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      05-05-2015, 07:51 AM   #1
Lambobimmer
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Installed new brakes on the Z

Fairly straight forward job.

I bought most of the parts from partsgeek.com because they were the only company that offered Zimmerman front and rear rotors. In addition to the rotors I purchase Stoptech Performance brake pads and new front and rear sensors. I was not able to get the brake fluid that I wanted from them so I purchased Motul 5.1 from ECS tuning and I also bought their stainless brake rotor screws.

I was able to get all of my rotors screws off without stripping them but I won't ever have to worry about these bolts seizing in the future with these stainless bolts.

The electric parking brake wasn't much of an issue either. I removed the motor and used the correct a torx socket to turn the mechanism on the back of the caliper as far as you can. I cannot remember which direction but you will figure it out when you cannot push the piston back. If you turn the parking brake component in the correct direction you will be able to push the piston back with your hands. That was the only part of this brake job that is different.

My 2009 Z4 with 47k miles still had the original brakes. The fronts were completely gone with very little material left on the pads. The rears probably could have gone another 30 to 40k.

I got all of the parts for less than $500 and my labor was free.

I only need to reset the service indicators with my BT Cable and I should be good to go for another 45k.
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      05-05-2015, 01:13 PM   #2
rking117
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lambobimmer View Post
...I only need to reset the service indicators with my BT Cable and I should be good to go for another 45k.
You can also reset via the odo button on the dash. I dont remember the exact sequence but i know i pressed it and held it in for like 10 seconds to get to the menu. Of course the key fob has to be engaged but vehicle not on.
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      05-04-2016, 08:50 AM   #3
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I recently changed my brakes and rotors and had a horrible time with the reset. I think I have it figured out and joined this forum specifically to post my experience.

Things to know.
* Your brake pad sensor cable may be dammaged.
* You will need to disconnect the front and rear brake pad sensors on the car side (not the pad side).
* The front sensor is easy, it is located under the hood near the driver wheel.
* The rear sensor is in the passenger rear wheel well. It requires a 10mm and 8mm socket. there is a little door, that must be unclipped then you gain access to the cable.
* You have to disconnect both, in order to reset once the fault is triggered.
* I started the car, with the cable disconnected, then I followed the reset procedure, then turned the car off.
* Finally I connected the new cable and started the car.

I had alot of problems because at first, I could not get the option to hit RESET on the rear brake pad, then I figured out how to enable the RESET option, but it would not clear. It would chime and show the maintenance light.

I finally figured out i had to disconnect the front cable too.

Here is the procedure. Pay attention to step 3.


I was struggling to reset my oil service, my brake pad sensors etc. and then I found a youtube video that explained a step that other forum posts did not mention.

1. With door closed and foot of the brake pedal.....Stick key in ignition and press START. (Depending on if you have a fault, this will bring up an icon of the CAR SERVICE or CAR ON LIFT follwed by your faults).
2. Use your Scroll up button to select SERVICE INFO.
3. Push the BC button twice (this step is not mentioned anywhere, but is required if you have a fault.
4. Hold the ODOMETER BUTTON, Keep holding and a yellow triangle appears, followed by your fault.
5. You are now in reset mode allowing you to select RESET by holding down the BC button for a few seconds.

If you find that you cannot or do not get the reset option despite following the instructions, it is very likely you skipped step 3.

The youtube video that shows the necessary step 3 is here. Look for the it around the 40 second mark.

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      05-04-2016, 05:48 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lambobimmer View Post
Fairly straight forward job.

I bought most of the parts from partsgeek.com because they were the only company that offered Zimmerman front and rear rotors. In addition to the rotors I purchase Stoptech Performance brake pads and new front and rear sensors. I was not able to get the brake fluid that I wanted from them so I purchased Motul 5.1 from ECS tuning and I also bought their stainless brake rotor screws.

I was able to get all of my rotors screws off without stripping them but I won't ever have to worry about these bolts seizing in the future with these stainless bolts.

The electric parking brake wasn't much of an issue either. I removed the motor and used the correct a torx socket to turn the mechanism on the back of the caliper as far as you can. I cannot remember which direction but you will figure it out when you cannot push the piston back. If you turn the parking brake component in the correct direction you will be able to push the piston back with your hands. That was the only part of this brake job that is different.

My 2009 Z4 with 47k miles still had the original brakes. The fronts were completely gone with very little material left on the pads. The rears probably could have gone another 30 to 40k.

I got all of the parts for less than $500 and my labor was free.

