[Peartreeproductions]

Hi guys I just thought that I would give you my experience on replacing the front and rear brake discs and pads now that I have replaced them all on my MC with 40k miles.

Front

I replaced these with OEM discs and pads from Cotswold Mini that sell them on ebay for £109 incl. delivery. The delivery and packaging etc. was spot on and I would thoroughly recommend them. Very easy to replace for any competent diyer. Anyone who has replaced their own brakes a few times over the years will be able to do these without a manual.

The pads are very deep and therefore when retracting the calipers you will find that brake fluid needs to bled from a caliper to avoid spilling out of the reservoir.

The retaining screws are made from what I can only describe as Citroen metal and therefore may snap but you don't really need them.

Rear

A big deal has been made of the turning the calipers in but I found that two things are successfull if you don't have the right tool - a g-clamp (used very lightly) or needle nosed pliers. In any case you do need to allow a bit longer than you are used to.

I replaced the rear discs and pads with standard Mintex kit from the guy on ebay (£61 delivered) and will be replacing them with OEM items v. soon. They squealed like mad from the start and whilst this has eased off they still squeal under light braking which is unacceptable for me when there is no improvement in performance. I have had my mechanic reinstall them so i know it wasn't a lack of copper grease etc. Also the hub of the disc has rusted really really badly and look horrendous.


A possible word of warning-when I asked my Mini service adviser if there would be a problem with after market brakes and TLC. She checked and said that the brakes were only inspected through the wheel without removing the pad. After replacing the front brakes this seems to be the case as I found no trace of copper grease. I believe that they were binding slightly as mpg has improved a small but noticeable amount. I cant think that this is best practice, for performance or economy, and after removing my filthy air filter the other day I think the long service intervals are ultimately BS driven by demand rather than having been engineered for.