Brake rotors - life expectancy

Hi all,

Okay, I'm relatively new to BMW ownership but over the 3 or 4 months
I've been listening in on this group I have read a number of posts
concerning brake discs (rotors not pads) wearing out in 50/60k miles. Is
this typical, or am I picking up on something that might not really be
the norm? I'm talking BMW models generally, of course.

To put this in perspective, my daily use vehicle is a 1996 LR Discovery
which has 150k+ miles on the clock and which I've owned from new. The
rear rotors are the originals and the fronts have been replaced once
(under warranty) due to hairline cracking. This vehicle spends quite a
bit of it's time off-tarmac - typically 15 miles per day, 3 or 4 days a
week - because of my job and the brakes are, therefore, subjected to
much more abuse than a normal road car. During an off-tarmac foray the
brakes are often covered/submerged in muddy gloop but despite this even
the pads last 45/50k.

I understand that compared to the Discovery (even with it's 3.9litre V8
engine) just about any BMW is a "performance" car but the LR is over 2
tonnes so stopping from almost any speed in a hurry needs considerable
braking power.

I'd appreciate any comments from the members of this group on this subject.

--
Regards

Steve G
1992 730i

"SteveG" > wrote in message
.uk...
> Hi all,
>
> Okay, I'm relatively new to BMW ownership but over the 3 or 4 months I've
> been listening in on this group I have read a number of posts concerning
> brake discs (rotors not pads) wearing out in 50/60k miles. Is this
> typical, or am I picking up on something that might not really be the
> norm? I'm talking BMW models generally, of course.
>
> To put this in perspective, my daily use vehicle is a 1996 LR Discovery
> which has 150k+ miles on the clock and which I've owned from new. The rear
> rotors are the originals and the fronts have been replaced once (under
> warranty) due to hairline cracking. This vehicle spends quite a bit of
> it's time off-tarmac - typically 15 miles per day, 3 or 4 days a week -
> because of my job and the brakes are, therefore, subjected to much more
> abuse than a normal road car. During an off-tarmac foray the brakes are
> often covered/submerged in muddy gloop but despite this even the pads last
> 45/50k.
>
> I understand that compared to the Discovery (even with it's 3.9litre V8
> engine) just about any BMW is a "performance" car but the LR is over 2
> tonnes so stopping from almost any speed in a hurry needs considerable
> braking power.
>
> I'd appreciate any comments from the members of this group on this
> subject.
>
> --
> Regards
>
> Steve G
> 1992 730i

SteveG wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Okay, I'm relatively new to BMW ownership but over the 3 or 4 months
> I've been listening in on this group I have read a number of posts
> concerning brake discs (rotors not pads) wearing out in 50/60k miles. Is
> this typical, or am I picking up on something that might not really be
> the norm? I'm talking BMW models generally, of course.

Yes, this is somewhat typical, but of course depends on one's driving
habits and how you use your brakes. General rule of thumb is that

>
> To put this in perspective, my daily use vehicle is a 1996 LR Discovery
> which has 150k+ miles on the clock and which I've owned from new. The
> rear rotors are the originals and the fronts have been replaced once
> (under warranty) due to hairline cracking. This vehicle spends quite a
> bit of it's time off-tarmac - typically 15 miles per day, 3 or 4 days a
> week - because of my job and the brakes are, therefore, subjected to
> much more abuse than a normal road car. During an off-tarmac foray the
> brakes are often covered/submerged in muddy gloop but despite this even
> the pads last 45/50k.
>
> I understand that compared to the Discovery (even with it's 3.9litre V8
> engine) just about any BMW is a "performance" car but the LR is over 2
> tonnes so stopping from almost any speed in a hurry needs considerable
> braking power.
>
> I'd appreciate any comments from the members of this group on this subject.
>

The performance design of the BMW brakes is such that the rotors wear
out rather quickly. You could put some harder aftermarket rotors and
softer aftermarket pads, but then you would probably not get the same
braking performance.

