What brake pads? Going to Nurburgring in august.

[Alburglar]

Hello folks,
I'm off to Nurburgring for the fourth time, but it will be the first time I've gone in an e30. I want to buy some decent reasonably priced brake pads for the trip, it will see general road use after that so I'd like some intermediate track/fast road pads? Can anyone recommend any?
Regards Ali

[Theo]

Ferodo, Mintex, EBC, Pagid - they all do decent pads, but it's difficult to recommend a pad to someone without knowing how the drive/brake. Basically, buy a set and see how you like them.

What dates are you out there?

[Alburglar]

14th 15th 16th 17th 18th and leaving on 19th

[gareth]

from personal experience, i can say i've never liked EBC greens, though reds are good. better from hot and cold.
Mintex M1144's are naff on mine.
at the ring recently, i completely cooked my pads all round. EBC green on the rear, Mintex M1144's on the front. i will be running fresh EBC red's for my return trip in september.

To be fair though, i was braking too much and have a 3.5 M30 so it was hard on the brakes.

[billgatese30]

i've tried ebc yellows on the track slag and even after 20 minute stints around croft they still pull strong (in a car slightly heavier than an e30 too, considering there is twice as many pistons on the front too)

[Jon_Bmw]

Yep its all about the yellows.

Greenstuff are shite, chappy overheated them in two laps of a mile circuit in a clio 172. Haven't tried EBD reds though, yellow outperform them though.

EBC yellow or Ds2500 are the only choice.

[gareth]

how do the yellows bite from cold?

[Jon_Bmw]

Very well in a 205 gti. A lot lighter car though

[gareth]

205's don't need a lot more braking (if 1.9 stuff is fitted) so i guess they took a while to warm up, especially the rears

Though i guess it's the Mi16 beastie so that can only help things get to temperature

[Jon_Bmw]

The rear tyre warming procedure is the most fun.

[gareth]

LOOS?

[northloop]

Yellows are fine from cold

[Alburglar]

Cool. Gonna give the yellows a try then. I'll let you know how I get on.

[zimmerbimmer1]

I have EBC Red stuff pads on mine. Worked brilliantly both on road and the ring..

[billgatese30]

yellows are great from cold, even in an mr2 which is about 1-200 kilos heavier than a standard e30

[Simon13]

mintex 1155's are great, alot of the seloc guys also use them and they have served me very well round the ring.

the more you learn the circut the less you brake and the more time you spend in 4th instead of 3rd and by the limiter all the time, but if you've only been once or less you will be cooking them!

I don't think it's a track thats very harsh on your stoppers, the worst bit i've found is coming into Aremburg before the fox's hole. 120 down to around 40

[gareth]

the more you learn the circut the less you brake and the more time you spend in 4th instead of 3rd and by the limiter all the time, but if you've only been once or less you will be cooking them!

I don't think it's a track thats very harsh on your stoppers, the worst bit i've found is coming into Aremburg before the fox's hole. 120 down to around 40

i thought that would be the case. i was definately braking a lot where i didn't need to. there's a lot of track to learn though, ho hum, lucky it's less than 2 months before i'm back for more practice

[UweM3]

mintex 1155's are great, alot of the seloc guys also use them and they have served me very well round the ring.

the more you learn the circut the less you brake and the more time you spend in 4th instead of 3rd and by the limiter all the time, but if you've only been once or less you will be cooking them!

I don't think it's a track thats very harsh on your stoppers, the worst bit i've found is coming into Aremburg before the fox's hole. 120 down to around 40

second that!

[Simon13]

it's awsome and i need another fix of the place!

Gareth it's like anything just keep lapping and it will come together although i've done 50 laps now and know whats coming next in terms of bends there is still alot to learn RE the best line, braking points, where it's safe to pass a slower car, being overtaken (this happens alot in a 325i!). Whats the best line for one bend isn't great for the next one immediately after sometimes. Which is part of the fun.

[gareth]

well you're 47 laps ahead of me! It'll be nice once i know the track well enough to be completely sure i'm within my limits as i'll then know what's coming
I had a distinct level of doubt last time, though gran turismo was very useful regarding what's at the end of a fast straight etc.

off to practice further on the 2nd weekend in september not long now

[northloop]

If you dont already have a route to getting the yellows cheaply join the Northloop.co.uk forum and I can get you a 20% discount.

There is also the odd bit of info on the ring there too

[Alburglar]

already on northloop haven't visited for a while tho. A guy called Gary from that site took this pic of me, running out of talent at ardenau, about four years ago on my first trip;

and then took me for passenger lap in his Gutmann Pug to show me how it's done.
...Actually going by your forum name, I imagine that could well be you???!!!

Ended up getting a set of ferodo ds2500 off the evolve shop for a decent price with a chip too. Where gives the 20% discount then?

[northloop]

Yep that was me, I remember you guys well and taking you for a lap

There is a sticky thread at the top of the track car preparation section for the discount

[Alburglar]

Found the thread cheers. There are 40 odd of us again this year, but not all minis this time, hence taking the e30.
Mini has an R1 engine in it now!

[Lloydie38]

EBC yellows are all I use on my track 325i (weight 1050kgs) or (1145kgs with a fat bastard in the driving seat ) and they have been really good, work from cold fine..

I've got braded hoses and 5:1 fluid - the yellows are around £51 a front set so I think they offer good performance without damaging the wallet too much..

[dannyboy759]

Ive used Padgid RS19´s on my M3 they re part of the BMW group N parts list and these are outstanding.
Good from cold although they squiel a bit!
And kind on discs i had them fitted to my car for over 3 years on the same discs
You can get them for the standard 320/325 caliper but they arent cheap, 150 odd quid for both sides and the ones i had had no spring clip for the piston so one pad on each whell used to jingle but if its a track car or you can live with that then its no problem.
But IMO i dont think theres a better pad! unless you go fot the new padgid RS24´s!

[caneswell]

Seconded on the Pagids. I've used RS29s on my M3 and have been to the 'ring twice with them this year, completing ~22 laps in total.

They were superb throughout, got a little grumbly at times but never faded, and have loads of life left in them. A bit squealy on the road but work fine from cold.

I've heard too many bad things about EBC, I don't think they are in the same league.

[Jon_Bmw]

I'd agree, with the old stuff they used to sell. The greens are a pointless pad. Thats just like a normal OEM pad but produces more dust. Never tried the RED's myself. I think the Green and the Red were what gave them a bad name in the start. Honestly try some Yellows, they are a fraction of the cost of the above Pagids, and probably nearly as good. I can't fade them on an airfield day which are notourisly bad on brakes, so I doubt you'd fade them on the ring which is supposed to be easy on brakes.

[Alburglar]

Got back from the ring yesterday. the ferodo ds2500 's were bloody awesome, although they do create a lot of dust.