Brake Pads

[Mark333032]

The genuine BMW brake pads on my car quickly make a big black brake dust mess all over my alloy wheels faster than any other other car I have owned. Front especially. Has anyone tried any other brake pad brands?

[6coupe]

I've found the same issue and bought some EBC Redstuff pads front and rear. They'll be going on this week, before a 450mile trip, so will see how dusty they are.

Annoyingly while removing, cleaning and sealing the alloys for the first time yesterday I found one of the rear bolts appears cross-threaded, turned a 1/4 turn then stopped, so I may need to swap the rear discs out at the same time.

I'll let you know how dusty these are, and if they perform better / worse or no different to OEM.

[Mark333032]

Redstuff. I was thinking about those myself so look forward to hearing how they work out for you.

[darms]

do any of you guys know if the ECU needs resetting once you change the pads? or have they not advanced to this level yet?

[6coupe]

It has a wear sensor, so as long as you don't hit that, it doesn't need replacing. The computer needs telling you've got new pads as it calculates mileage until next replacement.

[Mark333032]

I finally got around to replacing all 4 discs and pads at the week-end. Brake judder and a warning at the last service they were on their way out prompted me to do it. BMW quoted £1,306 to supply and fit and of course brakes are not covered by the Service Pack so I would have to pay myself. But I did not want BMW pads again anyway because they make such a mess of the wheels so I decided to source all the parts and fit them myself at home.

I bought a set of Zimmerman discs and EBC Redstuff pads from an eBay supplier in Germany
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Zimmermann...AAAOSwARZXm40f

for £529 delivered

My F13 brakes are the same as the F10 and F11. The kit comes with
• Pair or rear discs (3421 677 5289)
• Wear sensor rear right (3435 679 1962)
• Front left disc (3411 678 5669)
• Front right disc (3411 678 5670),
• Wear sensor front left (3435 679 1958)
• Set of EBC Redstuff pads

You can check out part numbers for your own car here
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select

I’ve been twirling spanners on my own cars for many years and for most cars a disc and brake pad job is easy peasy. The 6er is not quite so straightforward but is quite do-able at home.

Here is a Youtube video explaining how to tackle the rear brakes. This is for pads only but the extra steps to remove the other bracketry and then discs will be obvious once you get there. The key point is to wind back the electronic motor before pushing the piston back in.

Here is another video for the front brakes. This is for an older M5. Start at 4:98. The front calipers are massive and similar to the 6er’s but not exactly the same. The spring plate has a single latch tab, the caliper guide bolts require a 9mm hex (not a 7mm) to remove them and there is a single piston on the 6er. Again, the extra steps to remove the other bracketry and to replace the discs will be obvious once you get there.

I have to say it took me all day but I did take the opportunity to give the wheels and calipers a good clean while they were off and one of the disc retaining screws (34211161806) had seized which meant I had to resort to extreme drilling and hammering measures to get it out which took ages. So if you fancy having a go, get a couple of these and use a little copperslip on the threads when you put them back in
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-BRAKE-...0AAOSwgZ1XuaX6

The car feels great with no judder and excellent braking from the outset. Time will tell about brake dust.

Just need to work out how to re-set the brake pad service menu item in the iDrive which still shows 3,500 miles left on the pads.

[Walt White Coupe]

2011-2016 BMW 6-Series 640i 650i Oil Service Light Reminder Reset:
To turning off the Service Warning Message on 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 BMW 6-Series 640i 650i, conform to the following instructions:
• Turn the ignition key to position “ON” without starting the engine
• Press and hold the instrument cluster button on bottom left of tach
• Display will change and show Service symbol
• Press same button again to scroll the relevant Service menu

• When you reach the engine oil option (pic) press and hold until option appears to reset interval
• Press and hold the button again to confirm

While this is for the engine oil, it works for all settings.

[Mark333032]

That fixed it Walt. Thanks a lot pal.

Mark