I only need to reset the service indicators with my BT Cable and I should be good to go for another 45k.
So this brings to mind one of my all time favorite forum topics (regardless of maker), why replace a perfectly good rotor (assuming they were within spec) when you can have them turned for $10-15/each? I'm sure BMW specifies replacing rather than machining, buy in over 50 years of car ownership, I have never replaced a brake disc unless it went metal-on-metal. Why would a BMW be any different?
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      05-04-2016, 07:15 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paris1
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lambobimmer View Post
Fairly straight forward job.

I bought most of the parts from partsgeek.com because they were the only company that offered Zimmerman front and rear rotors. In addition to the rotors I purchase Stoptech Performance brake pads and new front and rear sensors. I was not able to get the brake fluid that I wanted from them so I purchased Motul 5.1 from ECS tuning and I also bought their stainless brake rotor screws.

I was able to get all of my rotors screws off without stripping them but I won't ever have to worry about these bolts seizing in the future with these stainless bolts.

The electric parking brake wasn't much of an issue either. I removed the motor and used the correct a torx socket to turn the mechanism on the back of the caliper as far as you can. I cannot remember which direction but you will figure it out when you cannot push the piston back. If you turn the parking brake component in the correct direction you will be able to push the piston back with your hands. That was the only part of this brake job that is different.

My 2009 Z4 with 47k miles still had the original brakes. The fronts were completely gone with very little material left on the pads. The rears probably could have gone another 30 to 40k.

I got all of the parts for less than $500 and my labor was free.

I only need to reset the service indicators with my BT Cable and I should be good to go for another 45k.
So this brings to mind one of my all time favorite forum topics (regardless of maker), why replace a perfectly good rotor (assuming they were within spec) when you can have them turned for $10-15/each? I'm sure BMW specifies replacing rather than machining, buy in over 50 years of car ownership, I have never replaced a brake disc unless it went metal-on-metal. Why would a BMW be any different?
BMW specifies a minimum thickness of the rotor. In our case it's 22.4 mm in front and 18.4 mm in the rear. That's why.
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      05-04-2016, 07:33 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jparnes1 View Post
BMW specifies a minimum thickness of the rotor. In our case it's 22.4 mm in front and 18.4 mm in the rear. That's why.
That's only half an answer. It assumes that the rotors will always be thinner than that when pads are needed.
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      05-04-2016, 09:17 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paris1
Quote:
Originally Posted by jparnes1 View Post
BMW specifies a minimum thickness of the rotor. In our case it's 22.4 mm in front and 18.4 mm in the rear. That's why.
That's only half an answer. It assumes that the rotors will always be thinner than that when pads are needed.
The rotors start off much thicker than the minimum-I think 30 mm. My experience is that rotors get changed with every other pad change. At that point BMW feels the metal is too thin to withstand braking forces.
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      05-06-2016, 01:03 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jparnes1 View Post
The rotors start off much thicker than the minimum-I think 30 mm. My experience is that rotors get changed with every other pad change. At that point BMW feels the metal is too thin to withstand braking forces.
Then what is the point of having 22.4/18.4mm minimum thickness limits. Either you're within the limit or you're outside of it. Number of pad changes has nothing to do with it (unless anecdotally) and it's not like BMW brakes are metallurgicaly any different from other manufacturers. I guess it's possible that they use more abrasive pads than some others, but that would simply mean you can't turn them too many times before you're at the limit..
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      02-13-2017, 08:26 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paris1 View Post
Then what is the point of having 22.4/18.4mm minimum thickness limits. Either you're within the limit or you're outside of it. Number of pad changes has nothing to do with it (unless anecdotally) and it's not like BMW brakes are metallurgicaly any different from other manufacturers. I guess it's possible that they use more abrasive pads than some others, but that would simply mean you can't turn them too many times before you're at the limit..
My 330 as an example was under the min thickness all 3 times I've done the brakes. 1 set of pads wears out 1 rotor. No tracking though. Another reason I just buy new rotors is time, and the fact that getting those old rotors off the car the first time has just about always required the use of a hammer to break the corrosion weld. (new ones now go on with a little grease around the hub, but for the 330 that didn't matter as they're too thin anyways) Also, around here, turning a rotor is apparently a specialty skill and commands $30 / rotor. I hit 3 shops, all quoting about the same rate and stopped looking. On the various cars I've owned, I've never been able to turn a rotor more than once, and quite often after turning, the rotor was near min thickness and would warp sometime during the run of the second set of pads.

Again, this is for regular street driving. Tracking is a whole different ballgame.
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