[Shahaed]

I went to my local dealership to flush my brake fluid. The service guy told me that my rear brakes were at 2mm and I need them replaced. However they service guy told me they rarely just replace pads on theses cars. They need to replace the whole brake assembly. Is there any truth to this?

Yes, pads and rotors typically wear at the same time and are replaced together, I would recommend ordering Zimmerman rotors/Jurid pads from rmeuropean.com the parts cost around $240ish for the rear brakes including the brake sensor plus labor.

(This setup is the closest your going to get to the Original BMW parts without actually spending the extra cash on Original BMW parts)

Find a local european indy shop to do the install.

[Shahaed]

Any other recommendations for my brakes? I was looking into ceramic brake pads. What is the story on those?

[mbanks21]

I did Zimmerman and Akebono from Bimmerzone for around $250

Akebono Euro's I believe are ceramic, you can go on their site and view the different pad options, stick with Jurid if you want to retain OEM feel.

[mlifxs]

I think it depends. My 2 cents:

When my rear pads needed replacing at around 75k miles, my SA told me that the rotors were good for "one pad change" so we just did the pads. No issues whatsoever, still using the same rotors, and that second set of pads.

I started DIY'ing my maintenance. Front pads needed changing around 106k. Decided to just change the pads myself and I changed compound to ceramic. Things were fine at first, but after around 20k it was clear that brakes were not as smooth as original...so I took the rotors to be measured and possibly turned but a shop refused to turn them, saying they were near tolerance and would be out of tolerance after turning. Replaced front rotors (125k life) with new genuine rotors, all is well.

[Shahaed]

You guys are awesome. Thanks so much!

I'll buy the Zimmerman rotors and Textar pads from Bimmerzone. $250 and however much labor would be. Sounds cheaper than the $900 I got quoted by my dealer.

Thanks again!

[Shahaed]

Thank you guys!

I think I will purchase the Zimmerman Rotors/Textar Pads from Bimmerzone.

Save a lot compared to the $900 I was quoted by my dealer.

[AceOnShake]

Over my 9 years of owning various BMW's my conclusion is the rotor doesn't really matter too much. I've used Zimmerman to no name brand ones and performed the exact same. What really matters is the brake pads. IMO ceramic is awesome if you want to lose the initial bite but have 1/100th of the brake dust the OEM brake gives off.

I spent 500 for zimmerman with jurid front brakes on my e53 x5. Performed very well.
Then 150 on powerstop( Reputable brand) rotors and Akenbono(reputable) ceramic pads.

First 500 miles sucked ass in the cermaic brakes but then got a whole lot better. I love them both and honestly its been 3 months and I didn't even have to clean the wheels. Before it's caked by the 5th day.

Many E36 guys (including myself) run centric(powerstop) rotors with oem pads or ceramic. Track guys run autozone rotors so they can get the free rotor replacement.

ON THE SAFE side get zimmerman and JURID pads. I loved that combo and will get them again.

For my E46 best combo is Brembo Blanks with oem pads. Total 200.00 out the door at rockauto.com. They have wholesale clearance on items at times.

My family has this w203 mercedes (C240) and they took it to get brakes. It had fresh pads and rotors all around. 20k miles later the rotors have pulsation. Its a myth that that warp its due to not braking in your pads properly.

Read up on how to break in your brake pads properly.

[wdeerfield]

i would go with the full brake package from turner motorsports. just save the front brakes until you need them. the whole kit is ~475 and includes OEM rotors, OEM or Stoptech brake pads and brake fluid and the wear sensors.