# Brake Rotors need replacement?



## KPV (Aug 16, 2003)

I am new here and hoping someone can shed some light on this subject for me. I am actually a Porsche guy, but my father owns a late model 740 and recently received news from the dealer that his brake pads and rotors needed replacement. This is only after 38,000 miles. The dealer said BMW put on softer rotors to increase the braking ability at the expense of rotor life.

Does this sound right?


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## ddhinds (Aug 19, 2003)

KPV said:


> I am new here and hoping someone can shed some light on this subject for me. I am actually a Porsche guy, but my father owns a late model 740 and recently received news from the dealer that his brake pads and rotors needed replacement. This is only after 38,000 miles. The dealer said BMW put on softer rotors to increase the braking ability at the expense of rotor life.
> 
> Does this sound right?


Rotors have a life of their own. I have replaced my rotors after only 8,000 miles! OEM rotors with Mintex Red pads on 97 740iL. If your pop got 38,000 miles out of his, that's good. There are so many differant opinions on this subject of rotors and pads that it is impossible to give a correct answer. I would suggest you do some homework on the net regarding this subject. You will find there are a lot of conflicting opinions. 
Good Luck.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

KPV said:


> I am new here and hoping someone can shed some light on this subject for me. I am actually a Porsche guy, but my father owns a late model 740 and recently received news from the dealer that his brake pads and rotors needed replacement. This is only after 38,000 miles. The dealer said BMW put on softer rotors to increase the braking ability at the expense of rotor life.
> 
> Does this sound right?


Brake pad/rotor wear is heavily dependent on driving style and habit. My wife and I have the same car and she wears through her brakes every 18K-25K miles. I wear through mine every 35K-40K miles, with 15k-20k per set of front pads. She drives in a lot of stop and go and city traffic while 90% of all mine driving is done on freeway without any brake application.

Now, rotors and pads at 38K miles isn't out of the norm on a BMW, especially on a heavier car like the 740i. However, a lot of times BMW dealerships are a bit sneaky wrt changing out rotors with pads. Sometimes only the pads need to be replaced and they'll swap out the rotor as well and charge you for it, because it's a big $$$ item (in terms of labor). If you know an independent BMW mechanic you can trust, you should bring the car to him/her for a second opinion, or if you have a digital caliper, measure the rotor thickness to see if it's actually below minimum spec.


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