Front brakes

[3DGE]

So I am looking at some front brakes for my ti.

I am looking at ZIMMERMANN and Brembo rotors.

ZIMMERMANN rotors go for 130$ something a pair while Brembo goes for 140$.

Since they are both around the same, what is the better brand?

[1996 328ti]

That is a set of two?
I could have sworn I paid less for BMW rotors from the dealer.

I would go with rotors that are balanced. I don't know if either are.
Both are quaility rotors.

[3DGE]

So what would you recommend for rotors?

Are they cross-drilled?

[DeadpaN]

I have the ate powedisc slotted rotors from bfbmw.com. I've ridden on them for about 2 months now and so far so good!

[1996 328ti]

Personally I do not recommend drilled or slotted. Blanks work just fine.
Drilled look cooler than slotted. Slotted look cooler than blanks.

[lkwd318ti]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

Personally I do not recommend drilled or slotted. Blanks work just fine.
Drilled look cooler than slotted. Slotted look cooler than blanks.

Therefore Drilled looks cooler than blanks lol!

But yeah, I'd stick with the blanks. I heard that pad life lasts longer with blanks...think of drilled and slotted as cheese graters...something like that...

I heard that Balo is a good brand too for rotors. I don't know if you guys have heard of them though.

-Randy

[KetteringTi]

I'd say slotted, if anything. I used to take a toothbrush to the rotors on my old man's Integra to get all the friction material out of the slots/holes occasionally. It really builds up!

What I would really recommend is to screw the aftermarket rotors and go for 32X brakes. Even with blank rotors they look and perform much better.

[snwbrdrbum10]

Originally Posted by lkwd318ti

Therefore Drilled looks cooler than blanks lol!
-Randy

Quite the philosopher! lol

[CirrusSR22]

That's sounds pretty expensive to me. You can get a set of front Balos (-3/98; solids) for $69.80 at Black Forest BMW. www.bfbmw.com

[3DGE]

Well this is nice, I guess im not going for the looks anymore. I think i will just get some normal rotors.

[AutoM3otives]

Balos and call it a night.

[30yrMbr]

Rotors on the 318ti are solid disks, upgrading to the vented brakes from the 325 is a big improvement. Not drilled or slotted, but they have vents in between the faces of the rotor, which disapates the heat much better than just solid rotors.
I had the ti on the track for a session, about a half an hour, parked the car and went back in an hour and the pedal went to the floor. Basically boiled the fluid when it was parked and the heat from the rotors dumped into the brake lines. Switched to the vented rotors and have not had that re-occur.

[Phil Marx]

Originally Posted by 30yrMbr

Rotors on the 318ti are solid disks

Speak for yourself! In April, 1998, BMW got tired of explaining why the Ti got crappy non-vented front rotors and started using the vented rotors on the Ti, at least on the 318ti version for the U.S. I have vented Zimmermans simply because that's what it had on it when I bought mine. All they do is chew up my Hawks a bit faster and make more noise and dust. The M5 vented non-drilled rotors with 4-piston calipers on my E28 still stop better even given the weight difference. When the time comes to replace the Zimmermans I will go with non-drilled rotors and I certainly won't use ATEs with the nuclear disarmament slot.

[stormos]

ate vented powerslotted disks