Hi All,

I'm prepping for the eventual DIY brake job on our 2008 Clubman S. This is our daily driver and will never see a track. I want to get away from the OEM pads and rotors with some quality third party parts.

My first choice would be the Way Motor Works (WMW) red stuff brake package. http://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-red...-cooper-s.html

Are these overkill for a Daily Driver?

I've also considered going with either Centric 125 Series Plain rotors or going really cheap with ACDelco Durastop.

The only other pads I've considered are the Akebono Ultra-Premium Ceramic but haven't confirmed they have slot for the brake wear sensor.

Thanks,

Hans

 

The WMW Red brake package is worth the cost and will work fine for your daily street use.

Many budget rotors will rust if the rotor hats are not painted, mostly a cosmetic issue, it just looks ugly unless you want to paint your rotors before installing them.

 

Get the WMW redstuff setup and be done with it. Don't forget that if you're doing the brakes yourself you'll need a tool for the rear caliper to depress the piston. You can't use just a regular old C-clamp.

And don't forget to do a fluid flush while you're working on the brakes.

 

Like they said, our Red brake package is perfect for what you want, and the price is good.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Our local mini club is changing brakes this weekend and I plan to pay close attention to everything.

Never thought of flushing the brake fluid around the same time. I see Bav Auto might have a relevant video on it . . . .

Definitely gonna earn my merit badge on this one.

Hans

 

Hans- pad & rotor replacement is actually a pretty straight-forward project plus best of all, you get to spend some time with your S and learn a little bit about the mechanicals. If you'd like to further research brake bleeding on the MINI, check out our instructions here:
Bleeding Your MINI's Brakes

Mark/Pelican Parts

 

Mark,

Thanks for the link, that's the kind of info that will determine if I do or go with our mechanic.

I see an addictive trend forming. I started with replacing the rotors and pads now I'm considering a system flush and while I'm at it I could install SS brake lines.

Cheers!

Hans

 

Brake pad/rotor change is not a difficult thing to do and it's common enough between cars that if you get in a pinch anybody you know that is remotely car saavy could help you out.

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is you will need a few "special" tools outside of just a simple socket set. You'll need a torx bit for removing the rotor, an allen bit for removing the caliper from the carrier and a caliper retracting tool. You can either "rent" the caliper tool from a local autoparts store (free from advance or autozone I think) or get a cheap tool from Harbor Freight.

I did a quick search and turned up this. It's a pretty in depth how-to which applies to much of the R56. I'm sure some quick searches could turn up something a little more specific. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...beginners.html

The brake fluid flush is pretty easy. Just don't get brake fluid everywhere as it will eat away at pretty much everything it touches. I might hold off on the brake line change actually. At least at first. You'll have to buy a set of flare wrenches and cheap flare wrenches are the devil's creations. So looking at $40+ for an OK set. Brake line swaps are the one thing that consistently are a pain especially if you live somewhere where they rust. The connections are always fused together and they round off when you try to loosen them.

 

Hey v10,

Thanks for the link to OctaneGuy's writeup. I was studying it pretty closely and eventually realized its for a 1st Gen.

Another Pelican writeup helped we nail down the differences between 1st and 2nd Gen.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

I've also studied a couple of youtube videos from Bav Auto (for example) so the actual replacement and pad bed in process is fairly straight forward.