as fast as his TVR Cerbera V8.
crankedup said:
My headlights are extremely bright but set way to high, lighting the tops of trees on main beam Noticed from the car history previous owner fitted an upgrade Angel Lights halo, makes me wonder if he self fitted and made a hash of it. Still the car is today in the main BMW dealership for the airbag replacement and on Monday goes into our local Indy for the subframe boot floor inspection, engine oil and filter change and the headlights will be sorted as well.
My son had a drive last night as well, he is well impressed with the performance suggesting it feels almost as fast as his TVR Cerbera V8.
My son had a drive last night as well, he is well impressed with the performance suggesting it feels almost as fast as his TVR Cerbera V8.
Ah so the opposite of the issue i once had, interesting on the point of potential aftermarket kit, maybe the auto levelling was disabled. If its set too high then it will be an MOT fail. Sure your main dealer can check this or your indy they'll get it on their Beam setter which will show how far out the lights are. All Xenon should have auto levelling for safety reasons.
Are the BMW Dealers doing you a free health check whilst it in? i had one a few months back when my air bag was done.
Sounds like your son was impressed with the car then. My fave TVR is the Sagaris although prices are now silly.
crankedup said:
Thanks guys, sounds like I will stick with OEM given the prices are reasonable and my driving style will not justify a 'racy' set-up.
Incidentally last night was my first drive in the dark, ountry roads unlit. The headlights are a complete joke, how the car passed an MOT with the lights so bad is a mystery. It was akin to plane spotting with searchlights, terrible, adjustments will be made on Monday when it's in the garage.
When I could see where I was going I gave the throttle a tickle and found out what the car is like past the five thousand revs area
I'd stick with OEM myself Incidentally last night was my first drive in the dark, ountry roads unlit. The headlights are a complete joke, how the car passed an MOT with the lights so bad is a mystery. It was akin to plane spotting with searchlights, terrible, adjustments will be made on Monday when it's in the garage.
When I could see where I was going I gave the throttle a tickle and found out what the car is like past the five thousand revs area
.As Andyman said I find my lights very good! The only thing I have done to them is to get the bulbs changed for new OE spec Osrams. I was going to go with the Nightbreaker Plus but the stock items come with a 3 year warranty which swung me to buying them.
Andy, were the pads genuine before? I ask as I am debating getting RS29s for the next pad change. On the Spitfire I had previously the Greenstuff were horrendous and a friend on a Clio 172 with GS and Yellows on his GTO didn't think much to them either. While Yellows are cheaper I don't also like spending the same cash twice if you get what I mean.
The headlight beam angle can be adjusted with the knob on top of the housing on each headlight. MOT places will be checking headlight angle and will flag it up and adjust to legal angle where needed. Sounds like the last owner whacked them back up afterwards without a care in the world for other road users.
Get the car about 40 feet from a wall in front dead on, then turn the lights on, pop the hood and get the angle adjusted just right and go for a drive to test. From a distance on the motorway your left beam should light up a slightly higher area of the foliage/pavement/hard shoulder, but not high enough to light up major signs. The spill is what will automatically illuminate those, not the main throw of the xenon beam itself.
Get the car about 40 feet from a wall in front dead on, then turn the lights on, pop the hood and get the angle adjusted just right and go for a drive to test. From a distance on the motorway your left beam should light up a slightly higher area of the foliage/pavement/hard shoulder, but not high enough to light up major signs. The spill is what will automatically illuminate those, not the main throw of the xenon beam itself.
Just collected my car from main dealer, driver air bag replaced. Car washed (of sorts) and safety health check completed.
They found a minor oil leak from engine or gearbox, they will need to investigate further. When the car goes into the Indy on Monday they may spot where it's weeping but I won't over worry at the moment.
They found a minor oil leak from engine or gearbox, they will need to investigate further. When the car goes into the Indy on Monday they may spot where it's weeping but I won't over worry at the moment.
robbiekhan said:
The headlight beam angle can be adjusted with the knob on top of the housing on each headlight. MOT places will be checking headlight angle and will flag it up and adjust to legal angle where needed. Sounds like the last owner whacked them back up afterwards without a care in the world for other road users.
Get the car about 40 feet from a wall in front dead on, then turn the lights on, pop the hood and get the angle adjusted just right and go for a drive to test. From a distance on the motorway your left beam should light up a slightly higher area of the foliage/pavement/hard shoulder, but not high enough to light up major signs. The spill is what will automatically illuminate those, not the main throw of the xenon beam itself.
