E46 Rotors/Pads

What are the minimum thicknesses for an E46 brake rotor & pads?

"Bmrdude" > wrote in message
...
> What are the minimum thicknesses for an E46 brake rotor & pads?
>

Min pad thickness is spec'ed at 3.0mm both front and rear

Min Front disk thickness is 20.4mm (ventilated disk)

Min Rear disk thickness is 8.4mm for solid (non-ventilated) rotors or 17.4mm
for the ventilated variety.

-Fred W

Thanks Fred!




"Fred W." <Fred.Wills@'remove this to reply to' myrealbox.com> wrote in
message ...
>
> "Bmrdude" > wrote in message
> ...
>> What are the minimum thicknesses for an E46 brake rotor & pads?
>>
>
> Min pad thickness is spec'ed at 3.0mm both front and rear
>
> Min Front disk thickness is 20.4mm (ventilated disk)
>
> Min Rear disk thickness is 8.4mm for solid (non-ventilated) rotors or
> 17.4mm for the ventilated variety.
>
> -Fred W
>

That information is stamped on the rotors themselves, the pads have no spec
for this. The pads start out at somewhere around a half inch thick. when the
require replacement, a fuse-like band will break and this turns a light on
inside the car. An inspection of the brakes can let you determine if they
should be replaced before the light comes on, and you can save the cost of
the fuse-like device.

As a general rule, you will go through two sets of front pads for every set
of rear pads, and it typically takes three sets of pads to wear out the
rotors. Based on this theory, you should not need rotors yet. Of course, if
you are agressive in your application of the brakes, this rule of thumb will
not hold true. It holds true for me, so I assume it holds true for most
people.




"Bmrdude" > wrote in message
...
> What are the minimum thicknesses for an E46 brake rotor & pads?
>
>

I was not aware there was a spec for pad thickness. That is, I know how to
tell the pads are worn out, I just had no idea there was a number to
describe that condition.




"Fred W." <Fred.Wills@'remove this to reply to' myrealbox.com> wrote in
message ...
>
> "Bmrdude" > wrote in message
> ...
> > What are the minimum thicknesses for an E46 brake rotor & pads?
> >
>
> Min pad thickness is spec'ed at 3.0mm both front and rear
>
> Min Front disk thickness is 20.4mm (ventilated disk)
>
> Min Rear disk thickness is 8.4mm for solid (non-ventilated) rotors or
17.4mm
> for the ventilated variety.
>
> -Fred W
>
>

"Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
...
>
> As a general rule, you will go through two sets of front pads for every
> set
> of rear pads, and it typically takes three sets of pads to wear out the
> rotors.
>

Three sets of pads to one set of rotors on an E46 - are you sure?

Tom

"Fred W." <Fred.Wills@'remove this to reply to' myrealbox.com> wrote in
message ...
>
> "Bmrdude" > wrote in message
> ...
>> What are the minimum thicknesses for an E46 brake rotor & pads?
>>
>
> Min pad thickness is spec'ed at 3.0mm both front and rear
>

Fred, do you know at what thickness one gets an audible or visible (dash)
warning? My dealer has told me my front pads are at 2.0+ mm & there is no
warning at all, so I suspect either the tech made a "misteak" or I'm being
set up.

Thanks.

Tom

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 18:10:41 -0400, "Tom Korth"
> wrote:

>"Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
...
>>
>> As a general rule, you will go through two sets of front pads for every
>> set
>> of rear pads, and it typically takes three sets of pads to wear out the
>> rotors.
>>
>
>Three sets of pads to one set of rotors on an E46 - are you sure?

I don't think so. I started getting a warp in my front rotors halfway
into my second set of pads.

In article >,
Tom Korth > wrote:
> Fred, do you know at what thickness one gets an audible or visible
> (dash) warning? My dealer has told me my front pads are at 2.0+ mm &
> there is no warning at all, so I suspect either the tech made a
> "misteak" or I'm being set up.

There's only one sensor per four pads at the front, and the same at the
back. So it's possible that the pad with the sensor isn't the thinnest one.

--
*A closed mouth gathers no feet.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> Tom Korth > wrote:
>> Fred, do you know at what thickness one gets an audible or visible
>> (dash) warning? My dealer has told me my front pads are at 2.0+ mm &
>> there is no warning at all, so I suspect either the tech made a
>> "misteak" or I'm being set up.
>
> There's only one sensor per four pads at the front, and the same at the
> back. So it's possible that the pad with the sensor isn't the thinnest
> one.

Plus, the sensor is only on the center of the pad on one side, so it is
entirely possible to go metal to metal (zero pad thickness) before the
sensor gets broken and alerts you on the dash.

Best to just regularly keep an eye on the pad thickness (like when you
change from summer to winter wheels and also at every oil change) and plan
ahead.

-Fred W