CCBs question

[xBenCookx]

Good morning all,

I’m sure this has been asked a million times, but I’m new to this thread and still slightly new to BMW (always been in LS cars). I recently got a 2015 M4 that came with CCBs, and I have seen on this forum and other places that I don’t really have to worry about changing them for a long time (car has 50k miles) unless I track or crack them, but Ive had shops tell me I need to replace them in the next year or so. Is there anyway for me to know when they need to be replaced? I seriously doubt if they normally last 150k plus miles that I already need to replace them. Thanks!

[SYT_Shadow]

hello

There are three circles, or wear indicators, on each rotor to help determine when the rotors are fried.

Unless you or the prior owners tracked the car, the rotors will last insanely long. I would look for different shops, these seem to just want to charge you tons of money for nothing.

[xBenCookx]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

hello

There are three circles, or wear indicators, on each rotor to help determine when the rotors are fried.

Unless you or the prior owners tracked the car, the rotors will last insanely long. I would look for different shops, these seem to just want to charge you tons of money for nothing.

Thanks for the info!

[Taylorsherk]

i thought each rotor has a min weight printed on it and you can weight them to determine how much life is left as well.

[Yuille36]

Either method will work.

[andrewmr]

The first thing I would do is ask the shop how they determined that the rotors need to be replaced. From their answer you can determine if you need to find a different place to have your car serviced.

[Yuille36]

To replace Carbon Ceramic Brakes will put a major and I mean major dent in your wallet. I called my local BMW Dealership and ask them what is the price for new rotors and pads, and they quoted me $17,500 This is when I was looking at and considering buying a M3 that had these brakes on it.

Although, I ended up going with steel rotors, as I'm not tracking my car. I did discover in my search that Turner Motorsports, does offer steel replacement rotors and pads, if you decide to convert from CCB's to steels. After looking at that price tag, I understand why some owner would go this route. These rotors are the same exact size as the CCB's, so for just a set of steel rotors will set you back about $1700 not counting pads.

I think that this is a great option, unless you want to take out a mortgage to pay for a new set of Carbon Ceramic Rotors. I've contemplated going with the 6 piston front calipers and the 4 piston rears, but after driving my M3 for the last few months, I determined that this car has enough braking power for the speeds that I drive. Maybe if I were to track it, I might feel differently about it. But you can always go with a dedicated track pad.

[WhiteFox]

There will be a circular wear indicator on the discs if these are chipped then the discs will need to be replaced soon if the carbon material is fully gone then they are finished usually.

If used on everyday driving 100k on them will not be an issue. They usually breakdown fairly quickly if tracking the car a fair bit.

[Monkey Throttle]

I once had a tire shop tell they couldn't patch a tire and I had the wrong tires on my car and they should all be changed.
I said, "Not every Porsche owner is a dumb fuck... Get my car off your lift immediately."

Limped to my regular tire shop. They patched my tire immediately and sent me on my way.

[RickFLM4]

Are you the second owner and know the first owner never tracked the car? One reason an owner might want to get rid of a car with CCBs is because they know it will need them replaced. I agree with most of the sentiments in this thread about a shop not knowing what they are talking about or trying to rip you off, but I’d follow through on checking them out as I think you intend to do, especially if you’ve had multiple shops tell you.

[Yuille36]

One of the pitfalls of CCB's is that the surface of the brake rotors, are so delicate if you let your wheel hit the rotor when changing tires or you go off road during a Track Day and gravel or even small rocks hit and chip the rotor it must be replaced at great expense. That was a key decision maker for me, when I bought my M3.

[Blocke]

To properly determine if they need to be replaced, you have to weigh them. Proper weight requires cleaning them, there’s a whole procedure to it. Unless the shop used a Carboteq to diagnose them, they are going off visual inspection which doesn’t tell the whole story. I’d find a new shop.

[Samo6556]

CCB can be refursbished as well from some 3rd party vendors

[Yuille36]

I just did some research and it does appear like a viable option. You will still end up paying about $6,000 US. This is about the price of one front rotor.

There is a company called "Rebrake Ceramic Brake Remanufacturing" in Munich Germany, has perfected a process by which your carbon ceramic rotors are placed in a crucible and heated to 1,100 degrees Celsius, then add carbon fibers, carbon and ceramic polymers are concentrated on the top layer of the ceramic brake disc.