By the way, rotors are cheap (~$75 US per corner) and easy to replace,
especially if taken on at the same time as the pads.

--
-Fred W
Toys for sale, Hey get your toys he
<http://users.adelphia.net/~fredwills/>

????

You are saying that rotors must be replaced with each brake job, but clearly
most of us can go at least two brake jobs before changing rotors. Obviously,
the life of a rotor is dependent upon on how hard one goes around mashing on
the pedals, but careful and reasonable drivers can easily get upwards of two
pad changes out of a rotor.





"b" > wrote in message ...
>
> "SteveG" > wrote in message
> .uk...
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Okay, I'm relatively new to BMW ownership but over the 3 or 4 months I've
>> been listening in on this group I have read a number of posts concerning
>> brake discs (rotors not pads) wearing out in 50/60k miles. Is this
>> typical, or am I picking up on something that might not really be the
>> norm? I'm talking BMW models generally, of course.
>>
>> To put this in perspective, my daily use vehicle is a 1996 LR Discovery
>> which has 150k+ miles on the clock and which I've owned from new. The
>> rear rotors are the originals and the fronts have been replaced once
>> (under warranty) due to hairline cracking. This vehicle spends quite a
>> bit of it's time off-tarmac - typically 15 miles per day, 3 or 4 days a
>> week - because of my job and the brakes are, therefore, subjected to much
>> more abuse than a normal road car. During an off-tarmac foray the brakes
>> are often covered/submerged in muddy gloop but despite this even the pads
>> last 45/50k.
>>
>> I understand that compared to the Discovery (even with it's 3.9litre V8
>> engine) just about any BMW is a "performance" car but the LR is over 2
>> tonnes so stopping from almost any speed in a hurry needs considerable
>> braking power.
>>
>> I'd appreciate any comments from the members of this group on this
>> subject.
>>
>> --
>> Regards
>>
>> Steve G
>> 1992 730i
>
>

> Okay, I'm relatively new to BMW ownership but over the 3 or 4 months
> I've been listening in on this group I have read a number of posts
> concerning brake discs (rotors not pads) wearing out in 50/60k miles. Is
> this typical, or am I picking up on something that might not really be
> the norm? I'm talking BMW models generally, of course.

50/60k sounds about right. But they only cost about 20-50 GBP a set
depending on model and are easy to change. Unless you have the local
$tealer fit them of course......

--
Who needs a life when you've got Unix? :-)
Email: , John G.Burns B.Eng, Bonny Scotland
Web : http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk - The Ultimate BMW Homepage!
Need Sun or HP Unix kit? http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/unix.html

In article > ,
SteveG > wrote:
> Okay, I'm relatively new to BMW ownership but over the 3 or 4 months
> I've been listening in on this group I have read a number of posts
> concerning brake discs (rotors not pads) wearing out in 50/60k miles. Is
> this typical, or am I picking up on something that might not really be
> the norm? I'm talking BMW models generally, of course.

Yes - the fronts are likely to only last for two sets of pads.

However, OEM discs from Eurocarparts are pretty cheap and an easy DIY fit.
Since they have wheel bolts rather than studs, and the disc goes on the
outside of the hub, they don't seize in place. So an easy half day's work
to replace the lot - front and back.

--
*Half the people in the world are below average.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"SteveG" > wrote in message
.uk...
> Hi all,
>
> Okay, I'm relatively new to BMW ownership but over the 3 or 4 months
> I've been listening in on this group I have read a number of posts
> concerning brake discs (rotors not pads) wearing out in 50/60k miles. Is
> this typical, or am I picking up on something that might not really be
> the norm? I'm talking BMW models generally, of course.
>
> To put this in perspective, my daily use vehicle is a 1996 LR Discovery
> which has 150k+ miles on the clock and which I've owned from new. The
> rear rotors are the originals and the fronts have been replaced once
> (under warranty) due to hairline cracking. This vehicle spends quite a
> bit of it's time off-tarmac - typically 15 miles per day, 3 or 4 days a
> week - because of my job and the brakes are, therefore, subjected to
> much more abuse than a normal road car. During an off-tarmac foray the
> brakes are often covered/submerged in muddy gloop but despite this even
> the pads last 45/50k.
>
> I understand that compared to the Discovery (even with it's 3.9litre V8
> engine) just about any BMW is a "performance" car but the LR is over 2
> tonnes so stopping from almost any speed in a hurry needs considerable
> braking power.
>
> I'd appreciate any comments from the members of this group on this
subject.
>
> --
> Regards
>
> Steve G
> 1992 730i

