# What brand and version brake discs do you buy?



## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Hi All,

I've always tried to stick to Brembo solid discs but the last time I put them on, they warped quite quickly.

There's a nasty hill on the dual-carriageway with a sharp turn off, I think it just kills discs.

What brands and versions of Discs and Pads have you had the most luck with?

I've heard good things about Pagid? 

I'm looking to stop a hefty old 5 series BMW.

Cheers


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## percymon (Jun 27, 2007)

I have a few mechanic friends who say that the Eicher discs from ECP are very good in terms of quality - I've always steered clear of them because they are normally the cheapest ones, favouring Brembo if only for the fact they are 'brake people'. I've never had an issue with Brembo. 

I did fit EBC grooved discs and yellow pads to my last Mini Countryman (heavy old thing with diesel and 4wd) and they were far far better than the factory items in terms of bite (cold and hot) and stopping distance. They weren't a particularly cheap option (even with stock disc sizes) but they did make a big difference - your 530i is about the same weight as my Countryman SD All4 (1530Kg vs 1480Kg)!


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Just changed mine all round on the ATR.

Previous owner had fitted Bremtech discs which have taken some abuse over the years and needed changing. I've used Ferodo DS2500 pads until now which i've been impressed by.

I've just changed all the discs to Mtech grooved. Dimples on discs seem to be frowned upon by most people due to cracking issues. The grooves are well spaced so hopefully won't suffer from cracking.

Changed the pads to PBS Prorace after hearing many good reviews. They seem to be performing very well, nice and grabby when cold and face in the windscreen when stopping hard at speed. A really good improvement over the DS2500s, although obvioulsy i'm also getting the benefit of new discs.


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## percymon (Jun 27, 2007)

Just to add - one of the biggest culprits for warped discs is sitting at traffic lights with the brake pedal depressed - hot pads on a local spot of the disc which isn't getting cooled like the rest of the exposed disc. Ditto motorway junctions with lights at the end of the sliproad.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

percymon said:


> Just to add - one of the biggest culprits for warped discs is sitting at traffic lights with the brake pedal depressed - hot pads on a local spot of the disc which isn't getting cooled like the rest of the exposed disc. Ditto motorway junctions with lights at the end of the sliproad.


Hand brake on can be a bit unkind in some situations I am told but then the rear brakes don't generally do as much work.

Do AP racing make a kit for a regular 5 series?


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

Ebc are great quality

Used Pagid a few times in the past and they were okay but they are meant to be coated not to rust ...they did



Shiny said:


> Just changed mine all round on the ATR.
> 
> Previous owner had fitted Bremtech discs which have taken some abuse over the years and needed changing. I've used Ferodo DS2500 pads until now which i've been impressed by.
> 
> ...


Illegal pads from mr insurance?


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## percymon (Jun 27, 2007)

Kimo said:


> Illegal pads from mr insurance?


Yes, PBS have disclaimers all over their website - I think they exclude every characteristic there is about their products, never mind the 'not for road use' aspect


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## tosh (Dec 30, 2005)

For BMWs, I would use either ATE or Textar
cheapest place for ATE has been www.mister-auto.co.uk (shipped from UK)
cheapest place for Textar has been www.autodoc.co.uk (shipped from DE)

I believe these are OEM suppliers to BMW (along with Brembo for m-performance brakes)

Drilled, grooved, slotted discs just make more noise and wear out your pads quicker - they do look nice though.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

We tend to fit Pagid and have very few issues, occassionally APEC but only if we are desperate and its a light car.

BMW genuine are working out very cheap, well not cheap but similar in price to brembo on th discs, the pads are a little more expensive. They also offer kits which saves a few pound. On 5 series more often than not ECP supply Brembo, if you fancy a change try BMW genuine discs and then go with Pagid/brembo pads, more often than not the brembo pads come complete with warning wire, or just use an APEC warning wire for les than £10.

On a F series 520d its around £370 for front discs and pads fitted inc wire if you mix and match.


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## Sam6er (Apr 3, 2016)

i usually stick to Pagid disks and pads for most of my cars. Never let me down yet. Iv used Apec disks twice on 2 different cars and both times the disks warped, never used them again.


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

I had EBC discs and pads all round on my last car for eight years, they were very good, offered amazing stopping power and I never had a single problem with them.


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## gargreen7 (Apr 12, 2009)

Suzuki OE Discs and pads, then cut with GodSpeed brakes G Hooks


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Whatever I'm driving I tend to go either genuine or Brembo/Pagid

Throughout ownership of my Hondas in the past I have always gone genuine discs/pads.
Seem exceptional quality, fit, reliability and don't squeal. I don't know who makes them, but they just work. Not that I drive hard tbh.

Recently on the Porsche I've got Pagid discs/pads which are as they come from factory afaik.
They were on when I bought the car and I had to have them skimmed as they had warped slightly which was a bit disappointing. They have been fine since. Tend to create quite a bit of brake dust.

On the RS200 I moved away from genuine Renault parts and went for Brembo HC discs/pads on the front from KamRacing and Pagid discs/Brembo pads on the back (with the bearings built in to the discs)
Both sets seem decent, don't dust up too much, and don't squeal.
The fronts were coated from factory, to stop rusting.
The Pagid rear discs weren't so I sprayed the centres black to complement the black wheels.
All seems good.

I have a 160k CR-V too and I've replaced front and back discs and pads with standard Brembo items from ECP.
The fronts squealed a lot to begin with, but after 1000-1500miles they stopped completely.
They are quiet as a mouse now.

