Where to buy rotors/pads/sensor for '05 4.4i Sport?

[DesertRat]

I need to do a complete brake job on my wife's 2005 4.4i Sport. Where can I get OEM parts at a reasonable price and with good service?

-Andrew

[DesertRat]

So I've found Centric and Power Stop. Power Stop has a kit for about $600. Has anyone tried either of these and what's been the experience?

Thanks in advance.

[cfmistry]

ECS Tuning is a forum sponsor that offers great prices on OE BMW parts. I got all 4 BMW rotors, 2 sensors, and PBR Deluxe pads (less dust) for <$500 shipped.

I highly suggest you search around on the aforementioned rotors to see the reviews (iirc the centric blanks are great but any drilled/slotted rotor has had warping problems).

[DesertRat]

Originally Posted by cfmistry

ECS Tuning is a forum sponsor that offers great prices on OE BMW parts. I got all 4 BMW rotors, 2 sensors, and PBR Deluxe pads (less dust) for <$500 shipped.

I highly suggest you search around on the aforementioned rotors to see the reviews (iirc the centric blanks are great but any drilled/slotted rotor has had warping problems).

Thanks for the tip. I'll check out ECS Tuning for sure. Were your parts BMW OE or OE replaceplacements? If they were replacements, how do they compare to BMW OE?

Thanks.

[PersonaNonGrata]

The ECS kit is the easiest way to go since it's one stop shopping but if you decide to go it on your own, the Centric rotors are great. I have them and have put lots and lots of miles on them without issue. I also like that the hats are powder coated so no rust.

I got them from a major online auto parts store where shipping was free. Shipping on brake rotors is very expensive, as you can imagine.

[MINIz guy]

Zeckhausen is also good and a former sponsor of the site. They were a couple of bucks cheaper too when I priced out similar rotor/pad replacements.

[cfmistry]

Originally Posted by DesertRat

Thanks for the tip. I'll check out ECS Tuning for sure. Were your parts BMW OE or OE replaceplacements? If they were replacements, how do they compare to BMW OE?

Thanks.

What I bought from ECS was OE BMW in the BMW boxes. If you want OE pads it may run you a bit more, but I wanted less dust so the PBRs made sense for me. As mentioned above ECS also has prepackaged kits but since I wanted OE parts I decided to piece everything together myself. Apparently this setup lasts very long compared OE pads, we'll see! There is about 1/5 as much dust (what used to take me a week to build up now takes me 5). But they are squealing a bit so I'm not sure I can recommend them :/

[xxxxxman]

Be careful when ordering rotors. Some sell a solid rotor instead of the vented one for the rear. I prefer the Raybestos Advanced technology (check out rockauto.com) for rotors and the PBR semi metallic pads. The Advanced Technology rotors are reasonably priced and are nicer than the OEM's because the hubs are powder coated.

[Dking05]

ECS tuning for sure!

If you want to venture off the oem line, i reccomend their Zimmerman Rotors, i have them on the 550i and the coating looks amazing.

[faranks]

I just did all corners on my '00 4.4: Stoptech Street performance pads and Centric solid rotors from PartsGeek.com. The pads are considerable cheaper there than everywhere else for some reason, IDK. I spent under $300. If you follow their break-in procedure it greatly reduces your likelyhood of "warping" and they are killer brakes even when cold. I have used a lot of different pad on a lot of dif machines, these are legit. And I don't change the sensors unless they have actually been worn and triggered lights obviously. I've tried slotted and cross-drilled rotors and witnessed no real benefit on the street. My opinion.