[Karan335i]

It’s time to do the brakes on my 2011 335i xDrive.

I’ve been looking at what’s out there for this car and am looking to upgrade to drilled slotted rotors.

I am leaning towards the R1 Concept eLine series drilled and slotted rotors.

Anyone that has experience with this please let me know how they are and if they’re worth it? Getting the set of 4 for $672 Canadian Dollars shipped.


Also, Which pads should I go for? Looking for pads that will give me the strongest bite and best braking. Thanks!

[lowrydr310]

They're only worth it if that's the look you're going for. If it's performance then there's no real advantage over plain rotors. Hawk HPS pads are excellent if you're after a good pad.

[eljay]

If you want strongest bite and best braking get plain rotors and semi-metallic pads. They will be dusty though. Ceramics will have the least dust, but least initial bite.
Slotted and drilled rotors are just for street show.

[whyzee125]

I would personally go for a kit from Fcp. Zimmerman or stoptech rotors with akebono pads.

Lifetime warranty that way and minimal dusting. That being said I used r1concepts on my previous e90 with no issues!

[drymite]

Eljay is right for best bite and stopping power get semi metalics i had em on my 335i and they made no sound & the braking was amazing.

[Karan335i]

Originally Posted by drymite

Eljay is right for best bite and stopping power get semi metalics i had em on my 335i and they made no sound & the braking was amazing.

Thanks for the input, Which brand pads would you recommend ?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

I went with the R1 Concepts eLine drill slottted and switching to Akebono pads as well am I am annoyed with the brake dust. Did the rear before winter and about to do my fronts. I can't really offer any real world advice yet other than I like them for the price, they look great and seem to be a good bang for buck choice.

For best bite you need mettalic like others say that said people say Akebono isn't that bad from what I read, I will have to see when I do front. You don't need to change the rotors for normal ones, I would keep drill and slotted + semi mettalic pad if you really really want the bite.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by whyzee125

I would personally go for a kit from Fcp. Zimmerman or stoptech rotors with akebono pads.

Lifetime warranty that way and minimal dusting. That being said I used r1concepts on my previous e90 with no issues!

Lifetime warranty-ish, they only give you credit for a future order now which isn't the item itself you want to warranty. So you can't really get lifetime warranty on the item that you are buying so to say. I ditched FCP euro after this change.

[mattanderson]

Originally Posted by Karan335i

Anyone that has experience with this please let me know how they are and if they’re worth it? Getting the set of 4 for $672 Canadian Dollars shipped.

Absolutely not, unless you want to pay for the look.

Happy to see the other replies.

I'm happy with my Akebono pads (and the lack of dust) for street use. I switch to aggressive pads for the track.

[cehrl7]

I had R1 Concepts slotted & drilled rotors and R1 Ceramic street pads installed last year only 2011 E90 335i. I love the look and they perform well. Oem brake metallic pads would have better initial bite, but hardly any brake dust. I definitely recommend this setup!

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by mattanderson

Absolutely not, unless you want to pay for the look.

Happy to see the other replies.

I'm happy with my Akebono pads (and the lack of dust) for street use. I switch to aggressive pads for the track.

For their price they're definitely worth if you like sporty look. They cost as much as Pagid normal rotor for example.

EDIT: Woops I was comparing Rockauto to FCP. On Rockauto it's a 20$ difference. Still not to bad.

[crashoverride]

On paper and the rare times it's not raining the slotted rotors look good. However you are decorating something that instantly gets a rust patina anywhere near rain/water.

The slotting actually speeds up the wear on the pads as well.

Personally I have had really good success with the Hawk pads. The HPS is what I've used I think they might have some newer versions but the HPS have been good to me low dust great stopping.

Remember true racing pads work best on hot brake discs. Rarely do we in our daily driving get the rotors hot enough to take advantage of race pads.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by crashoverride

On paper and the rare times it's not raining the slotted rotors look good. However you are decorating something that instantly gets a rust patina anywhere near rain/water.

It's not an issue. My brakes don't rust quick enough to be that bad of an eyesore driving in the rain. Same thing in salty winter.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by cehrl7

I had R1 Concepts slotted & drilled rotors and R1 Ceramic street pads installed last year only 2011 E90 335i. I love the look and they perform well. Oem brake metallic pads would have better initial bite, but hardly any brake dust. I definitely recommend this setup!

I didn't see the rotors.. can't get past those wheels!

Seriously though, those rotors look very good. I'm usually not a fan of painted calipers but those are very tastefully done and I may even consider that color combo myself.

[cehrl7]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

I didn't see the rotors.. can't get past those wheels!

Seriously though, those rotors look very good. I'm usually not a fan of painted calipers but those are very tastefully done and I may even consider that color combo myself.

Thanks for the compliments. The wheels are Avant Garde M359 18” F 235/40/18
R 265/35/18. The fitment is perfect with no spacers. I had a local shop install the rotors and new brakes. They sandblasted the calipers and painted them with a high heat caliper paint. I installed the “M” stickers and applied a clear coat over them. I tried to make them look as OEM as possible even though BMW didn’t have painted calipers for the E90 series(they should have). I think the wheels/rotors/painted calipers look very OEM+ and turned out great.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by cehrl7

Thanks for the compliments. The wheels are Avant Garde M359 18” F 235/40/18
R 265/35/18. The fitment is perfect with no spacers. I had a local shop install the rotors and new brakes. They sandblasted the calipers and painted them with a high heat caliper paint. I installed the “M” stickers and applied a clear coat over them. I tried to make them look as OEM as possible even though BMW didn’t have painted calipers for the E90 series(they should have). I think the wheels/rotors/painted calipers look very OEM+ and turned out great.

Ohh yeah nice I had the same wheels on my first 335is but the 19 inches in black. Cracked few times for me, I 'm sure the 18 inch helps with that.

And yeah same here, at first I wasn't really on board with the idea of painting floating calipers but after doing it I think it is definitely a great touch. Thought it was weird but considering cars like the new M3/M4 use floating calipers stock in the back and E9X M3 had pretty much same brakes as 335is (if I'm not mistaken), it's not out of place so to say lol.