Are E36 325 and E46 325 brake pads the same?

[JonW]

I've now got a '93 325is and a '01 325xi. I haven't taken the E36 brakes apart to look yet. Can I use the same brake pads on both cars? Or are they different? I've got some extras around from the E46.

(I'm also wondering if the oil filters are the same. I'll post that question over on the DIY forum.)

[Pinecone]

Looking at the listings on Turner's page, all E36 and E46 3ers and Z3s, but not including any M versions use the same front and rear pads.

[Kaz]

Pads are the same F/R. Filters are not.

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

I'm curious about that... Last I checked, doesn't the E46 323 need different pad carriers to accept 325/328 pads/rotors? It would seem fairly safe to assume from there that the E36 325 which (I believe) has the same wimpy brakes as the E46 323 would need some changes for the same pads as well.

[Kaz]

I'm curious about that... Last I checked, doesn't the E46 323 need different pad carriers to accept 325/328 pads/rotors? It would seem fairly safe to assume from there that the E36 325 which (I believe) has the same wimpy brakes as the E46 323 would need some changes for the same pads as well.

The carriers are different to accomodate the different rotor diameters. The calipers themselves might be slightly different, but the pads are the same. They all use FMSI #558 in front, 692 in back. If BMW specifies different PNs for all of these, it's most likely because of different compounds.

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

huh.

[Kaz]

huh.

I was pretty surprised by all of this too. Discovered this during my Carbotech research.

6cyl E36/Z3 (except M), 6cyl E46 <3.0l, Z4 all share F/R pads. (FMSI 394(558)/396(692))
E46 >3.0l share F/R (FMSI 725(394)/683)
E36/Z M share F with E46 >3.0l, R with the first list.

I'm sure there are other series of cars that share some of these.

It seems like some brake manufacturers put different amounts of friction materials on the same backing pads and sell them for different applications. For example, Carbotech doesn't distinguish between 330 and E36/46M3 pads, but EBC and Hawk do. I'm guessing that this is what accounts for the different sets of FMSI numbers. Anyone with more expertise (Ron Stygar, Dave Zeckhausen?) care to comment?

[JonW]

Sounds like I can use my extra OEM E35 325xi brake pads on my E36 325is. Excellent. Thanks guys.