Even if this layer is just a millimeter thick, it’s still very resistant to heat and abrasion. The ceramic brake discs with larger diameters are understandably more expensive to restore than smaller discs.

It is somewhat cheaper to resurface CCM discs from Aston Martins, Corvettes, Ferraris, Maserati's, McLarens and Nissans than the CCB brake discs used by Audi, Bentley, BMW, Lamborghini and Porsche. Depending on diameter, prices range from 1,050 EUR to 1,350 EUR plus VAT. Rebrake provides a 12-month guarantee for all resurfaced ceramic brake discs.

[xBenCookx]

Originally Posted by Yuille36

I just did some research and it does appear viable. It appears to be a cheaper solution, then just replacing the entire rotor. But it isn't cheap.

There is a company called "Rebrake Ceramic Brake Remanufacturing" in Munich Germany, has perfected a process by which your carbon ceramic rotors are placed in a crucible and heated to 1,100 degrees Celsius, then add carbon fibers, carbon and ceramic polymers are concentrated on the top layer of the ceramic brake disc.

Even if this layer is just a millimeter thick, it’s still very resistant to heat and abrasion. The ceramic brake discs with larger diameters are understandably more expensive to restore than smaller discs.

It is somewhat cheaper to resurface CCM discs from Aston Martins, Corvettes, Ferraris, Maserati's, McLarens and Nissans than the CCB brake discs used by Audi, Bentley, BMW, Lamborghini and Porsche. Depending on diameter, prices range from 1,050 EUR to 1,350 EUR plus VAT. Rebrake provides a 12-month guarantee for all resurfaced ceramic brake discs.

I wonder if anyone in this forum has done this. It seems way smarter than getting new brakes if I’m understanding correctly.

[Yuille36]

Originally Posted by xBenCookx

I wonder if anyone in this forum has done this. It seems way smarter than getting new brakes if I’m understanding correctly.

The cost of refurbishing four rotors equal about $6,000 and that is the cost of replacing front rotors from BMW.

[xBenCookx]

Wanting to save up for a crankhub upgrade but 3-4K ain’t it rn lol

[xBenCookx]

Originally Posted by Yuille36

The cost of refurbishing four rotors equal about $6,000 and that is the cost of replacing front rotors from BMW.

Hmmm okay well that’s nice to know. Definitely going to look into that IF I ever have to replace them but I seriously doubt it since I just passed 50k miles and never track it

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by Yuille36

I just did some research and it does appear like a viable option. You will still end up paying about $6,000 US. This is about the price of one front rotor.

There is a company called "Rebrake Ceramic Brake Remanufacturing" in Munich Germany, has perfected a process by which your carbon ceramic rotors are placed in a crucible and heated to 1,100 degrees Celsius, then add carbon fibers, carbon and ceramic polymers are concentrated on the top layer of the ceramic brake disc.

Even if this layer is just a millimeter thick, it’s still very resistant to heat and abrasion. The ceramic brake discs with larger diameters are understandably more expensive to restore than smaller discs.

It is somewhat cheaper to resurface CCM discs from Aston Martins, Corvettes, Ferraris, Maserati's, McLarens and Nissans than the CCB brake discs used by Audi, Bentley, BMW, Lamborghini and Porsche. Depending on diameter, prices range from 1,050 EUR to 1,350 EUR plus VAT. Rebrake provides a 12-month guarantee for all resurfaced ceramic brake discs.

for sure Rebrake is an option, but the likelihood that OP needs this is pretty much zero

[Yuille36]

This was a major decision point for me, and that is why I choose steel rotors over CCB's. This will probably be your most expensive consumable for your vehicle. But Turner Motorsports sales a steel rotors to replace your CCB's. Same overall diameter and thickness, I believe 400 x 30 mm for about $1600 excluding pads.

[Cowsgomoo1284]

Local bmw shop told me I needed new pads and rotors (non ccb). Declined and said I’d do it myself but I took their word for it and ordered everything.

Started replacing them and they had probably 75% left on the pads and no lip whatsoever on the rotors. Looks like they’re pulling the same thing on you

[f80fan]

BMW M Carbon Ceramic Brakes (CCB) - service PDF...

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1115439