Time for rotors

[Jehu]

These guys (http://www.designrt.net/rotor.htm)will sell me four of these vented,slotted Brembo rotors for $350.00 I had thought of upgrading the calipers and thus resizing rotors but too many other financial and time considerations require i act now and get a set of rotors on. The shudder under braking is as bad as i want it to get. The reason i consider them is their shop is a half hour drive away from me and i can buy them online in NH and pay no sales Tax.

are these (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E34-E36-E32-E46-FRONT-BRAKE-PADS-EUR394_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33567QQihZ015QQi temZ250055343995QQtcZphoto)

the Ceramic pads (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E39-528-525-540-530-Rear-Brake-Pads-AKEBONE-EUR763_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33567QQihZ015QQi temZ250055292371QQtcZphoto)discussed recently?

[Bill R.]

Yes, those are the ceramic pads discussed recently but they are typically cheaper here (http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/results.jsp?autoMake=BMW&autoModel=540i&autoYear=1995&autoModClar=)




These guys (http://www.designrt.net/rotor.htm)will sell me four of these vented,slotted Brembo rotors for $350.00 I had thought of upgrading the calipers and thus resizing rotors but too many other financial and time considerations require i act now and get a set of rotors on. The shudder under braking is as bad as i want it to get. The reason i consider them is their shop is a half hour drive away from me and i can buy them online in NH and pay no sales Tax.

are these (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E34-E36-E32-E46-FRONT-BRAKE-PADS-EUR394_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33567QQihZ015QQi temZ250055343995QQtcZphoto)

the Ceramic pads (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E39-528-525-540-530-Rear-Brake-Pads-AKEBONE-EUR763_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33567QQihZ015QQi temZ250055292371QQtcZphoto)discussed recently?

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Buy the OEM rotors ( Brembo, ATE, cheapo Chinese) and pick up the better pads.

You'll never realize the rotor differance unless you tear up the track or are in police chases racing from Bris to Bris.

save your money to cover your seats in plastic & buy more Barry Manilow CDs.

[Gayle]

Why are you thinking about slotted roters? Bling factor or the heat dissipaton BS? Bling is really the only justification for slotted roters.


http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h235/Bimmerfest06/stuff3Small.jpg

Here is a thread with a lot of roter discussion from last spring. I think it has information in it that may be helpful to you.

http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=20831

[fkong777]

I run akebono euro pads. They are great. very little dust. Just get plain rotors. I had brembo rotors once and some shop installed cheap pads to use with them and it screwed upt the rotors. You have to be careful of the type of pads to use with x-drilled rotors.

[Jehu]

I don't need to get them slotted.I wasn't thinking of drilled.I guess i buy the idea of the slots allowing gas escape and scraping you a fresh pad surface every time you hit the brakes.. Wears the pads faster but i looked at mine with 20,000 miles on them today and they have a ton of meat left and the rotors are unslotted so even if i get just 6 months out of pads with slotted rotors but am getting a safer brake i have yet to see the true downside but am open and looking.

[Ross]

As I recall you were worried about ominous engine noises. Brakes could be redundant.
What happened with the noise?

[Jehu]

As I recall you were worried about ominous engine noises. Brakes could be redundant.
What happened with the noise?

Well i still hear it when i pull in.I drove it a few hundred miles today.hard,fast Highway driving almost non stop from about 11AM.I need to drive it.I had no choice today and i may need it tomorrow. There is a shop (http://www.vsr1.com/services.htm)not that far from me I'm considering bringing it in for a checkup. I suppose with no basis for it ,i am expecting the noise is not anything that will result in many thousands in repairs.I will get it in to a qualified shop as soon as i can get an appointment but the fact that the Indy shop who installed the alternator and did an oil change on Wednesday had to have heard what i hear and didn't say anything like;"Hey,Chris ,your engine is hooped and is ready to throw a piston thru the head if you don't get 'er done asap" leads me to assume he knows what it is and if it were serious he'd have said something.I did mention it to him and mentioned i thought it was from using thinner oil as i don't recall having heard it when i bought the car ,before i did the first change.

