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2014 BMW X3 Brake/Rotor Recommendation
- Thread starter BISCUT
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I recently did a rear brake service on a 2011 E70 X5. The customer provided the parts which were OEM BMW rotors, pads, and pad wear sensor. He purchased the parts from FCP Euro and paid about $535 for their kit. I priced the exact parts from my local dealer and they were $490. The parts were expensive but the quality was unsurpassed. There are many kits available that will save you $100 or so but keeping it all original might be worth it if you're of the meticulous nature.
Edit: FWIW, the rotors were made in the USA (possibly Brembo), the pads were made in Italy but stamped with the name Galfer on them, and who knows where the sensor came from. I didn't know Galfer made pads in Italy but who knows who they source from. Galfer is a Spanish company.
Edit: FWIW, the rotors were made in the USA (possibly Brembo), the pads were made in Italy but stamped with the name Galfer on them, and who knows where the sensor came from. I didn't know Galfer made pads in Italy but who knows who they source from. Galfer is a Spanish company.
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Thank you for the conscientious post. That was my reason for asking. I wasn't sure if aftermarket brake parts surpassed my past experience with original BMW brake parts. They are pretty darn good.
If you don’t want OE BMW, Zimmerman rotors and either ATE, Textar, Pagid, or Jurid pads usually work out well on BMW.
I have found that the aftermarket pads work very well, but they tend to not last as long as the OE BMW pads.
Through sales or online sources such as FCP, the aftermarket parts might save you some money. The dealer OE parts are excellent though.
I have found that the aftermarket pads work very well, but they tend to not last as long as the OE BMW pads.
Through sales or online sources such as FCP, the aftermarket parts might save you some money. The dealer OE parts are excellent though.
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edyvw
$50 site donor 2025
^This.
or OE.
I found ATE rotors to be of the best quality, and their pads.
Do not experiment with anything else. It won't work.
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edyvw
$50 site donor 2025
Very often I find BMW dealership cheaper than online stores.
I've been very happy with the OEM brakes & rotors that my local indie BMW shop installed on my 535d in August '24. I've put about 20k miles on them and have zero complaints.
Last couple times I've used Zimmerman, on BMW and Audi. In the past, Balo, who ran their own foundry, but they disappeared a while ago.
OE would provide a level of assurance, but at 50% higher cost.
Anecdotally, I've had issues with ATE and Brembo rotors, in the times before so much manufacturing moved to Asia.
Pads, I'd look for ECE R90 compliance for a daily driver, in the absence of of other potentially higher priorities (dust, high performance).
OE would provide a level of assurance, but at 50% higher cost.
Anecdotally, I've had issues with ATE and Brembo rotors, in the times before so much manufacturing moved to Asia.
Pads, I'd look for ECE R90 compliance for a daily driver, in the absence of of other potentially higher priorities (dust, high performance).
edyvw
$50 site donor 2025
I ran ATE on BMW for 40,000 mls, including some 4-5000 on track with racing pads. Those were made in China. No issues whatsoever. I changed them bcs. I was upgrading to Brembo calipers, not bcs. they were worn out.
So, maybe application? Have them now on Tiguan, no issues. Had them on Atlas as replacement for junky VW rotors (Brembo made) and they solved vibration issues that Atlas rotors are known for.
Galfer on the car side is owned by Conti under the ATE brand. For bikes, they’re independent.
If it was me, Zimmermann/ATE or OEM rotors, and Pagid/Textar/ATE pad. Some aftermarket might be OK - I would consider Bosch to be OK. Wagner will source from Ferodo instead of their US/Mexican plants for Euro cars. Duralast/BrakeBest/Carquest will be Indian - but recently Mercedes has been sourcing from MAT Holdings for their StarParts line. Volvo also uses MAT Holdings as a OE supplier. Dan-Blok has been around for a while.
Caveat emptor - Textar also sells rotors via Worldpac or IMC. They are made in China and seem to be similar to Akebono’s branded rotors from Worldpac and Bosch QuietCast rotors.
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edyvw
$50 site donor 2025
All these options do.
Last year I purchased a set of OE BMW pads for my Mini and they're also Galfer stamped and Made in Italy. I've seen several Ate and OE VW pads with Galfer friction compounds (GA .....). Obviously fairly common.
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Rock Auto sells Pagid and Zimmermann rotors. They also have Powerstop. Any of the Geomet coated rotors will be fine 
If you prefer, they still make E-coated rotors. Durago electrophoretic coated rotors are the best of the e-coated for your car. Wagner doesn't seem to make their E-coated rotors for your X3
For the pads, the gold standard is Akebono Euro. Pagid has their low-metallic pads, but not the ceramic. Brembo has ceramic pads for your X3 as well. Another option is Wagner OEX, if you don't want to spend too much.
$400 for Akebono pads and Pagid rotors, front and rear.
$270 for the Wagner OEX pads and Durago electrophoretic rotors (the only ones that ship from the same warehouse as the OEX pads)
EBC Ultimax2/Blackstuff pads are awesome, but Rockauto doesn't carry them. EBC also uses a Geomet type coating for their rotors now.
If you prefer, they still make E-coated rotors. Durago electrophoretic coated rotors are the best of the e-coated for your car. Wagner doesn't seem to make their E-coated rotors for your X3
For the pads, the gold standard is Akebono Euro. Pagid has their low-metallic pads, but not the ceramic. Brembo has ceramic pads for your X3 as well. Another option is Wagner OEX, if you don't want to spend too much.
$400 for Akebono pads and Pagid rotors, front and rear.
$270 for the Wagner OEX pads and Durago electrophoretic rotors (the only ones that ship from the same warehouse as the OEX pads)
EBC Ultimax2/Blackstuff pads are awesome, but Rockauto doesn't carry them. EBC also uses a Geomet type coating for their rotors now.
The aftermarket "european brands" tend to use the traditional low-metallic pad formulas. BMW has started to move away from this type of formula in some models so the pagid/textar/etc pads being discussed may not be a close match to the original pad.
Disc Brakes Australia (DBA). Very high quality but I don't think they are very well known in the USA or other areas.
They’re a player in aftermarket brake upgrades for your Chevy or Ford. I’ve seen their stuff in the catalogs.
GM did use PBR brakes on the Corvette/Camaro, their Holden-based GTO/G8/SS/Caprice PPV and for parking brakes on the GMT800/900 platform trucks.
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