[casper83]

I gave my brakes a good abuse test at Autobahn Country Club. The brakes themselves performed pretty good without much drama (Motul fluid in them) although they are too soft (not enough bite) for my taste. The stock pads pretty much disintegrated by the end of the day. I'm happy to see them go as I don't care for them.

The rotors didn't warp, they did groove.

I decided to replace the pads with some EBC reds. Replacing them was pretty straight forward (thanks to a video link from pikachu in another thread), but what I found during replacement was not so good. I measured rotor temperature at the track at 570 degrees F. Pretty shocking considering we have ducting routing fresh air to that area. The pads saw a lot of heat (backing plate had slight bend). The dust covers for the pistons didn’t fare well either. As you can see in the pictures they degraded with the heat and will need to be replaced. I ordered some new ones from FCP at $25 a corner (just doing the fronts). I'm thinking there may be a cheaper non-BMW alternative? I’m wondering what the seals will look like. Anyone ever replace theirs?

I won't get the EBC reds on track until next year, but I my initial impression is good. They have a much better initial bite than the stock, even when cold. Worthwhile upgrade if you're considering it.

[Pparana]

Better pads should lower the temps, dust shields melt pretty easy on stock pads, Not that big of a deal, most race calipers do not have them for that reason.

I can't say I am a fan of upgrading just fluid as it will allow this situation to develop. If you run stock pads better to have the fluid start to fade before you damage other components. You should get the rotors skimmed or replace them as well.

Use some ceramic brake grease, temps should be good to 1000 or so. Replace pads and shields, stainless steel lines, maybe rotors and you should be fine unless you see fluid on the Pistons.

[casper83]

Originally Posted by Pparana

Better pads should lower the temps, dust shields melt pretty easy on stock pads, Not that big of a deal, most race calipers do not have them for that reason.

I can't say I am a fan of upgrading just fluid as it will allow this situation to develop. If you run stock pads better to have the fluid start to fade before you damage other components. You should get the rotors skimmed or replace them as well.

Use some ceramic brake grease, temps should be good to 1000 or so. Replace pads and shields, stainless steel lines, maybe rotors and you should be fine unless you see fluid on the Pistons.

Thanks for the advice Pparana. Agreed on all points.

[CosmosMpower]

PFC08's are good, Hawk DTC70/60, Pagid yellow

[mocohead]

Just to clarify - it's not that performance pads lower temperature. They have a higher temperature before they gas off, which is what causes brake fade.

A better fluid simply has a higher temperature before it boils. What happens is the calipers get hot, the fluid boils and the air bubbles cause a squishy pedal. The brakes need to be bled after that.

To help lower temperatures try taking the backing plates off. That will help the rotor shead heat better. But cover any rubber bits in the area with heat resistant tape to prevent damage

Personally I'm a big fan of carbotech brake pads. Great temperature resistance, rotor friendly and easy to bed. After experiencing judder and pad transfer from other brands, even after proper bedding, I switched and have never looked back!