[m1bjr]

Today I are mostly.....
Replacing front hubs.

Fed up with bloody DTV / Vibration issues and gave up on the noisey EBC rotors.
I fitted dimple & groove rotors late last year from EBC. I wasnt impressed with the tolerances on them.
My hubs were also not in perfect true either so ended up having an on-car brake lathe to fettle them into line.
Well, it appears that this was not successful. Either they didnt do it right, or the rotors have bigger tolerance issues....
They were noisey as feck but did work pretty well I will admit - paired with EBC yellow Stuff pads.
But hey-ho the solution only lasted about 10k and we're back to DTV.

Anyhow, best plan was to refresh the car and begin by fitting some nice new front hubs.
Sourced my front hubs from "EuroCarParts" which are a huge national chain here.
They ran to £100 each - considerably less than 'OEM' parts.

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/BM...283be14&000370

They are branded in the catalogue as made by 'SKF' which is a major bearing manufacturer.

When I pulled the old hubs off guess what - oem BMW hubs had exactly the same markings, part nos and even had SKF on the back bearing cover.
They were identical. Both the same part made by SKF. Even the bolts supplied were genuine BMW and in a BMW packet.
I'm 100% sure its the same hub from the same vendor - has to be.

I ran a dial gauge on the old hubs and both had runout around 0.1mm which translates to shitloads at the edge of even the most accurate new rotors.
I cannot find the factor spec does anyone know the tolerance on new hub flanges?

Anyhow the new parts run to <0.03mm at the edges. Pretty good!

The rotors were replaced with 'Pagid' oem style rotors.
Now, I never knew they made discs, and they were really cheap too.
But The quailty is superb and identical to oem.
The runout of the new Pagids bolted right up on new hubs was <0.04mm at the outer edges.

That really is impressive.
IIRC BMWs tolerance is 0.2mm on rotor wobble!

Still bedding in, but they are silent (like oem) and already perform well with the Yellow Stuff.
Will keep you posted!

Steve

[jimmylad]

I'm starting to believe I have a noisey wheel bearing/s (just on 100k) & it seems to get a bit louder on a tight roudabout at low speed.

Might change the fronts at that price, Were they easy to do?

Also, replaced my discs all round 15 months ago for discs all round from eurocar parts & had the ebc yellows pads. Still impressed or should I say they just do their job on the odd time they have been really needed. Massive saving over BMW prices.

No lip at all on the discs after approx 8k miles. No trackdays for me & 50% of the time I drive like I have no brakes (not saying I dont go quickly - but try to chose my moments)

No reason to buy OEM parts for me now.

[shortie]

Currently looking a disc / pad combinations for my 320i

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by jimmylad

I'm starting to believe I have a noisey wheel bearing/s (just on 100k) & it seems to get a bit louder on a tight roudabout at low speed.

Might change the fronts at that price, Were they easy to do?

I would say its highly likely given your description.

Its not a 'technical' job but unless you have an impact wrench I would get a garage to do it mate.

I did it without one and I'm fairly strong and have a well equipped garage.
BUT the bolts are corroded and Loctited and access is not good.
The four hub bolts go into the rear of the hub carrier and they are a BITCH to pull without an air wrench. My back hurts!

If you must do it like me with a breaker bar, be sure to heat the old hubs well with a torch to free the loctite etc. its much easier then.

Plus, I had the struts out as well for other work so that makes access better.
But try swinging all your weight on a large breaker bar whilst the hub is flapping about on it balljoints and you are in for fun

Get an electric impact wrench in there (17mm or 18mm socket IIRC) and it would be a simpe, job.
The casting just falls out once unbolted - there is no puller required.
Torque the ONE TIME USE NEW BOLTS up to 82lbs/ft and good to go.

Heavy work without the impact wrench, and I would give it a 4/10 difficulty if you have one handy. No other special tools required, a torque bar is a must.
These bolts torque quite tight, and with loctite its hard to 'feel' the right amount.

HTH
Steve

[jimmylad]

thanks for info Steve

[phil200tdi]

I think I'll be going with this setup fairly soon..

Do you recommend the Yellowstuff pads?

Eurocar parts have a 25% easter discount too. £583 all in.

[AlwynMike]

I forget if I had Redstuff or Yellowstuff pads on the 530. The ones with the ceramic anyway - the slotted discs were noisy, but the pads were almost free of dust - very impressive. On various forums, it is good practice to "run in" the performance pads - it says you should do in the instructions too.

As far as Pagid goes - just fitted a set of Pagid discs to the Boy's Civic Sport - they were 100% true. Very good indeed - particularly at £27 (less 25% at the moment) each.

Mike

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by AlwynMike

I forget if I had Redstuff or Yellowstuff pads on the 530. The ones with the ceramic anyway - the slotted discs were noisy, but the pads were almost free of dust - very impressive. On various forums, it is good practice to "run in" the performance pads - it says you should do in the instructions too.

As far as Pagid goes - just fitted a set of Pagid discs to the Boy's Civic Sport - they were 100% true. Very good indeed - particularly at £27 (less 25% at the moment) each.

Mike

Good advice.

You can normally see the Yellowstuff in the calipers.

As they are...erm.... yellow

So far it seems a decent combo.
I just ordered the Pagid rear discs today and some handbrake shoes (Jurid).
The EBC slotted and dimpled shit can go in the skip - noisy pieces of crap.
OEM with a bit more bite is nice on a DD.

[leeadam]

I had my bearings replaced made such a difference. just fitted nice standard discs from C3 parts. Zinc coated so they stay looking mint like on the newer models. Steer clear of silly groved and slotted discs they arent needed they eat through pads and are nosey totally pointless on these type of road cars...more a max power corsa add on along with painted calipers lol. The standard discs and pads are huge on the 3 series and are MORE than up to the job.

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by leeadam

The standard discs and pads are huge on the 3 series and are MORE than up to the job.

Actually Lee - get that 330 on track and you will find they are not.
Its also a common complaint from the M3 drivers on a circuit day.
Which is why I tried something I knew I really wasnt going to like

[leeadam]

99 per cent of guys dont take cars on track days. and i have been on a few track days with m3 drivers and regular drivers and yes they are up to the job, only when i driver is inexperienced do they overheat the brakes so bad they fail to work, with a smooth good driver they are good brakes.