[The X Men]

Originally Posted by martin mustang

More shocking when compared to the my 5 Series F10 same year as our X3, 2011! In fact when on the X3 for family trips often I am caught by surprise and my wife freaking our beside me thinking I am not going to break/stop on time. I am very surprised as it is also our first 4x4 me thinking they should be far better at breaking in comparison to RWD.

Most performance sedans will brake better than SUV. My old 5 series brake much better than my wife's X3 35i and the 5 series' brake pedal feels much better as well. Most of the braking on the X3 is at the bottom half of the brake pedal which I dislike. I just recently traded in my 535i for a Mercedes CLS550, the CLS brakes are simply amazing, 60-0 in 104' with perfect brake pedal modulation feel, every car should have a braking system like that.

[exon]

X3 brakes are strong enough to activate ABS consistently. But they just don't "feel" strong to me, too little action in the first half of the travel. I read somewhere that BMW switched brake pads to a lower dust compound, but the brake feel isn't as good as before.

[mindanalyzer]

Originally Posted by beneliezer

Granted the X3 is larger than my last vehicle, the only complaint I have about my new-to-me 2013 is that the brakes leave something to be desired.

Anyone else share that feeling? 30k on the clock...

I felt the same at the beginning, but they've gotten better with time. Does it make sense? Or maybe is me

[BOSSBMW]

Originally Posted by exon

X3 brakes are strong enough to activate ABS consistently. But they just don't "feel" strong to me, too little action in the first half of the travel. I read somewhere that BMW switched brake pads to a lower dust compound, but the brake feel isn't as good as before.

i'm going to agree with the bottom half statement. once i stand on the brake pedal it usually does a decent job of stopping :P

if only we had brake by wire and could piggy back it :P

[atrueb]

While the "feeling" of brakes is very subjective, the performance definitely depends on parameters such as choince of tires, weight, rim diameter, tire dimension, weather conditions to name a few. This is what I found in a comparison tested by a renowned european magazine (all brakes warm):
- Audi Q5 (2015): 34.0m
- BMW X3 (2015): 36.0m
- Mercedes GLC (2016): 37.0m
- Volvo XC60 (2015): 37.7m
So the BMW actually come in second. Amazingly enough before the technologocally more advanced and brand new Benz.

In terms of braking feeling, there are also several factors which influence the drivers perception like the initial biting point, the brake modulation or dosage, the plushness when stepping into the pedal, also the sensitivity of the braking assistant when it kicks in (not to be confused with ABS) and the consistency of performance in dry vs wet and cold vs warm weather.

For a car weighing 1.8t I find the brakes pretty good. Why?.
+ the biting point is not too sensitive (i.e. does not react nervously like e.g. a seat cupra or Golf R)
+ performance is 100% consistent no matter what the weather conditions... This in oppose to my prior Audi S3, which felt like stomping into air for 1 second when driving through rain on the Autobahn (!!!)
+ no perceivable fading on mountain pass roads
+ in emergency situations i.e. when you abruptly - in a split second - jump from throttle to brake, because a complete moron cuts into your lane, the brake assistent has always kicked in perfectly giving full braking power... sometimes even a bit to fast.
+ The brake feeling is very solid throughout the entire stroke and is not fiddly. Exactly what I would expect from a German car.

[m_alnimah]

Am I the only one who's happy with his X5's Brakes and his relatives 2013 EX-X3's Brakes?

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by m_alnimah

Am I the only one who's happy with his X5's Brakes and his relatives 2013 EX-X3's Brakes?

No, I do not think so. I am completely satisfied with my UK X3 xDrive30d M Sport brakes.

[brainy]

While i think the brakes in the X3 are okay, they aren't fantastic. I was a little disappointed that there was no brembo (sorry M Performance brake) option available.

I do miss my brembo's.

Brian

[Amber]

Just installed new break pads and rotors on the front wheels....stops on a dime.

[335xs2dinan]

im not sure what was going on with OEM pads in my 2011 X3 35i but after switching to textar pads in the front the brake feel and stopping power is much improved.

[Max Well]

Originally Posted by beneliezer

Granted the X3 is larger than my last vehicle, the only complaint I have about my new-to-me 2013 is that the brakes leave something to be desired...

That issue made it into the top five requests for the 3rd generation X3 G01 in our forum's 'Wish List for G01 (3rd Gen) X3 2017' [ http://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showth...ight=wish+list ]. The anticipation for what the G01 will bring to the table in this segment grows as we await word of a possible launch date.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by beneliezer

Granted the X3 is larger than my last vehicle, the only complaint I have about my new-to-me 2013 is that the brakes leave something to be desired.