I would be amazed if I got that kind of life out of my iX's rotors lol. I
replace them approximately every 35 to 40k miles.

I once had a Grand Am company car, I burnt those rotors up in 25k.

-Russ.

In article > ,
SteveG > wrote:
> To put this in perspective, my daily use vehicle is a 1996 LR Discovery
> which has 150k+ miles on the clock and which I've owned from new. The
> rear rotors are the originals and the fronts have been replaced once
> (under warranty) due to hairline cracking. This vehicle spends quite a
> bit of it's time off-tarmac - typically 15 miles per day, 3 or 4 days a
> week - because of my job and the brakes are, therefore, subjected to
> much more abuse than a normal road car. During an off-tarmac foray the
> brakes are often covered/submerged in muddy gloop but despite this even
> the pads last 45/50k.

Maybe, but off road driving requires gentle use of the brakes?

--
*Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

As a general rule of thumb, rotors will last through two sets of pads. Your
mileage may vary.





"SteveG" > wrote in message
.uk...
> Hi all,
>
> Okay, I'm relatively new to BMW ownership but over the 3 or 4 months I've
> been listening in on this group I have read a number of posts concerning
> brake discs (rotors not pads) wearing out in 50/60k miles. Is this
> typical, or am I picking up on something that might not really be the
> norm? I'm talking BMW models generally, of course.
>
> To put this in perspective, my daily use vehicle is a 1996 LR Discovery
> which has 150k+ miles on the clock and which I've owned from new. The rear
> rotors are the originals and the fronts have been replaced once (under
> warranty) due to hairline cracking. This vehicle spends quite a bit of
> it's time off-tarmac - typically 15 miles per day, 3 or 4 days a week -
> because of my job and the brakes are, therefore, subjected to much more
> abuse than a normal road car. During an off-tarmac foray the brakes are
> often covered/submerged in muddy gloop but despite this even the pads last
> 45/50k.
>
> I understand that compared to the Discovery (even with it's 3.9litre V8
> engine) just about any BMW is a "performance" car but the LR is over 2
> tonnes so stopping from almost any speed in a hurry needs considerable
> braking power.
>
> I'd appreciate any comments from the members of this group on this
> subject.
>
> --
> Regards
>
> Steve G
> 1992 730i

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
> In article > ,
> SteveG > wrote:
>
>>To put this in perspective, my daily use vehicle is a 1996 LR Discovery
>>which has 150k+ miles on the clock and which I've owned from new. The
>>rear rotors are the originals and the fronts have been replaced once
>>(under warranty) due to hairline cracking. This vehicle spends quite a
>>bit of it's time off-tarmac - typically 15 miles per day, 3 or 4 days a
>>week - because of my job and the brakes are, therefore, subjected to
>>much more abuse than a normal road car. During an off-tarmac foray the
>>brakes are often covered/submerged in muddy gloop but despite this even
>>the pads last 45/50k.
>
>
> Maybe, but off road driving requires gentle use of the brakes?
>

Oh yes, absolutely ... very gentle and judicious use of the brakes when
in the soft stuff. It's not the actual use of the brakes when off-tarmac
(note I don't say off-road because all of the tracks I drive are
technically roads) but the abrasive nature of the clagg that envelopes
the brakes whilst driving along. This acts like a very wet grinding
paste ...

--
Regards

Steve G