[Kwajtrader]

I’m looking for ceramic brake pad replacement recommendations for my M40i to reduce brake dust. Several folks recommended Akebono, but the Akebono website doesn’t list any parts for a 21’ G29 M40i. The local dealership wants almost $400 to do the swap not including the pads, which seems excessive given what I think is involved. Are there any non obvious challenges to swapping out the pads that are unique to this car? I’ve watched a bunch of youtube videos for other BMW models and it seems pretty straight forward. I’ve only got 3k miles on the car so there should be no corrosion or issues with the wear sensor. Seems like the process is: open brake fluid reservoir, tap out pins, remove and replace pads (spread calipers), reinstall sensor, clip and pins, bed in brakes. Am I missing anything?

[chilort]

The front pads are glued on. You can't just slide them out. I don't know why they did this from the factory on this car. I used a pry bar and got mine to come out. I tried to protect the caliper but still marred the surface slightly. You can't tell with the wheels on. But if you're super anal then having the dealer do it for $400 that first time might be worth it.

Porterfield has their R4-S compound for these cars. I really like it. I've had this compound on my old Audi S4. I currently have the same compound on my Z4. It's much lower dust with similar bite to the factory pad. And mine lasted forever on my Audi and I did not drive it slowly.

[Rotherd31]

My dealer charged me $150.00 per axle to change the OE pads out to my purchased Power Stop ceramics. I knew the fronts were glued on and I opted to have the dealership change them. Not a mark on the calipers after the tech changed them. I've used Power Stop on several of my past BMWs, including two M550's and my M4. Before that my C7 and two CTS-V's. One might say I'm happy with their performance. Last I knew they had a typo on their site. These are the part numbers for the pads for our Z4 M40i, unless they have corrected their site. 16-2220 and 17-1867. They are their street ceramic pads. Both are a perfect fit and zero dust.

[chilort]

Here are the Porterfield parts if you want to go that route.

Fronts AP1867 https://www.porterfield-brakes.com/P...?search=ap1867
Rears AP2220 https://www.porterfield-brakes.com/P...?search=ap2220

[Kwajtrader]

Thanks for all the info. I’m going to do a little more research and let you know where I land.

[Geradeaus]

Whatever pads are used on the 30i has taken care of the dust issue. My 335i of yesteryear had horrible dusting. The wheels became filthy between frequent washes. The Z4 has almost no dust. And it still manages to stop!

[Kwajtrader]

Originally Posted by Geradeaus

Whatever pads are used on the 30i has taken care of the dust issue. My 335i of yesteryear had horrible dusting. The wheels became filthy between frequent washes. The Z4 has almost no dust. And it still manages to stop!

I think my brake pads are made of belly button lint…

[Kwajtrader]

I’ve been getting quotes from other Euro car repair business to swap the brake pads. The fascinating thing is that so far all are more expensive than the dealership. Some by almost 2x. Two were ~$300/axel w/o pads. One quoted me over $837 + tax if they sourced the pads and $620 w/o. This was interesting enough, but all of them commented that I would likely have more brake noise with the ceramic pads. To quote one guy: “you are trading off dust for noise”. Is this just a CYA thing or would I expect to hear more brake noise if I switch?

[Rotherd31]

I can only relate to the Power Stop ceramic pads on my Z4 and my last two M550's. They were stone quiet. Forward or reverse, doesn't matter. With my 2014 M4 there was a small squeal (hardly noticeable) from time to time when braking in reverse, but never a peep going forward. I always follow their burnish (some call it bedding) procedure to the letter also. Pedal feel and biting action on the rotors feels no different than the OE pads. Your Euro shop prices sound a bit crazy to me.

[chilort]

Ceramics used to have a bad rap for low initial bite. I'm still wary, which is why I have gone with Porterfield. My guess is that most brands are quite good theses days. Oh, I had Hawk 5.0 pads on my S4 which didn't work well until they were warm. Was fine most of the time. But I had a few puckery moments that made me say, "never again."