Front and rear pad replacing time

Johnbmwz4

Active member
North Yorkshire
Hi, just wondering when the front and rear pads need replacing. Nothing wrong with mine but car has done 38k miles and I’m assuming they have never been replaced as there is nothing on the service book or any paperwork to say they have been replaced. It has had the brake fluid replaced twice. On the I drive it says 32k miles left on fronts and 15k miles left on rears. There are no advisories on any MOT saying they are running low and have also got some sort of live data report from BMW going back to 2016 and gives you all the miles left on pads every time it’s had a service and all looks good to me. Should I be using the I drive as a guide to when they need replacing ? I’ve tried to look at the depths left on the pads but are very difficult to actually see them. Photos of the live data attached.
 

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I’ve tried but the rear ones are very difficult to see what’s left on them , maybe because there’s not a lot of meat left on them. Fronts look ok but seems like a lot of miles on original pads but unsure how long they should be expected to last. Car looks to have been used as a weekend toy all its life and the guy I bought it off bought it from a BMW main dealer as an approved used car so I can’t imagine it’s ever been on a track or even abused at all hence why still on the same pads.
 
Rears wear out much faster on E89s due to DSC system..you can wait till the green icon turns yellow..at that point you have adequate time to swap them out but you will then defintely need new brake wear sensors..often when you try to get the old ones out they break up as a result of heat and age..

No harm in swapping out earlier..how do the discs look?

Later pads like Textar's epad offer slightly better pedal feel etc plus less dust FWIW
 
Disks look ok to me. It’s due an mot in July so will see what the garage think. I’ll replace them if they recommend it.
 
Rears probably get 35k and fronts 50k plus. (my experience).
Main reason to change, not wear but dust.
After a few days wheels can be black with brake or disc dust.
 
flybobbie said:
Rears probably get 35k and fronts 50k plus. (my experience).
Main reason to change, not wear but dust.
After a few days wheels can be black with brake or disc dust.

After my recent 1,200 road trip I was suprised how matt black my gloss black wheels were..going to go with the Brembo HP2000 pads on the front (with my 6 pot calipers) and Textar e pads on rear for those reasons..
 
Depending how many miles you do I wouldn't rush to replace them if they still work OK.

I've had my 3 Series over 3 years and the OBC has been showing 11,000 miles for the rear pads since I got it, although I have only done 10,000 miles in it!

To be fair I don't drive it hard enough to trigger the Traction Control - that's what my Z4 is for. :lol:
 
warmasice said:
Out of interest, is the consensus now not to apply copper grease to the back of the pads?
Most come rubber like material backed so no need for grease.
Certainly the green stuff pads i have used.
 
flybobbie said:
Rears probably get 35k and fronts 50k plus. (my experience).
Main reason to change, not wear but dust.
After a few days wheels can be black with brake or disc dust.

The rears on mine have been changed every 12k and the fronts average around 20k
 
B21 said:
Rears wear out much faster on E89s due to DSC system..you can wait till the green icon turns yellow..at that point you have adequate time to swap them out but you will then defintely need new brake wear sensors..often when you try to get the old ones out they break up as a result of heat and age..

No harm in swapping out earlier..how do the discs look?

Later pads like Textar's epad offer slightly better pedal feel etc plus less dust FWIW

I wasn't aware of Textar epads at all. I need to do the fronts on the 335i soon so I'll give them a try.

Was planning on EBC redstuff but I'll try these instead.
 
R.E92 said:
B21 said:
Rears wear out much faster on E89s due to DSC system..you can wait till the green icon turns yellow..at that point you have adequate time to swap them out but you will then defintely need new brake wear sensors..often when you try to get the old ones out they break up as a result of heat and age..

No harm in swapping out earlier..how do the discs look?

Later pads like Textar's epad offer slightly better pedal feel etc plus less dust FWIW

I wasn't aware of Textar epads at all. I need to do the fronts on the 335i soon so I'll give them a try.

Was planning on EBC redstuff but I'll try these instead.

The ePad variant is not available in all sizes..hence why for my 6 potters whilst I can get a stock Textar pad I can't get an epad..hence going for the upspec Brembo pad which is basically similar technology.. :thumbsup:
 
EBC redstuff pads are an amazing product, partially ceramic (no they dont wear your discs out) and virtually dust free with amazing stopping power. Highly recommended.
Iron based pads produce the dark dust that discolours/damages your wheel laquer as particles of super hot iron come off and land on the laquer
 
mcbutler said:
EBC redstuff pad

when I checked their web site just now it said "Sorry, no results found." for Z4s...

https://www.ebcbrakeshop.co.uk/ebc-brake-pads/red-stuff-pads/bmw_c34361.htm

Did find this web site that works

https://www.ebcbrakeshop.co.uk/info-brake-parts?make=BMW&year=2012&model=Z4+E89&engineSelect=3.0+Twin+Turbo+%2835%29+%28340%29&engine=3.0+Twin+Turbo+%2835%29&bhp=340
 
B21 said:
mcbutler said:
EBC redstuff pad
can’t comment on availability, they are widely available through distributors.

when I checked their web site just now it said "Sorry, no results found." for Z4s...

https://www.ebcbrakeshop.co.uk/ebc-brake-pads/red-stuff-pads/bmw_c34361.htm

Did find this web site that works

https://www.ebcbrakeshop.co.uk/info-brake-parts?make=BMW&year=2012&model=Z4+E89&engineSelect=3.0+Twin+Turbo+%2835%29+%28340%29&engine=3.0+Twin+Turbo+%2835%29&bhp=340
 
Fitted the redstuff pads to my brothers car and they are OK but he still gets wheel dust and they squeal a bit at low speeds.
 
R.E92 said:
Fitted the redstuff pads to my brothers car and they are OK but he still gets wheel dust and they squeal a bit at low speeds.
Yeah you will get dust, a lot less of it and its a lighter colour, crucially its not hot iron specs that melt into the lacquer.
Squealing might be to do with disc choice/wear - who knows, maybe a wee bit of copper grease on the contact points of the pad in the caliper.....
 
mcbutler said:
R.E92 said:
Fitted the redstuff pads to my brothers car and they are OK but he still gets wheel dust and they squeal a bit at low speeds.
Yeah you will get dust, a lot less of it and its a lighter colour, crucially its not hot iron specs that melt into the lacquer.
Squealing might be to do with disc choice/wear - who knows, maybe a wee bit of copper grease on the contact points of the pad in the caliper.....

They've been off twice already, cleaned up the carriers, checked disk runout and put a light coat of ceratec on the contact points but they still do it. It's not terrible but EBC did say that redstuff were supposed to be the low noise street pad.
 
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