[GwE]

Decided on these Zimmermann rotors - I believe the Formula F rotors are better than the Z Coat rotors based off what I read. Anyone have experience with these?
For the brake pads, should I go with original from the dealer, or these ATE pads?
X7 40i (M Sport Brakes w/ blue caliper, Towing pkg)

[MSpeedX7]

I’ve got the z coat dimpled rotors and Brembo pads and couldn’t be happier. No noise or dust.

[GwE]

Originally Posted by MSpeedX7

I’ve got the z coat dimpled rotors and Brembo pads and couldn’t be happier. No noise or dust.

Does yours have the M Sport Brakes / blue caliper? Thats whats giving me troubles finding ones that say they will fit. Where did you get your rotors? The Zimmermann ones I am finding aren't drilled

[GCR]

Unless they've worked on their compounds recently, ATE has always been a rather "dirty" pad. Lots of dust. They stop fine, but it wouldn't take long to coat the wheels with dust...........

[zippytank49]

Ah, I went through the same predicament when I replaced the pads and rotors (and sensors) for our 2021 X7 40i with Blue calipers (no towing). It's not straightforward getting the correct part numbers for several reasons including, there are several different setups for these X7s, BMW has changed the original part numbers, BMW wants you to have their dealers do the work, and it seems like you can order the pads from BMW, but not the rotors. After a few weeks of planning, I ended up with the following:

34-21-6-890-353: REAR BRAKE PADS
34-11-6-889-585: FRONT PADS
Disc Brake Rotor - Rear (370mm) 09.D901.13
Disc Brake Rotor - Front Driver Side (395mm) 09.D897.13
Disc Brake Rotor - Front Passenger Side (395mm) 09.D898.13

Rotors and front pads from newparts.com, rest from bmwpartsdirect.com

I installed everything a few months ago and so far I have no complaints about the performance. Only mistake I made was not watching the brake fluid tank, which overflowed when I compressed the front calipers. Some fluid ended up leaking out. Good luck with the install.

[ledphut]

Originally Posted by zippytank49

Ah, I went through the same predicament when I replaced the pads and rotors (and sensors) for our 2021 X7 40i with Blue calipers (no towing). It's not straightforward getting the correct part numbers for several reasons including, there are several different setups for these X7s, BMW has changed the original part numbers, BMW wants you to have their dealers do the work, and it seems like you can order the pads from BMW, but not the rotors. After a few weeks of planning, I ended up with the following:

34-21-6-890-353: REAR BRAKE PADS
34-11-6-889-585: FRONT PADS
Disc Brake Rotor - Rear (370mm) 09.D901.13
Disc Brake Rotor - Front Driver Side (395mm) 09.D897.13
Disc Brake Rotor - Front Passenger Side (395mm) 09.D898.13

Rotors and front pads from newparts.com, rest from bmwpartsdirect.com

I installed everything a few months ago and so far I have no complaints about the performance. Only mistake I made was not watching the brake fluid tank, which overflowed when I compressed the front calipers. Some fluid ended up leaking out. Good luck with the install.

Nice to see another do-it-yourselfer on here! Basic maintenance on these X7s is not as difficult as the dealership and BMWNA wants us to believe.

[zippytank49]

Originally Posted by ledphut

Nice to see another do-it-yourselfer on here! Basic maintenance on these X7s is not as difficult as the dealership and BMWNA wants us to believe.

Thanks, and I agree. The hardest part by far was getting the correct parts-I say that tongue in cheek because replacing the pads and rotors is a challenge if you don't do it too often, but once you do it, the next time will be a piece of cake.

One addition to my parts list from my previous post. All the rotors are Brembo- which come on the X7 from the factory. Brembo also makes the front and rear pads, but I am not sure they are the same as the BMW pads. I could have ordered the front pads directly from BMW, but they were $$$$. The brembo website says the 585 pad part number is NOT compatible with blue calipers, but that contradicts BMW. I went ahead and ordered those brembo semi-metallics for the fronts and they are the correct fit. Be careful because the non-blue caliper front pads are a smaller size.

