What do you suggest for new brakes, pads, roters for older 325i the kids now use? seems like i have to put the pad to the floor for braking, even though we're probably at 50% wear. Looking for best, lowest price alternative...
OE, or Brembo or Zimmerman rotors (don't bother with drilled unless you are really hard on the brakes) and PBR deluxe or ceramic pads. Also, flush and bleed your brakes. THis is more likely than not the source of your problem right now.
Get the Turner Package Last time I did this, I just got the package from Turner Motorsports with OEM rotors, PBR Metal Masters, and Ate Super Blue. Metal Masters have been great even in our mid-west winters (always take it easy that first stop of the day). The blue color of the fluid makes flushing easy (just bleed 'till it turns blue). The kit came with rotor bolts, but mine didn't thread. I did some research and there are some rare batches of bolts that have the wrong thread. Oh well; the old ones weren't shot. -- Aubrey Granner '93 325i
If you have to put the pedal to the floor the it is either air in the system or a bad master cylinder. For rotors get plain blank rotors of any brand. Almost any brand name street pad is fine.
I suggested the pads and rotors that I did because we have had quality control problems with many other brands of rotors and noise/dust/braking issues with many other brands of pads. Our customers are always happy with the setup we use and no returns for squeal or premature warpage, unlike the crap you get at brake shops or the auto parts store. I have personally replaced 3 sets of rotors and pads on one customer's car because he initially tried to do it himself and kept taking the stuff back for warranty replacements. A set of Zimmerman rotors and PBR pads and no problems from then on.
I'm not trying to start an argument or knock your suggestion, Zimmerman and PBR are good brands. I've used Zimmerman, OEM and Wagner rotors from Oreilly. They they were all exactly the same in both design and performance. I currently use the Lifetime Wagners form Oreilly because when they reach min spec I take them back and they give me a new set free, for life. My current street pads, which I dont bother to put on the car much anymore, are also Oreilly lifetime Wagner manufactured by Textar. They are good, not great, street pad. My point is you can get decent parts from your local autoparts store. If you buy the lifetime parts and you dont like them you can get your money back.
No argument here, but it is always a pisser to have to pull your brakes again because of poor quality components. Sure, we have had the odd bad Brembo rotor, but very very rare. I prefer to spend a little extra money and only do it once. My dad takes the lifetime warranty approach and at one point we had a Hyundai that had gone through 5 lifetime warranty mufflers. Sure, the part was cheap and they kept giving us new ones, but the point is, he had to do it pretty much once a year. Same with reman drive axles. Now, being that I am cheap SOB and work in a shop, I often get parts from junk cars, but brakes are something I don't skimp on. Just my $0.02
Excellent suggestions, but I'm going to check the master cylinder and air - it could be just that! THANKS!!!
Check your brake fluid level too. If your master cylinder is shot, then there's the possibility that all of the fluid is gone in a more extreme case. Of course I doubt that is the case or you'd be either lodged in the interior of the car in front of you or you'd be lodged in a tree or some other obstacle you couldn't stop for. If your fluid level is OK, then the brake bleeding should be your next step, as Jeron suggested, to get rid of the air in your system.
