One of the very best upgrades any enthusiasts can make on their car is to their brakes. There’s an old adage that says a car is only as good as it’s brakes and I find that to be true. If a car is brilliant but its brakes a crap, it’s more frightening than fun. While the brakes on a BMW M2 Competition aren’t crap, they’re also not as good as some aftermarket options. Being stock car brakes, they’re just not as high-quality or as high performance as something from a high-quality aftermarket brand, as they have to be mass-produced for a car on a budget.

In this new video from Joe Achilles, we get to see his BMW M2 Competition get fitted with new rotors and pads from EBC. While that in itself isn’t very exciting, it’s the discussion between Achilles and Adam from EBC. In that discussion, we get to learn a bit about the differences between a stock M2’s brakes and the EBC ones, especially the rotors. It’s interesting how much thought actually goes into upgrading brakes and the sorts of differences you can find between stock brakes and high-performance upgrades.

For instance, learning the benefits of slotted rotors versus drilled rotors and the reason for why they prevent brake fade better really interested me. And that was just one aspect of why you should go with an upgraded brake, rather than the stock car’s. Build quality, durability and performance are all reasons why upgrading from factory rotors and pads is important for enthusiasts looking to drive hard.

Also, the EBC rotors look flipping gorgeous. You might not think brake rotors can be gorgeous but the gold-centered EBC units look fantastic and really dress up a car’s wheels. The the Style 763M wheels on Achilles’ BMW M2 Competition, the new EBC brakes looked great.

So if you’re looking to upgrade your BMW, make sure you upgrade its brakes. You’ll not only notice a huge performance benefit but you’ll also have peace of mind about the quality, so long as you get brakes from a good brand.