B3.3 E46 Discs and Pads.

jolls · Post by **jolls** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:35 am

Hi guys. I'm after some advice regarding new brake disc and pads for my E46 B3. I have just renewed the shocks and springs all round with original Alpina parts and I've decided to replace the discs/pads and handbrake shoes. I've had a quote from BMW as below.

Front pads Â£88.37
Rear pads Â£75.94

Front discs Â£149.81
Rear discs Â£131.83

Total Â£444.96.

I can get a Brembo set including handbrake shoes for Â£325 or an ATE set for Â£311.

Does anyone have any experience of the above or any other recommendations?

Thank you, jolls.

Edited to add a low dust pad would be good.

ade and liz flint · Post by **ade and liz flint** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:24 pm

Use and used both Brembo and ATE. The latter are standard BMW parts bin items and found on many cars when new.

Horses for courses and all that. Low dust pads will possibly be noisier and the discs may wear quicker. It's a balance

sat82 · Post by **sat82** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:39 pm

Hi,

I put on Brembo discs and pads all round and am very pleased with them. Very hard wearing. Brembo coat their discs, so you don't get that horrible sitting rust after a few months from washing them.

Handbrake shoes I went for Pagid - they are fine. But if you can get Brembo, stick with them.

If you haven't already, invest in a new handbrake shoe fitting kit from BMW. The old springs that hold the shoes in place go very hard and you won't get the best from the shoes with stiff springs.

Lastly, remember not the tighten the handbrake too much, keep it as loose as possible, then after a month of usage get them re-adjusted so the handbrake locks at 5 clicks, not 3 - make sure they are adjusted from the shoes themselves and not the handbrake lever.

Regards

rc944 · Post by **rc944** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:50 pm

the pads and discs should be bmw value line so speak to ed at cotswold hereford for a better price.

octanejunkie · Post by **octanejunkie** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:27 pm

I like Textar stuff which was OE on a lot of cars. I've also had very good experience with Mintex parts. Fitted Mintex to my last E38. Great feel, minimal dust and they wear very evenly.

ade and liz flint · Post by **ade and liz flint** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:56 pm

octanejunkie wrote:I like Textar stuff which was OE on a lot of cars. I've also had very good experience with Mintex parts. Fitted Mintex to my last E38.

True. I chose and recently fitted Textar to rear of #127 mated with original spec ATE discs.

Ditto mintex. Used on my son's F21, a friend's D3 and our old R55 mini. All good.

Pagid also fine: now owned by ecp I believe. I fitted a new pagid wear sensor to #127 as original broke on disassembly as wasn't fitted correctly. Pagid unit was perfect fit. Used lots of their brake parts with zero issues.

All the major brands are good, although my Porsche Brembos are rusty, so don't think that finish is any different to normal, but some are supplied unfinished on the hubs ie bare steel. I usually paint mine, whatever the state on opening the box (don't paint the mating faces ....). Your challenge is the 'low dust' comment and what that means for the other pad characteristics.

jolls · Post by **jolls** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:55 pm

Gentlemen, thank you for all your replies and advice. There is certainly food for thought amongst your answers.

rc944 thanks for the recommendation. I like to try and keep the car serviced with BMW parts and had assumed the quote I received from Barons was for the Value Line. I'll contact Ed at Cotswold Hereford for a quotation.

Once again thank you all.

Fast3000 · Post by **Fast3000** » Thu Sep 13, 2018 8:23 am

Jolls how do you find the suspension refresh? Is the difference night and day? Cheers

jolls · Post by **jolls** » Thu Sep 13, 2018 11:53 am

Fast3000 wrote:Jolls how do you find the suspension refresh? Is the difference night and day? Cheers

The car is SORNâ€™ed at the moment. Iâ€™m getting it ready for an MOT but I will let you know once Iâ€™ve driven it. 👍

rc944 · Post by **rc944** » Fri Sep 14, 2018 1:02 pm

Fast3000 wrote:Jolls how do you find the suspension refresh? Is the difference night and day? Cheers

got my shiny bits in hand will go in before nov for the work to be done will report back but youre always welcome to come try for yourself!

Fast3000 · Post by **Fast3000** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 3:51 pm

Thanks RC

ali · Post by **ali** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 8:40 pm

Fast3000 wrote:Jolls how do you find the suspension refresh? Is the difference night and day? Cheers

Was for me when I did mine at 94k miles
It transformed the car

jolls · Post by **jolls** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 9:02 am

Thank you all for the recommendations. I contacted BMW at Cotswold and they were cheaper then my local BMW dealer. However I went with the Brembo set and have to say Iâ€™m pleased with feel of the brakes and there seems to be less brake dust then the previous set up.

The suspension set up has made the car feel more â€œplantedâ€ to the road. I wouldnâ€™t say a night and day difference but definitely a difference and an improvement. The car is on 90k miles so a renewal of the bushings front and back should improve the ride further.