Anyone else share that feeling? 30k on the clock...

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=34_1927

It appears that even the the 2016 X3 35i uses front brakes/pads that are similar in dimension to a 328i which is surprising given the extra mass you'll have to deal with.

Also...

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/part...&q=34106879122

The front rotor is:

34106879122
Brake disc, ventilated
328X28

Which is substantially smaller than the M Sport Brake Option in my 2014 335i which is 370mm x30.

I would have expected it to use the standard 335i front discs/pads at 340mmx30mm.

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by The X Men

Lets look at the competition shall we:

Audi Q5 3.0T, 60-0 MPH 105'
Mercedes GLK350, 60-0 MPH 119'
Cadillac SRX, 60-0 MPH 118'
Lexus RX350, 60-0 MPH 115'


BMW X3 28i, 60-0 MPG 127'

Where do you find your stats? I'm curious what my E61 535 would be, as its brakes seemed waaaay better than my X3 35's.

[MichiganMike]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Where do you find your stats? I'm curious what my E61 535 would be, as its brakes seemed waaaay better than my X3 35's.

This is not the comparison you were seeking but may be of interest.

Car and Driver did a review of a 2006 E61 530xi wagon and reported a braking distance of 161 feet for 70 to 0 mph.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...take-road-test

Car and Driver did a similar review of a 2015 X3 35i and reported a braking distance of 178 feet for 70 to 0 mph.

http://www.caranddriver.com/bmw/x3

[Lotus99]

Thanks. Assuming the 2010 535 wagon had the same brakes as the 2006 530 (they might have upgraded them for the 535, considering it had a lot more HP from 2008+), that wouldn't surprise me, as for sure, our wagon felt like it could stop 10% shorter, if not more.

And if the 535 had even better brakes than the 530, then the difference would be even larger. I might look up a 535 sedan's braking distance, as it would be pretty close to the wagon's.

[MichiganMike]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

I might look up a 535 sedan's braking distance, as it would be pretty close to the wagon's.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...take-road-test

For what it is worth, the linked review of a 2008 535xi sedan reported a stopping distance of 177 feet from 70 to 0 mph.

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by MichiganMike

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...take-road-test

For what it is worth, the linked review of a 2008 535xi sedan reported a stopping distance of 177 feet from 70 to 0 mph.

LOL... I'm going to give up on comparing stats I think... It's all over the map.

This PDF states that the 2011 X3 35 did the 60-0 in only 116 ft, yet the same source they cite (Edmunds) says it should be 123 ft.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/t...rack-test.html
.

[clivem2]

The brakes don't inspire confidence but if they were more powerful I believe the situation would be worse in some situations. On anything other than a dry clean road I find the X3 feels unstable under moderately heavy braking, it dances around a little, maybe this is the software playing with the wheels to achieve stability.....it does not give confidence though.

For an emergency stop from low speed it's actually quite good with the brake assist, more so than a sports car with hard pads.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by clivem2

The brakes don't inspire confidence but if they were more powerful I believe the situation would be worse in some situations. On anything other than a dry clean road I find the X3 feels unstable under moderately heavy braking, it dances around a little, maybe this is the software playing with the wheels to achieve stability.....it does not give confidence though.

For an emergency stop from low speed it's actually quite good with the brake assist, more so than a sports car with hard pads.

Sounds like the tires are the problem here and not the brakes unless the issue is brake modulation in which case it's mostly a driver issue.

[clivem2]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

Sounds like the tires are the problem here and not the brakes unless the issue is brake modulation in which case it's mostly a driver issue.

It could be the tyres, it's not the ABS in operation. RFTs get the blame for most things. It happens when I forget I'm not driving my 335i so my approach speed to a roundabout is faster than it should be to be comfortable. This isn't panic braking but more firm braking in slightly greasy conditions. Probably the tyres are the factor here

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by clivem2

It could be the tyres, it's not the ABS in operation. RFTs get the blame for most things. It happens when I forget I'm not driving my 335i so my approach speed to a roundabout is faster than it should be to be comfortable. This isn't panic braking but more firm braking in slightly greasy conditions. Probably the tyres are the factor here

I agree. Most probably tyres. The braking (in the dry) seems better on the winter tyres than on the well worn summer ones.

[The X Men]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Where do you find your stats? I'm curious what my E61 535 would be, as its brakes seemed waaaay better than my X3 35's.

Road and track tested the 530i from 60 to 0 in 119', a lot of the time, the right pedal feel can make braking seem stronger and better brake control.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a9987/bmw-530i/