So our MCS has a shimmy when braking. It's been livable, but now that our tax refund is here I'm buying parts. I'm a fan of Hawk HPS pads, and not everybody carries them. Likewise with EBC rotors. Unfortunately, the online stores like summit racing are not very clear on fitment. Amazon has great prices, but they say the correct parts don't fit. There is conflicting information out there and I just wanted to give everyone a heads up.

Long story short, I had to go the manufacturer's websites to find the right part numbers. Armed with that, I've got UPR1488 rotors and HB444F.685 pads coming.
Edit- those pads don't fit, they are either for the rear or the base Cooper. Hawk's website is not clear. Now have HB560F.677 on the way.

 

Are you 100% sure it's your current pads and rotors causing the shimmy? Could be the alignment.

I have a year-old "Justa" Cooper and have never had any problems with the brakes, so far.

 

You guys make me laugh with your new or 1 year old cars. This one has over 96k. You shouldn't have any brake problems for at least 3 years. I'm pretty sure it's mostly the front left rotor, the alignment is good.

 

Let us know if new brakes gets rid of your shimmy. That would mean I learned something new today.

 

YMMV, but I've migrated from Hawk HPS pads to StopTechs for street use. Tirerack.com carries both, but you can usually find marginally better deals on Amazon.

For rotors - to each his own.
The last set I got for the MINI were Centric 125 Series rotors. 1 year and ~10K miles later, still no shaking and minimal signs of wear (though I did switch to HP+ pads for the summer autoX season).

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9 out of 10 times, it's because someone over-tightened the lug nuts and warped the rotors.
I looked hard at Centric and Stoptech but they were 2x the cost.
Edit- the 125 series is quite affordable. I might try them down the road.

 

From wheel vibration under braking, but none otherwise, is 80% usually warped rotors or glazed pads, 20% worn suspension elements (if car is old enough).

Alignment does not come into play w.r.t. vibration, and usually never unless you have just replaced suspension elements or had a major event (e.g.: accident, went airborne, hit pot holes big enough to bent wheels). Cheap tire stores will attempt you to believe otherwise and pay them for alignment "check" every time you stop by, but that's to be filed under 'buyer beware' category.

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Noted. My next guess would have been upper strut bearings or related suspension components.

 

I wouldn't be looking at big box chains for a plethora of brake options for the MINI. Buy your stuff from somewhere like Detroit Tuned. They have a lot more options to choose from. The Hawk HPS is great if you want a low dust pad.

 

Looks like Detroit Tuned has more rotors for the R53 than our cars.

 

I love DT (I am a customer), and they have very competitive prices on Hawk brake pads, but their R56 rotor choices and prices leave plenty to be desired.

Do your homework, try Amazon.com for price comparison.

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Hawk pads suck. They have no initial bite, and they feel wooden. I mean, they do work, but they feel terrible. I will never ever use them again on any car I own. (yes, that's how I really feel about them...) I've used the HP, HP+, HPS, Hp Ceramic, they all blow... (only reason I used them is I got them for free to try out... Needless to say, they didn't like my comments...

Big fan of the EBC Red Stuff pads for the MINI.

 

I could not disagree more.

1/3 the autoX community uses Hawk HP+ pads for autoX - great initial bite, linear modulation, improved fade resistance vs. OEM. (BTW, the other 1/3 of competitive autoXers CarboTech AX6 pads - also great, but pricier. The last 1/3 goes slow on OEM pads ;-).

Hawk Blue (9012) or HT-10 are great for the track. There are many other great DE compounds out there as well.

I personally don't like "dust-less" street pads - they all leave a LOT to be desired in initial bite an have no modulation: either hardly any torque or full-on ABS mode. Many popular pads fall into this category, including Hawk Ceramics and HPS.

As an alternative to OEM street pads (I don't like them either - excessive initial bite makes it impossible to tap the brakes without disturbing passengers, poor lifespan) I've fallen in love with StopTech street pads.
https://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brak...um=ST309.09390


To each his own, just don't mis-represent other products!

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Richard, I've also been very happy with HPS pads in the past. Perhaps your rotors were glazed or a poor install?

 

I replaced my brakes at 65k with solid rotors and EBC red from Way. In doing my research, under normal conditions solid rotors are just fine for everyday use. Slotted are designed more for track. After 20k I like my setup and expecting the same wear as stock but with way less dust.

 

I also thought slotted would be overkill. This is really my wife's daily driver. Which solid rotors did you get?

 

They are from Way Motor Works their brand actually. I have done business with them a few times and I've been very satisfied. Just tell them what it is you want to do and they will talk you through it with the correct parts.

 

Parts are in transit, already ordered thanks.
I understand why the mods moved the thread to 'tires, wheels, brakes', but R56 brakes are not compatible with previous gen. My biggest beef with this site is mixed models being lumped together like this. It makes searches a nightmare.

 

Way is a good guy, sells quality products and provides quality support. But he doesn't own a metal stamping plant that manufacturers rotors. If you look closely at the rotors, there will be an OEM stamp on it somewhere.

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Rotors are not stamped...
They are cast...
And he has them CONTRACT MADE....AND IMPORTS THEM....(and no...not China!!)...
Same maker as TSW before he bought them out...factory is down in Brazil if I recall right...for a high carbon rotor, they seem to be pretty decently priced...especially if you avoid "made in China" junk....

 

Updated original post. The pads I ordered do not fit. Hawk either listed rears for the front, or base pads for the Cooper S.
Ordered HB560F.677 and I hope they will work.

 

Brazil and Mexico are good sources for OEM products nowadays thanks to manufacturers like Volkswagen setting up production there.....they tend to partner with local suppliers which improves quality greatly.
There was a time (1980's) when aftermarket European car parts from those countries were junk but not anymore...

 

That's very frustrating - from whom did you order, and did your source help validate the fitment? What Hawk part # pads did you get?

Definitely have a talk with them, and they should remedy with correct parts shipment at their expense!

For what it's worth, TireRack lists the following HPS pad part #s for our cars (R56): HB444F.677 (front for "S" 294X22 rotors) and HB574F.636 (rear).

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/resul...odClar=Hardtop

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Thanks for the reference. I was using Hawk's website, but they have multiple listings for our cars. Amazon is giving me a full refund, and I ordered what is supposed to fit (HB560F.677). They also list HB574F.636 for the rears.
The ones that don't work are in my original post (HB444F.685), which is a similar number to what you listed.

 

A good torque wrench is essential IMP....