brake discs pads recommendations please

[neenabengal]

Hello

I have a MINI ONE, 51 reg done 33K mileage.

I need new front and rear brake discs and pads.

I have taken it to mini dealership for quote but silly prices.

Today I took to specialist mini garage who suggested I get greenstuff pads. Alternatively I could choose their other makes of pads which are - Quinten Hazel or Apex. Of the three, which pads are best and why?

Also, someone else has recommended Mintex. But if Mintex is thought to be best, can you tell me why..... and also what mintex products would be best for my car.

In terms of usage, I live in a town and do both city and motorway driving - no sport driving etc - just average driving.

Any advice would be much appreciated!!

[ButtonIt]

You'd be best of going for standard replacement parts from a suitable autofactor. No need for aftermarket performance mods. If you don't drive too hard very often then this is perfectly sufficient.

Try someone like camberley auto factors or your local equivalent.
Camberley Auto Factors

["Reedy"]

I'm in a similar postion, and was quoted £231 for front/rear pads and disks, this morning...

and thats just parts....

so planning on doing the fitting myself, but am also looking for alternative pads/disks, which are not sooo expensive. Have heard good things about mintex as they are used in the MINI Cooper challanage i think, but other than that i have no other info.

[neenabengal]

Thanks for info. I think I prob will go with Mintex. Went an autoparts place and was quoted trade price £150 front and rear discs and mintex pads - but still need to find someone to fit them tho - compared to £400 at my local mini dealership for mini parts and fitting!!

For info tho, the local garage that specialises in classic and modern minis quoted me (Quinten Hazel brand):-
Front - £36 set of pads and £44 for discs (pair) and
Rear - £30 set of pads and £31 for discs (pair)

Or Apex pads which are £53 for front and £33 for rear.
Or Greenstuff pads £55 front and £49 rear.

Hope above is helpful for comparison with your quote today.

With your quote of £230 - what make of discs and pads are they?

[Haggi]

dont bother with greenstuff ive got them good for when im canning and need to slam on but they dont like day to day and can warp the standard discs due to the heat they build up to work as they are desinged as a fast road / track pad

if you go for the minetx go for the m1144 as ive heard very good things about them and will be swapping my greenstuff for them in the new year

[mab01uk]

For Info: Had my front & rear pads / discs replaced at 36,000 miles last month on 2002 MINI One at an independant garage (South London) using Lucas parts. (I had the choice of more expensive BMW parts if required) Brakes are fine, Total cost 368 pounds (parts/labour + VAT).

[MartinSSZ]

Replaced my rear discs and pads with Bosch discs and Delphi (Lucas) pads for about £50 - although I did fit them myself. They are noticeably better than the OEM ones now they've bedded in

[captain]

i have just changed my brake pads again
got pagid ones from parts place £33 they are the same manufacturer as bmw ones they just dont say bmw on them
ate also make pads for bmw aswell
got my groved discks off ebay £90 for front & rear delliverd from a place in rexam called brake tecnologey or bert's bitts

[burns863]

Euro Car Parts UK - European Car Parts

Always cheap!

[wo53 rks]

Quote: Originally Posted by neenabengal (original)

Thanks for info. I think I prob will go with Mintex. Went an autoparts place and was quoted trade price £150 front and rear discs and mintex pads

Why pay more than you have to for Mintex pads if you dont really use them hard, as burns863 says Euro car parts are good for discs and pads,they stock OEM,Ate Textar and Zimmermann are good brands, the Mini calipers are made by Ate also.

["Reedy"]

Quote: Originally Posted by neenabengal (original)

With your quote of £230 - what make of discs and pads are they?

That was a quote from North Oxford BMW MINI garage....using OEM parts, not sure what make they are.

[arcmet]

Just something to be aware of with Mintex pads - they can be really noisy around town and don't really quieten down until they're warmed up, they also produce a lot of brake dust, especially the 1144's (far more than OEM pads). I find the squealing brake noise can get really annoying when driving in town (keep having to tell people that the pads aren't worn out!).

I've got John Cooper Motorsport (Mintex) 1155's front 1144's rear on my MCS Works and they definately have more bite than the original pads - fantastic on cross-country blasts! However, IMO they're only worth fitting if you do a lot of fast road driving.

I've heard good reports about EBC pads and discs, but you might be better off shopping around & sticking with OEM parts - then perhaps get a decent freelance mechanic/garage to fit them.

Euro Car Parts is def. worth a try for prices.

Good Luck

["Reedy"]

Quote: Originally Posted by arcmet (original)

Just something to be aware of with Mintex pads - they can be really noisy around town and don't really quieten down until they're warmed up, they also produce a lot of brake dust, especially the 1144's (far more than OEM pads). I find the squealing brake noise can get really annoying when driving in town (keep having to tell people that the pads aren't worn out!).

I've got John Cooper Motorsport (Mintex) 1155's front 1144's rear on my MCS Works and they definately have more bite than the original pads - fantastic on cross-country blasts! However, IMO they're only worth fitting if you do a lot of fast road driving.

I've heard good reports about EBC pads and discs, but you might be better off shopping around & sticking with OEM parts - then perhaps get a decent freelance mechanic/garage to fit them.

Euro Car Parts is def. worth a try for prices.

Good Luck

Thanks for the info.

I would prefer to stick with OEM parts but am having trouble finding them from a non-BMW dealer...

Are the OEM parts manufactued by Pagid, but branded with BMW name..????

["Reedy"]

Ok looking on Euro Car Parts, and they don't seem to have Pagid OEM parts....

arrrrhhh...

[Taffcd]

I have both front and rear disks + pads for sale brand new in box, if anyone interested, selling due to new Mini arriving soon. PM me with a resonable price before they go on EBAY.