What brake pads are you using?

[Bimmerman]

Went with original pads and sensors from the $tealer- no squeal, good feel, heaps of dust, and only shafted AU$449.03 for the pleasure... (not incl. fitting)

Might use bendix next time

[BigKriss]

why did you buy from the stealer?

Went with original pads and sensors from the $tealer- no squeal, good feel, heaps of dust, and only shafted AU$449.03 for the pleasure... (not incl. fitting)

Might use bendix next time

[rob101]

Went with original pads and sensors from the $tealer- no squeal, good feel, heaps of dust, and only shafted AU$449.03 for the pleasure... (not incl. fitting)

Might use bendix next time

man i should open my own stealer.
its amazing sometimes what these tools get away with.

[Zeuk in Oz]

why did you buy from the stealer?

Can't speak for Bimmerman, but as I did the same thing when I bought my E34, let me answer from my perspective.

Brakes, rotors and tyres (as well as oil and coolant) are the things on my cars that I am really anal about.

When I bought my pads from the dealer, it was because I wanted to improve what I felt was poor brake performance with the dustless pads that were in it when I bought it - have no idea of the brand they were as it was not stamped on them anywhere.

At that point I hadn't found this site and didn't want to be disappointed with what I bought. I reasoned that BMW must have use a good quality brake pad for the car to have earned all its stopping accolades and so I decided to not take the risk.

I have not been disappointed - my car stops brilliantly.

Obviously if I could find the same pad elsewhere without the BMW stamp on it I would certainly buy it, but as I still don't know what brand they are I am happy with my decision.

I did much the same with my Mercedes ML 270 CDI the other day - bought all 4 sets from the dealer to be certain that the brake performance didn't suffer. (AUD $ 600 - ouch)

Sometimes I feel it is safer to err on the side of caution than be stuck with some inferior brake pad that might disappoint for its entire life.

That isn't to say that there might not be superior pads out there, however I don't want a pad for the racetrack etc. I just want a pad that stops my car brilliantly - and the stock pads certainly do.

Much the same with tyres - I just love my Michelin Pilot HX-MXM tyres so much that I wouldn't dream of using any other brand or style unless they are discontinued.

Amazing how set in our ways old folks like me can become. A lifetime of experience is probably how I would prefer to phrase it !