I had a MINI a couple of years ago and replaced the genuine rear discs/pads with Brembo and they squealed a bit every now and again too.
I concur with what was said earlier in the thread, I think the ones we took off were Textar. (BMW oem stuff)


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Thanks for all the replies so far  really appreciate it.

I asked BMW for a quote:

Front pads with sensor £97.37
Front discs pair £209.74

I'm not buying BMW OEM. :lol:


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

60% off at moment at gsfcarparts.com (GSF60)

50% off eurocarparts (SALE55)

If I remember correctly MINI rear discs and pads with wear sensor from BMW/MINI dealer were around the £200 mark.
I got Brembos from GSF for £88 all in.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Starbuck88 said:


> Thanks for all the replies so far  really appreciate it.
> 
> I asked BMW for a quote:
> 
> ...


Trade discount varies between 25 and 50 % .... its a bit hit and miss and they have various promotions.


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## Arvi (Apr 11, 2007)

I got some Brembos for my Alpina from GSF on offer. £300 for pads and disks, with the coated hub so no rust. Been clean as the day I fitted.

https://thealpinaregister.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=19135&highlight=brakes


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## K777mk2 (Jun 30, 2016)

I have just ordered some Brembo pads for my O/H's Mini.

I ordered from www.buycarparts.co.uk

I am sure they will be fine, but beware, if your desperate like I was , that company is a German company and all products are sent from Germany, they take upto 5 days to process the order (so prob don't even stock), and then a further 3 days for delivery to the UK.

(plus make sure your O/H doesn't just ignore the service indication just because it disappears)


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## mikechesterman (May 25, 2013)

Pagid and Brembo make a lot of discs and pads for OEM cars, so either of those are fine.

9/10 we fit Pagid.


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## Jack R (Dec 15, 2014)

I had pagid on my Astra but then went for some cheaper ones and wish I hadn’t but was a bit desperate at the time, now looking to replace for either pagid OE or upgrade to EBC as there local. The Nissan will be getting OE when they need doing.


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## AnthonyUK (Jul 25, 2018)

I use Brembo which on my Merc work out at approx. £200 all round which is good for 300mm discs.

I like the fact they are supplied with grub screws and caliper bolts.


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## G.P (Dec 13, 2011)

Starbuck88 said:


> I've heard good things about Pagid?
> 
> I'm looking to stop a hefty old 5 series BMW.


I'd heard that to, so fitted Pagid front discs and pads to the wife's petrol light (ish) Ibiza, they work fine and grab less but she's just warped the 3rd set of discs in 9 months doing her 12 miles daily commute, she's a careful driver who doesn't use the brakes hard. Beforehand the car was on standard OE for 9 years without problems.

I also fitted Pagid pads to the front of my TDi Leon, from cold I now tend to sale out of junctions especially if damp and they grab.

Since this I now know someone with them fitted to a RS500 who has also since removed them and gone back to APC.

On the other hand, my local tech fits Pagid to all (but since the above not to VAG's) customers cars without problems, many of which are BMW's..


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

G.P said:


> I'd heard that to, so fitted Pagid front discs and pads to the wife's petrol light (ish) Ibiza, they work fine and grab less but she's just warped the 3rd set of discs in 9 months doing her 12 miles daily commute, she's a careful driver who doesn't use the brakes hard. Beforehand the car was on standard OE for 9 years without problems.
> 
> I also fitted Pagid pads to the front of my TDi Leon, from cold I now tend to sale out of junctions especially if damp and they grab.
> 
> ...


It's bonkers isn't it. The last thing I want, is to buy a new set, to replace a warped set and have them warp immediately.


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## HEADPHONES (Jan 1, 2008)

Had a quote from National Tyres to supply and fit discs and pads on our 06 Mini for £350.
Eurocarparts had one of their many sales on.
Their basic discs and pads were a mere £88. That makes the labour charge about £270 for their quoted 1&1/2 hrs job :lol:
Anyhow.
Went with the Brembo kit for £165 and it's been fine.
Admittedly it's not driven too hard and is a pretty small light car.


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

HEADPHONES said:


> Had a quote from National Tyres to supply and fit discs and pads on our 06 Mini for £350.
> Eurocarparts had one of their many sales on.
> Their basic discs and pads were a mere £88. That makes the labour charge about £270 for their quoted 1&1/2 hrs job :lol:
> Anyhow.
> ...


Hour and a half?? Did my rears last week with trolley jack and no air tools. Took me 30minutes😀


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## Derek Mc (Jun 27, 2006)

Have to be honest, in my direct BMW experience I have found :-
ATE discs are fine pads are horrendous for dust performance is spot on
Pagid discs are brilliant pads are average for dust perform really well
Textar only used pads and they were truly awful for dust and resin on the wheels

Brembo pads brilliant but very expensive
Yellow stuff, great as they had very little dust

Imported via ebay USA - BMW own brand brake pads that are almost dust free cheap, and worked really well on a V12 BMW e38!


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## Vossman (Aug 5, 2010)

I have had 2 sets of Pagid go bad on me, warped badly withing 6 months of normal use, I fitted a set of TRW discs and pads all round over 12 months ago and touch wood to yet no problems and they stop very well, there isn't too much dust either and my car is heavy (MG ZT). The discs haven't rusted either, they have some sort of a coat on them (black) but not like Pagid which rusted for me within a month.
I would buy them again based on my current experience. 
With all discs and pads just make sure you don't buy fakes, there are so many about.


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