[Orient330iNYC]

especially on the newer years, the parts guides only really in depth cover up to 2020.

for an 40i with Msport the following fit, 100% on the pads as thats whats on my car now. rotors should be correct as its listed in the brembo fit guide and i cross ref'ed the diameters and thicknesses as well as the OEM part numbers. fairly sure brembo makes the OEM rotors. see screenshot from the brembo site.

I really like the NAO pads, they are low dust and dont give up much of the bite of the semi metallic stocks. the brembo semi metallic pads are the same p/n, just no trailing N

OEM front pads are brembo, i did the swap myself, and the OEM pads are the same as the NAO pads aside from the vibration dampening layer on the NAO pads. same pain in the ass bonding adhesive, that was probably the most painful part of replacing the front pads, cleaning all the 3m VHB they use so the new pads would bond correctly.



the M50i/ M60i/ XB7 use the same front rotors and pads. rear is different.

[ledphut]

Originally Posted by zippytank49

Thanks, and I agree. The hardest part by far was getting the correct parts-I say that tongue in cheek because replacing the pads and rotors is a challenge if you don't do it too often, but once you do it, the next time will be a piece of cake.

This is good to know. The XB7 is currently in for its last free maintenance visit. They are doing oil, spark plugs, cabin filters, rotors, etc.

I’m looking forward to swapping out the dreadful MSport pads and all the dust they create with something cleaner. I’ll be referring back to this post when the time comes. Thanks much for your contributions! Users like you are what makes Bimmerpost one of the best auto forums in existence.

[GwE]

Originally Posted by zippytank49

Ah, I went through the same predicament when I replaced the pads and rotors (and sensors) for our 2021 X7 40i with Blue calipers (no towing). It's not straightforward getting the correct part numbers for several reasons including, there are several different setups for these X7s, BMW has changed the original part numbers, BMW wants you to have their dealers do the work, and it seems like you can order the pads from BMW, but not the rotors. After a few weeks of planning, I ended up with the following:

34-21-6-890-353: REAR BRAKE PADS
34-11-6-889-585: FRONT PADS
Disc Brake Rotor - Rear (370mm) 09.D901.13
Disc Brake Rotor - Front Driver Side (395mm) 09.D897.13
Disc Brake Rotor - Front Passenger Side (395mm) 09.D898.13

Rotors and front pads from newparts.com, rest from bmwpartsdirect.com

I installed everything a few months ago and so far I have no complaints about the performance. Only mistake I made was not watching the brake fluid tank, which overflowed when I compressed the front calipers. Some fluid ended up leaking out. Good luck with the install.

Thank you! I ordered the Zimmermann rotors from my original post but got an email yesterday that the rear ones were out of stock so the order got cancelled. Then I saw your comment and ended up ordering the Brembo front/rear rotors from newparts.com, and I'm going to get the pads from my local dealer.

[zippytank49]

Originally Posted by GwE

Thank you! I ordered the Zimmermann rotors from my original post but got an email yesterday that the rear ones were out of stock so the order got cancelled. Then I saw your comment and ended up ordering the Brembo front/rear rotors from newparts.com, and I'm going to get the pads from my local dealer.

Glad to hear. I took a chance on newparts and was pleasantly surprised. All the rotors were shipped immediately and arrived pretty fast. They are genuine Brembo. When done you should have the factory original brake package. Tip for the rears: you have to retract the parking brake actuator-either manually or with a scantool. Also, be aware that the rear pads are not interchangeable inboard and outboard. The pads with the close together dimples go outboard, and the pads with the far apart dimples go inboard.

Good luck!

Edit: the rear pads don't have dimples, but rather bumps, on the backing side.

