Last weekend I replaced the rear brake rotors and brake pads on my 2006 M3. For an amateur DIY enthusiast like myself that’s a pretty big job, and I’m happy to say it went smoothly.
Craftsman Auto Care hosted our local chapter at their Chantilly location. Craftsman is a regular sponsor and a great partner to the DIY program. In fact Craftsman’s Alexandria location was the reason I knew I needed to do the rear brakes. When you bring your car to Craftsman you receive an in-depth courtesy inspection with pictures and recommendations delivered as a link within a text message to your phone.
TECHNICIAN NOTE REAR BRAKE PADS ARE CLOSE TO 4/32″(3MM) –
Most new brake pads are close to ? inch in thickness. Virginia State Inspection Manual states that 2/32 inch of pad thickness will fail Virginia vehicle safety inspection. For safety brake pads should be replaced when close to 3/32inch. RECOMMENDATION REPLACE REAR BRAKE PADS & ROTORS
I took the M3 to Craftsman in May to do two jobs I could not handle. I wrote about them previously – the constant pressure valve on the side of the engine block and a front sway bar link that kept breaking. They replaced the CPV with a new o-ring, and we eventually figured out that the attachment point on my coilovers was too close to the link. My coilovers came with the car when I bought in 2014 and were made by Fortune Auto, based in Powhatan, Virginia.
Fortune Auto was responsive to questions we sent them about the problem. They also had an updated set of lower coilover sections with different attachment points and special end links to sell me if needed. Eventually Craftsman figured out they could adjust the lower piece of the existing coilovers to create more room for the end links. They did that and it seems to have solved the problem.
Since a suspension adjustment was required after adjusting the coilovers, I had them raise the car about a quarter inch (to about one half inch lower than stock) and put some additional camber to the front wheels for sharper handling. I received great service from the Alexandria location, but the bill reminded me why it’s good to DIY what you can on these cars.
With all that out of the way, I was ready to tackle the rear brakes the inspection said needed replacing. I had done the front rotors and pads in 2017, so I was familiar with the job. Of course, that didn’t prevent me from watching some videos on the process, with this one from FCPEuro being particularly good. I went with the same Hawk HPS pads I put on the fronts, but not the same rotors. In 2017 I went with genuine BMW competition package rotors, and they have tended to show rust.
I went with Zimmerman Formula Z rotors made for the E46 Competition package cars this time. Zimmerman has an excellent reputation; the rotors are made in Germany and come with a rust-fighting coating. My old rotors didn’t look that worn out, but I’m almost sure they were original to the car so I wanted to replace them.
The only small complication was that there wasn’t a lot of clearance to get at the top caliper guide pins due to the coilovers on the car. As usual the staff on hand were super helpful and lent me a short socket bit. I also did an oil change with Liqui Moly 10w-60 and tightened the parking brake while the rear wheels were off.
Some pictures below. The Craftsman courtesy inspection goes beyond the usual checkbox list and provides a clear roadmap for a BMW DIYer. It’s a real value add every time you bring your car in. I highly recommend Craftsman to anyone in the greater DMV area needing auto care. Happy Fourth!
