[joebootch]

Hi - given the $8.5k cost for the carbon brakes, and putting incremental performance aside, my understanding is that carbon ceramics last much longer than compound brakes. That said, how do people think about the cost over the life of the car? Meaning, assuming you have BMW do service, what is the approximate break-even with respect to number of times you need to replace compound brakes vs carbon ceramics?

Also, let me know if I am not thinking about this correctly or if there is anything else you think a newbie should know in order to make an informed decision. Thank you.

[Crazy1323]

If paying a dealership to do it, it seems like 2 full sets of brakes is your break even point.

You are correct that carbon ceramics last longer. I have them on my RS6 and after 25,000 miles are hardly showing any wear. I view them as almost a “lifetime” item, but I don’t track the car.

BMW recommends changing both pads and rotors at the same time (you can decide for yourself if you would want to just do pads).

Here are the MSRP of the factory parts, if purchasing from places other than a dealership you can expect to pay ~60% of the MSRP on most parts, so a 40% discount.

Front Pads: $942.00
Front Rotors: $593.37 each
Rear Pads: $219.74
Rear Rotors: $558.85 each

Total: $3,466.18

So including labor and tax your probably around $4,000 - $4,500 if you drop the keys at the dealer and say “replace the brakes”. If you purchase parts yourself and take to an independent shop (many dealers won’t let you bring your own parts) then you’re probably closer to $2,500 for all 4 corners.

[iifymbro]

if you never track the car the CCB should last 100k+ miles

really though we order them cause they're badass and don't produce dust, at least that's why I added them.

[Crazy1323]

Also, getting rid of 45 pounds of unsprung, rotating mass is pretty nice!

[Skilly]

There is really no such thing as "OEM" brakes - it's all outsourced (Brembo), so purchasing in the aftermarket would be standard, and they are covered in the maintenance/service agreement, so likely your first set is covered...I wouldn't be surprised if there as exclusion with CCBs or at least a bunch of caveats around replacements.

So no cost during your service contract interval. But after 3 years, Let's assume $2K for a full set. You would have to replace them 5x before you break even....So, maybe the break even is somewhere 10 or 12 years into ownership.

I'd go back to cool factor as the reason to check the box.