Brake pads OEM BMW or OEM Honda

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.

The clutch is light, the brakes feel solid, and the manual steering has a good, confident feel. The engine doesn't lug even if you bring it down to around idle speed, provided you're in the right gear.

Brake pads and rotors for the fit i prefer OEM since they last around 60,000km. I paid less than that including fluid changes at a shop in the Toronto area.

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.

My local Bavarian car specialist refuses to install ceramic pads and will only do OEM due to low performance in the cold and increased wear on rotors. I was looking forward to less brake dust, especially on the front, but I live on top of one of the steepest hills in the city. I now have OEM pads.

The way the brakes begin to grumble during heavy braking is less impressive, but they work well enough.

When I had my Honda, a freak incident occured involving pads. I was coming up to a red light and I just heard a "thunk" and next thing I know, I had little to no-brake power. Took the wheel and caliper off, and somehow the outer pad had completley vanished....no joke, gone, nothing left, not even a shred of metal.