Here's a question. What is 'Knock"? Could this be engine knock? I use 93 octane gas, stick to major brands like Exxon/Mobile,Sunoco,etc. but they all have 10% Ethanol. Anyway, i appreciate your assistance and will let you know what i find out.

I don't know if you heard THIS (http://users.adelphia.net/~cpkver8/bay%20004.mov)or if hearing it weather you can make out ,near the end when i aim the camera at the back end of the valve cover where it sounds like the tapping originates if that says anything to you.It didn't to others,the condensor mic being inadequate.Something says lifter tap to me but i don't know why.

[Gayle]

I must have been checked out when you discussed the omnious engine noise. What did it sound like?

[Jehu]

clik the link http://users.adelphia.net/~cpkver8/bay%20004.mov

[Ross]

Don't worry about a rod knock. If you drove as you describe with a rod knock you would have walked home.

[Jehu]

Could you make out anything from the video? That was shot last week.

[Ross]

Tough to say from her but doesn't sound like valvetrain noise.

[Gayle]

It sounds bad to me at the end. I would characterize it as a flappy floppy sound. Is something loose? To me it sounds beltish or loose shroud ish.

Disclaimer--I am the spokesperson for the totally clueless.


And regarding the roters: quoting you " i buy the idea of the slots allowing gas escape" I thought that sounded good too until I read a lot of really knowledgeable people say it was bs.

[Jehu]

That's why i was thinking a lifter rapping on the valve cover. At least that is as far as i know about the least worrisome thing possible.

[Ross]

It's not that. It could be something real simple and cheap. A v-belt can make bad noises, but none in the rear and prob none on your car. Get it looked at before you need to search the classifieds for a motor.

[Jr ///M5]

Could you make out anything from the video? That was shot last week.

I would drop the oil pan and check the oil pump bolts. They are notorious for backing out on the V-8's. The knocking sound I hear reminds me of a diesel engine, that is, after you have revved the engine, it could be chain slap from the oil pump.

[Jehu]

I had the belts replaced when i got the car and had the oil pan dropped a few months after that 6 and 3 months respectively. Not saying it couldn't be either or both but they were recently done.

[Traian]

Dunno about the noise, but 10% ethanol increases the octane of the fuel, reducing knock (which you should't have anyway on 93 octane). It's why high compression/supercharged race cars run methanol.

[Jr ///M5]

What did they do when they dropped the pan? Did they check the bolts? Did they check the tension on the chain? If not, you might want to re-visit that repair for peace of mind. Most of the time the oil pump bolts are found laying in the bottom of the pan and the pump is just hanging on there barely with one finger tight bolt.

[Jehu]

I specifically asked them to remove the lower oil pan and inspect the pump to ensure all the bolts were in place and tight. They took the pan down and while i didn't see what they saw they reported the oil pump bolts were all in place and tight,none were found in the pan or lose at all. Fitted a new gasket and refilled with Mobile 1 5w30 synthetic oil. They did however tell me there was silicone in where the gasket goes.I am not sure if they meant no gasket just silicone or silicone plus a gasket but i read silicone there can make its way into the exhaust and coat the O2 sensors rendering them useless.

[mikell]

Ditto, this - check them pump bolts, that was the fix for me when I had a similar noise.

[bbig119]

I need to shoot a movie like that. I'm hearing a ticking sound, can't say its quite like your sound but I also haven't tried to diagnose like you have yet. Its most apparent at start up and I never seem to notice it much there after or when I park.

[Qube]

Forget x-drilled or slotted unless you want the look. Grab standard rotors with Akebono pads and you're all set. I run x-drilled and PBR ceramics only because I got them nearly free... and I still have a set of PBRs for the next change

[Traian]

I need to shoot a movie like that. I'm hearing a ticking sound, can't say its quite like your sound but I also haven't tried to diagnose like you have yet. Its most apparent at start up and I never seem to notice it much there after or when I park.

Ticking noise might be the lifters. Try using a lighter weight oil that pours better when cold. That's what I was told by a mechanic once.

[Vanguard]

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1012442,parttype,1896,EPIsubcategory%5B2 46%5D,Front%2BBrake%2BRotor,EPIsubcategory%5B247%5 D,Rear%2BBrake%2BRotor,partGroup,14

I'd go with the Raybestos.