Brake pads OEM BMW or Duralast

My local dealer has the “value service” pricing on BMW USA’s website, front rotors/pads/sensors on an 18 330 x drive for $419.95 front and $435.95 rear.

I installed R56 front brakes.

I put Duralast gold's on all my vehicles. Got a good warranty and come with all clips and brake grease you need. They're ceramic also, so quieter and more smooth braking and significantly less brake dust. Last quite awhile (1-2 years) as long as your not heavy braking all the time. And they're not too expensive either, moderately priced. Plus a bonus, they're black and match my paint.

Autozone's Duralast Gold pads and rotors will run you about $300 for the set. They work very nicely. If you're even moderately handy or have a friend with the tools, it's less than 2 hours of work. If you have a decent setup with a lift, it's more like 45 minutes of work. $600 for labor is HIGH AF. This truck is the easiest brake job I've ever done.

M3 stock brakes are better, the GTI gets a little tail-happy under hard braking above 110-130mph.

Seems like there would be room in the market for a slightly detuned S55 base model without the fancy seats, brakes and wheels for about $5-8k less like the M3/M4: M3/M4 Competition.

I really love driving it though, particularly the brakes and the handling.

I've bought brake pads, brake calipers and rotors from Duralast (Autozone). Not one problem with them. I'd do it again in heartbeat.

This is also a common problem for parts store chain pads, too, most notably Auto Zone's Duralast pads.

And jesus christ. $600 for rear pads and rotors? the the parts are like $250 and labor shouldn't be over $200...