Brake rotors and pads

["Gary Krumian" <gary@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Brake talk is my favorite.
 
Minimum thickness for the 535i rotor is 20.4mm.
 
Slotted rotors are fine but only if they've been factory-slotted and not
by a third party shop.  Cross drilling and slotting requires some stress
relieving for the rotor to not crack or warp quickly, something which
can really be properly done at the factory.
 
Recommended rotors are only OE or OE-type rotors, such as Balo, Brembo
and Ate.  The quality in rotors is not just in the metallurgy but also
(and more importantly) in the balance of the rotor.  This is something
that Balo does really well.
 
In our experience, there's nothing special about standard Pagid pads.
They're the same composition as the OE Jurid, Textar or Ate pads, which
is to say, they contain carbon and dust a lot.  People hate the dust but
for me, these are the best type of pads.  If you don't want dusting,
we've been having good luck with Mintex.  Mintex also makes 5 race
compounds from street/race to full race.  They've been very successful
for us and other campaigning their cars in CCA races.
 
There was a comment about Metalmaster pads.  These were great in the
early 80s when there was a need for asbestos free pads.  The problem
with Metalmasters is their thermal instability.  They fade very quickly,
quicker than the Deluxe pad.  Add to that the fact that they eat rotors
and what's left is my amazement at why people still use these pads.
Having said all this, I still have one set for the E30 M3 if anyone must
have them.  Cheap.
 
Regards,
Gary
 
Inter Auto Parts, Inc.
Parts and Accessories for European Automobiles
http://www.interautoparts.com

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