Must have been a crazy man!! First driver coming toward me, having switched on my dipped lights was flashing away and likely very annoyed, I would be to. I will let the Indy sort it but thank you for the good advise.Get the car about 40 feet from a wall in front dead on, then turn the lights on, pop the hood and get the angle adjusted just right and go for a drive to test. From a distance on the motorway your left beam should light up a slightly higher area of the foliage/pavement/hard shoulder, but not high enough to light up major signs. The spill is what will automatically illuminate those, not the main throw of the xenon beam itself.
SebringMan said:
I'd stick with OEM myself .
As Andyman said I find my lights very good! The only thing I have done to them is to get the bulbs changed for new OE spec Osrams. I was going to go with the Nightbreaker Plus but the stock items come with a 3 year warranty which swung me to buying them.
Andy, were the pads genuine before? I ask as I am debating getting RS29s for the next pad change. On the Spitfire I had previously the Greenstuff were horrendous and a friend on a Clio 172 with GS and Yellows on his GTO didn't think much to them either. While Yellows are cheaper I don't also like spending the same cash twice if you get what I mean.
.As Andyman said I find my lights very good! The only thing I have done to them is to get the bulbs changed for new OE spec Osrams. I was going to go with the Nightbreaker Plus but the stock items come with a 3 year warranty which swung me to buying them.
Andy, were the pads genuine before? I ask as I am debating getting RS29s for the next pad change. On the Spitfire I had previously the Greenstuff were horrendous and a friend on a Clio 172 with GS and Yellows on his GTO didn't think much to them either. While Yellows are cheaper I don't also like spending the same cash twice if you get what I mean.
Hi,
Yes they were genuine BMW ones, but they seemed to fade and dusted really badly. I did try some Mintex ones on the back but have EBC on the back now and on the front. Had Greenstuff years ago on Hot hatches and found them to be good but that was on a 150 Bhp GTI so not fast by today's standards, but i like the fact EBC's leave virtually no dust on the alloys after a good thrash.
That said I've not tried any RS29's on M3 so they might be really good and i'm missing out!! suppose it depends on your driving and whether you do track days etc. The RS29's are £250 though, and the EBC are £120.00 so suppose they should be a lot better but are priced accordingly.
For me the EBC is virtually dust free, and they get better the hotter the brakes get, and work well with good bite from cold. It was a mate who used to run a EVO 9 that told me to try the Yellowstuff as he found them good on his modded EVO.
I dont do track days, and only use the car in summer and for weekend rather than daily. For me the EBC work well, and a priced well. However i cant say whether they are as good as Pagid RS29's.
I dont see me ever using the BMW pads again though.
Andy
Max M4X WW said:
Just a pointer on the headlights, if they are adjusted OK but dim the bulbs could be the originals - they dim over time. Get a new pair.
Good point! I have brand new Osram stock bulbs in mine. If I am honest the light output is superb, better than what was in there before!mikey-r said:
Just as an FYI - I had my front disks and pads replaced a couple of months ago.... genuine OEM and cost £600 fitted (inc VAT) at an Indy.
Noticed one of my headlight bulbs is brighter than the other so may well change both. Does anyone know if it's an easy job on these cars?
It's not too bad. Driver's side is dead easy.Noticed one of my headlight bulbs is brighter than the other so may well change both. Does anyone know if it's an easy job on these cars?
1) Unclip the washer bottle tower from the header tank and move it to one side
2) Unclip and remove the headlight ignitor connector. I think it's turned anti-clockwise when you look at it.
3) Remove your bulb
I did both of the bulbs in situ but the passengers side I was a little more forceful on with removing the cover. There is simply not enough space! If I were doing it again I'd be tempted to remove the headlight.
Regarding cost mine came to around £980 including genuine discs, pads and shoes all round, sensors and a brake fluid change. While it was cheaper than most I still had to readjust the handbrake ; it was only working on one wheel!
andyman_2006 said:
Ah so the opposite of the issue i once had, interesting on the point of potential aftermarket kit, maybe the auto levelling was disabled. If its set too high then it will be an MOT fail. Sure your main dealer can check this or your indy they'll get it on their Beam setter which will show how far out the lights are. All Xenon should have auto levelling for safety reasons.
Are the BMW Dealers doing you a free health check whilst it in? i had one a few months back when my air bag was done.
Sounds like your son was impressed with the car then. My fave TVR is the Sagaris although prices are now silly.
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