Brake pads and rotors done by an indy
 

I had my brake pads and rotors replaced recently. (2001 X5 3.0 sport) Ximmerman coated (plain finish) rotors and Akebono euros somethingsbrake pads.
Is it possble they may have been done incorrectly, there appears to be almost no play between pads and rotors, and when they get hot i can barely move. I don't recall the clearance being so minimal, is there something that may have been done incorrectly that would cause the pads to rest on the rotors?

Pads always JUST ABOUT rest on the rotors. You want as little clearance as possible between the pads and rotor.

Couple of things may have happened.

1) The pads might be a bit thicker than stock. Thus, they may expand enough under heat to grab the rotor. This happened to me. However, the pad material on my pads was so damn thick that I couldn't even get them to slide around the rotor - thus, I had to send them back to the manufacturer to get them ground down. Anyways, as your pads wear down, this problem will go away. The problem is that you'll be overheating your rotors so letting the pads wear down alone is NOT a good idea.

2) Perhaps the mechanic didn't clean the protective coating off the rotors and it therefore got transfered onto the pads, contaminating them and causing them to stick. If this is the case, you're going to have to get new pads. Make sure to clean the rotors with brake cleaner before installing the new pads. And, if this is the case, have your mechanic foot the bill.

One other possibility is that your mechanic may have over-adjusted your e-brake.

Go back and have him check it out.

Rotors have a very small amount of run-out, by design. That is what pushes the pads back when you aren't applying the brakes.

When the pads are worn, the caliper piston is working at the outer limit of the bore, and there is space behind the piston. That is the lowest spot in the system, and is where moisture collects in the brake fluid. Then the caliper bore can corrode from that moisture sitting there. When the piston is pushed back in to make room for the new pads, it is now working on the area that may have corroded. That is what causes calipers to stick after replacement brake pads are installed. Make sure the pistons aren't hanging up. It all may just be tight, or it may be dragging. If the latter, get it looked at.

You do not remove the coating from the surface of Zimmerman rotors. Sounds more like JCL said.

Pretty sure the design of the seals on most brake caliper pull the pistons back in the tiny bit (I don't know but like 0.01"?) to give clearance between the pads and rotors.

I have never heard of runout being designed into a brake system. Small amounts or runout are where pad deposits form and start down the road to 'warped brakes' (often just uneven pad material deposits into the rotors)


But, on topic...
Just call up the indy and tell them whats going on. You paid them to do it, why look at it yourself? If they are decent, they will at least look at it.
I would try not to drive it too much to avoid causing extra heat damage to the rotors.