The Problem: Crappy Single Piston Calipers & Crappy Stock Pads
Sure the rotors are huge but what good does that do when you have crappy pads and sub standard calipers. It’s not my style to bash but I own one so I have paid for that right. Eagles Canyon and 100+ degree heat doesn’t help but I had brand new front rotors (warped my other front rotors near 2,500mi at Texas World Speedway) and on the 2nd day, 1st session and Eagles Canyon I got huge fade coming off that straight at 130mph and that is not a pleasant feeling. Especially since there is a practically hairpin turn at the end of the straight. The on-site techs bled the brakes but I missed the rest of that session and the entire 4th session while I wanted for them to finish. Yes I admit that the track heat was a factor but come on, I should at least get 4 – 20min sessions out of them?
The Solution: Over $800 Worth of Stuff
After dropping $850 on racing pads and fluid over at Autoscope came the moment of truth
The Result: Continued Brake Fade
I expected to get a least a full weekend out of the car but I guess it was too hot, the car is too heavy, my driving style too aggressive and the brakes are simply not good enough. Got fade right away and I was done for the weekend. The event is a 2 day, 4 session per day event and I got the first 2 sessions of day 1 and was finished.
The Conspiracy: I was Not Alone
Also invited a friend who warped his rotors and he has an 08 BMW M3 E92 so I’m starting to see a pattern forming. Oh yea, another friend with an 08, M3 E92 blew out his front rotors too. Now you can call me crazy for taking that car to the track on such a hot day or say that maybe I’m a poor driver (which I’m not) OR maybe this car is simply not ready for the track right off the assembly line.
The Rub: May I present.. Exhibit A:
BMW M3 2008 – 2009 Sales Brochure
This is a stripped down version of the 2008-2009 M3 sales brochure (I removed pages that made no reference to the track to reduce the file size although almost every photo in the brochure was of the car on a race track) and it makes reference after steamy reference to the track capabilities of this car. If they are going to entice you with this stuff then they need to back it up by not balking when your rotors warp after only 40 minutes of track time. In all fairness they did replace my front rotors and pads a month ago after Texas World Speedway but it felt like a favor rather than an obligation. So this time I went ahead and made some minor upgrades to prolong the life of the brakes and save BMW from having to replace my brakes every 3 months. It was NOT worth it and I’m not comfortable driving this car on the track now unless it’s much cooler out.
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Update #1: Got my stock pads put back on today and all of the brake pad sensors were melted (sigh)
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Update #2: I already forgot my rule about no whining without coughing up 3 solutions to the problem, so here goes.
1. Cooling ducts for the brakes (front and rear)
Those massive ducts you see on the front bumper do nothing for the brakes. Drivers side goes to air intake, center is for radiator and the passenger side has a small finned radiator but I can’t tell for what. What I can tell you is that there are no direct or indirect cooling ducts moving air to the brakes (front or rear) and all four wheel wells are blanked off.
2. 4-piston calipers
Porsche has 4 piston, Corvette has 6 piston front and rear, even the Nissan Z has 4 piston calipers so shame on you BMW. Your literature touts track this and track that, but the car comes up short. (but I still love it)
3. Provide some factory options for better performance and durability
This would be tough but how cool would it be to get track worthy brakes, maybe a few other options to reduce weight and increase performance from the factory. This is tough because BMW would essentially be endorsing aggressive driving but it would sure be nice to roll some of that stuff into payment rather than having to spend thousands out of pocket for mods (that might void warranty) just to make it track ready.
4. Bonus Solution
Stop blitching (bitching via my blog) and start spending more money on a better brake kit. Already bought new BF Goodrich R1 tires (racing slicks, 275/35/18 all the way around) and D-Force 18″ forged wheels (17.8 lbs each) so I am running faster already and really need a brake upgrade to keep getting better. (See below)
All this stuff having been said I still love the car, it handles like a dream, good weight balance and the low end torque is stunning. My complaint is the brakes, lack of cooling ducts and (with the exception of the rotors) lack of heavy duty stopping hardware.
have you thought about changing out the brakes completely for a brembo kit or something equivalent? it’s a shame to hear bout the brake problems. definitely wouldn’t expect to see that on the m3. good luck out there!
Yes I looked at the Stoptech Big Brake Kit and that is a real option for me. I track it enough to warrant the expense in exchange for ability to complete more events. Did buy some slick + 18″ racing wheels and am about to do a great review on those later this week. Thanks for the comment.
It will be painful, but my advice is to move to better brakes- at least on the front of the car. Brembo or StopTech or similar.
I used to track my E36 M3 and had similar problems to you. Not as bad, but I still had them. My buddy who put the big Brembo’s on the front of his car had no such problems.
With that being said, the biggest reason I recommend this is based on where you live (it’s hot there) and the tracks you seem to run on (fast with long straights) combined with the simple fact that you are doing this for fun and worrying about your car not stopping correctly is going to kill off much of the fun. I won’t even go into the lack-of-fun you’ll experience when your brakes barf out on you half way thru an event and you are sidelined.
So, try the big brakes on the front first. You’ll hear from the purist who say you HAVE TO DO BOTH, but you don’t. Put the front ones on, drive the car and then decide on the rears.
Also, down the road you’ll get some of the money back since you can sell them when you change cars. Big brake kits hold a decent amount of their value (compared to most car things).
And I’ll toss this in for fun…with big brakes, you will have a very nice time catching cars under braking.
Oh yeah!