[Orient330iNYC]

Originally Posted by zippytank49

Also, be aware that the rear pads are not interchangeable inboard and outboard. The pads with the close together dimples go outboard, and the pads with the far apart dimples go inboard.

Good luck!

Edit: the rear pads don't have dimples, but rather bumps, on the backing side.

well this might explain something.
whats the consequence of flipping them?

i have a rust ring on one of my rear rotors that i thought was due to my old pads wearing the rotor and the new pads not catching up. but now that you mention this, i wonder if i flipped the pads

[zippytank49]

Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC

well this might explain something.
whats the consequence of flipping them?

i have a rust ring on one of my rear rotors that i thought was due to my old pads wearing the rotor and the new pads not catching up. but now that you mention this, i wonder if i flipped the pads

If you only see the rust ring on one rotor, then it is possible that you have installed them improperly (because the other side could be proper on the inboard side). I think what happens is the pads wear unevenly. Rust means the pad is not contacting the rotor surface. If you install the pad with the two bumps close together on the inboard side, it will interfere with the rear piston. You could even notice a crunching noise, as this piston rotates to engage the pad and grinds these bumps-even during normal driving as the brakes are used for driving stability purposes as well. The pad with far apart dimples should be used on the inboard side, as it avoids the piston running into the bumps. Not sure why BMW (or Brembo) chose this design.

My guess as to any consequence would be uneven brake pad wear as the pad might not be sitting completely flat against the surface of the rotor. Since the fronts do most of the braking, I don't think you will suffer any noticeably braking performance.

[Orient330iNYC]

Originally Posted by zippytank49

If you only see the rust ring on one rotor, then it is possible that you have installed them improperly (because the other side could be proper on the inboard side). I think what happens is the pads wear unevenly. Rust means the pad is not contacting the rotor surface. If you install the pad with the two bumps close together on the inboard side, it will interfere with the rear piston. You could even notice a crunching noise, as this piston rotates to engage the pad and grinds these bumps-even during normal driving as the brakes are used for driving stability purposes as well. The pad with far apart dimples should be used on the inboard side, as it avoids the piston running into the bumps. Not sure why BMW (or Brembo) chose this design.

My guess as to any consequence would be uneven brake pad wear as the pad might not be sitting completely flat against the surface of the rotor. Since the fronts do most of the braking, I don't think you will suffer any noticeably braking performance.

got it, this is helpful, i'll pull it apart this weekend and check
i've thought that it was just the rotor itself took a set from the original pads (only had about 4K miles on the rotors so i just did a pad swap to the NAO pads), but your comment makes me wonder if i might have swapped the pads on that side. might still just be a low spot from the rotor taking a set from the original pads, but i can at least check to see if the pads are flipped.

much appreciated!

[Orient330iNYC]

Originally Posted by zippytank49

My guess as to any consequence would be uneven brake pad wear as the pad might not be sitting completely flat against the surface of the rotor. Since the fronts do most of the braking, I don't think you will suffer any noticeably braking performance.

and yes, i had the pads swapped around on that corner. and that was causing the rust ring. i swapped the pads to the correct sides of the rotor and did a few hard stops, the ring is starting to disappear.
those protrustions were pressing against the fingers of the caliper, the pad wasnt sitting flush on the outboard side.


many thanks, i wouldnt have known to check except for your post!

[zippytank49]

Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC

and yes, i had the pads swapped around on that corner. and that was causing the rust ring. i swapped the pads to the correct sides of the rotor and did a few hard stops, the ring is starting to disappear.
those protrustions were pressing against the fingers of the caliper, the pad wasnt sitting flush on the outboard side.


many thanks, i wouldnt have known to check except for your post!

Glad to hear, that rust should be gone in no time. And by the way, your posts are always very helpful as well!

[MSpeedX7]

Just an FYI, all of our rotors are from previous model BMW's. If you do a search on some of the european websites it will be easier to find. I matched my dimpled rotors up to an earlier 7 or 8 series.