What is the prefered rotor/brake combination for normal street use with a little spice on the first brake install?
Thanks

 

oem is fine for all street use and some spirited driving.....minor upgrades might include stainless brake lines, aftermarket pads, brake caliper bushings and upgraded brake fluid.....none of the above would be necessary for street use, but might improve braking and reduce dusting...

 

Good morning, i second that opinion. i used EBC greenstuff pads. stainless
lines with superblue fluid nice combo for street and spirited driving good luck

 

For street use-
You can use stock OEM MINI rotors and pads but most of us don't like all the brake dust from the OEM pads in the front. Other upgrades can help but are not required.
see
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/tech/...currentpage=81

For spirited driving-
Better pads are a plus and can handle heat better than the stock pads, they may also dust less to some extent but some can wear rotors faster. Usually you replace both pads and rotors at the same time if they are worn. Upgraded brake fluid is a plus for heavy braking applications like track or lapping sessions, driving events, hilly roads. Brake caliper stiffeners and Stainless steel brake lines help pedal feel but are not required and stiffeners need regular lubrication once installed.

Unless you increase the mass or diameter of the rotor you're not likely to notice much difference using slotted or drilled rotors of the same size as OEM rotors. Finishes look nice but wear off with time and heat. Big brake kits are nice looking but not needed for street use only- good on the track though. Cryo treated Power Slot rotors are more durable for track or lapping sessions but not needed for street use or autocross.

From tirerack.com (see Alex) for a stock MINI-
Front brake pads:
Akebono Euro Ceramic pads $77 per axle
ATE PremiumOne pads $62 per axle
Hawk Performance Ceramic pads $94 per axle
Satisfied Pro Perform OEM pads $26 per axle
For info on ceramic pads- (good wear,low dust/noise)
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/tech/....jsp?techid=88

For performance/street (fronts only)
Hawk HPS Street Composite pads $91 per axle
Hawk HP Plus Race Composite pads $120 per axle

Stock sized rotors
Brembo
Front vented $50 each
rear solid $45 each

ATE PremiumOne Slotted (silver finish)
Front vented $56 each
Rear solid $29 each

Powerslot Frozen Non-slotted (cryo treated)
Front vented $89 each
Rear solid $74 each
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/tech/....jsp?techid=83

 

What about the EBC rotors? And where are all these aftermarket rotors made? I hope its not China

 

I have EBC rotors, painted calipers and Hawk Ceramic pads. Pics should be in my gallery. Sweet.

 

I think I may go with stock Brembo rotors, Greenstuff pads, and stainless lines. I have the bushing set, but not yet sure I will install them. The painted calipers look sweet.

 

Our rotors + Porterfield R4-S pads...

Can add SS lines on the cheap, too!

 

Several of the name brand aftermarket rotors are German made as well, including Brembo. My original OEM were Ate. Some BMW owners posting on Beemer forums are using Zimmerman or Balo (both German) but haven't heard much about them here. I just installed Balo rotors and (English) Mintex Redbox pads so we'll see how that goes. But if you go with a name brand like those discussed here and not with some unknown part like you might get at the major auto parts stores you'd probably be ok as far as build quality is concerned.

 

I changed my brakes a bunch of times.

First was just the pads. I didn't like the heavy brake dust of OEM pads.

Used Mintex redbox front and rear and they were OK, cheap at less than $40 per axle and they did dust less than OEM and did work fine.

Then upgraded to Mintex M1144 performance pads for track and autocross and added SS brake lines and ATE super blue brake fluid. This was fine and pedal feel was not that much improved that I could tell. Rotors were changed to Zimmerman cross drilled front and back.

One year later after moderate track use and regular autocross use the front two Zimmerman cross drilled rotors showed very small cracks in many many places just starting. My mechanic said that heating the rotors while tracking and during driving school (did 5 schools over 7 days) likely caused the cracks. Mintex M1144 pads work well for track or street, do make more noise, wear out the rotors a little faster, wear themselves a little faster, and tend to dust more than regular pads like the Mintex redbox.

I changed the cross drilled rotors not wanting to have any failures when tracking but I could have driven them on the street for many years with little problem most likely.

Next upgrades-
Powerslot rotors cyro treated front and rear
Ferodo DS2500 pads front and rear
Changed brake fluid to fresh ATE superblue
Added Tyrol brake stiffeners (could not tell the difference)
Painted the calipers

These are wearing OK and work for track, autocross and street use.
Not noisey, not that much brake dust, wear is moderate to good. Been about 18+ months and 12,000+ miles. Lost my local track so don't do that anymore. Mostly street driving and 3 minutes of autocross once monthly.

 

The pads you choose are the most important piece of the puzzle - period.

Autozone pads stop poorly - last forever (hence the guarantee) and attack the rotors (someone elses guarantee)

OEM pads stop pretty well - but are expensive and dusty and poor for 'spritied performance'

Several aftermarket pads stop as well as or better than stock without killing rotors - Hawk - Porterfield - perhpaps EBC and many others.

Almost every rotor you see is made in China or Taiwan - so much that I pay a higher price now as there are 'dumping' fees added to my orders. Notable exceptions are DBA and I'm pretty sure the Texas Motor works products and a few others but the bottom lime is that your rotors almost certainly came from China. There is still production in Canada and South America and the US for many domestic applications - but China rules replacement rotors. I sell them too - but I just sell the cheapest one I can get as they are really all 'generic'. You have no way of knowing who made it - it's pointless to even ask - it's a commodity.