Best brake pads for track use on E30 325i

Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:21 pm

As title suggest ,wanted to know what the best pads would be for the track, was told EBC Yellow's were good but they dont seem to do them for the standard E30 325i's only the M3's.

Car is only used for the track so just want the best for that use.

Any suggestions and thoughts would be great.

Regards Mark

Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:25 pm

they do do yellows for e30 325 but for some reason most places dont list them. its the same with the reds. keri-wms on here quoted me good prices for them.

Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:45 pm

bmautosport wrote:As title suggest ,wanted to know what the best pads would be for the track, was told EBC Yellow's were good but they dont seem to do them for the standard E30 325i's only the M3's.

Car is only used for the track so just want the best for that use.

Strange. I have yellows on my car. They do do them for the E30, as Fuzzy states, you just have to hunt for them/use a different supplier.

Very good pad, BTW.

Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:48 pm

Thats good to hear, i have Pm'ed keri-wms about them.

So would you say that is going to be the best pad for track use?Any suggestions where i can get them from?Do you have any part numbers as a mate of mine just started dealing in the EBC stuff and he said they only do green for the type of calipers on the E30 325i

Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:48 pm

i might be wrong but im sure keri-wms quoted about £50 ,give or take a little, per pair for yellows and reds.

Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:51 pm

ive not used yellows yet but others on here have on standard 325 calipers on the track with good reports. i have used reds on my touring and i couldnt fault them but mine is aminly a fast road car with the odd track day. no where lists the reds either for the 325 but they are available for the front with only greens available for the rear.

Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:51 pm

That is a good price I paid £60 for my greens

Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:54 pm

i might be a bit wrong but i remember the price being very good compaired to the last time i bought them. im sure i paid about £70-£80 for reds the last time.

Tue Dec 23, 2008 7:00 pm

If money is no object then there are better pads, but for an average sized caliper the EBC yellows seem to come in at under £50. I have had nothing but brilliant braking performance from mine for over 300 hard track miles and 2600 road miles.

The only downside is, despite being only 1/3 worn, they have crumbled a bit. I suspect this is due to rapid heating and cooling cycles and you might experience, this could happen on other more expensive pads as well. There is no major cooling duct to the brakes on my 205, so that is the next job. Still the way I see it, £40 per season is pocket money for brake pads. They are still useable, and I suspect I still have over 0.8 of the pad surface still in contact with the disc.

Some Pagid pads are over £120 a set, I would probably cry if they crumbled slightly.

Tue Dec 23, 2008 10:47 pm

bmautosport wrote:Do you have any part numbers as a mate of mine just started dealing in the EBC stuff and he said they only do green for the type of calipers on the E30 325i

DP4779 rings a bell for the yellows; greens are DP2447, IIRC.

See how you get on with the above. I might have an old box somewhere that will definitely have the part number on it if you need it.

Wed Dec 24, 2008 12:55 am

I picked up a set of yellows for the front of mine for £48 from brakes4u.co.uk I think it was.
I still have the box so will report back tomorrow when I have been the garage

Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:43 am

I can get you a 20% discount on EBC stuff, send me a pm for details.

Wed Dec 24, 2008 8:11 am

I love EBC Yellows for track use - price/performance ratio is unbeatable IMO...

Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:52 am

From my stickie notes:

EBC E30 Racing Pads:
Front Rear
EBC Green: DP2779 DP2447
EBC Red: DP3779 DP3447
EBC R-Ceram DP3779C DP3447C
EBC Yellow: DP4779 DP4447
EBC Blue: DP5779 DP5447

For purely track, I would recommend Yellow front, and Green rear.

For race and enduro, I would recommend Blue front, and Green (race) or Yellow (enduro) rear.

However, I am about to try Performance Friction PFC01 compound pads, which is what the guys running Spec E30 in the USA rave about, in cars that are 100kg heavier than mine (1225 vs 1130kg).

Performance Friction Pads:
0278.01.17.44 (Front)
0279.01.17.44 (Rear)

Also available as Enduro compound (PFC 06)
0278.06.17.44
0279.06.17.44

Don't know about dealers, but I do know there is a branch of Performance Friction in the UK.

Thu Dec 25, 2008 10:38 am

Are these fabled Pagid RS29's worth their money then?

Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:11 am

i didnt realise there was reds and red ceramic. i thought all reds were ceramic. ceramics the ones i used and couldnt fade.

Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:27 am

fuzzy wrote:i didnt realise there was reds and red ceramic. i thought all reds were ceramic. ceramics the ones i used and couldnt fade.

Don't you use a lot of "feel" with ceramics?
I've driven cars with ceramic discs and they don't provide as much feedback as regular discs do.

Thu Dec 25, 2008 1:11 pm

The ceramic pads are not for ceramic discs (those would be carbon pads).

The EBC RedStuff ceramic pads use some ceramics in the friction material, which changes the bite/torque/modulation/release/whatever.

Bad experience with RedStuff, but that was when all us Ozzies got a sh**y batch of EBC Pads that had the material delaminate from the backing plate. Left a sour taste in several mouths (in 2004 I think).

Thu Dec 25, 2008 1:53 pm

ive heard of bad batches of green but not the red but iirc they brought out a newer version of the old original greens .the red ceramic pads seem to bite like fook and get better the harder theyre abused. ive not faded them yet.

Fri Dec 26, 2008 7:17 pm

Pagid RS29s for me. Expensive but worth it.

Heard lots of bad things about EBC Reds and Greens. Lots of people seem happy with the Yellows though.

Fri Dec 26, 2008 8:08 pm

As noted above, I use yellows on the front. I love them. I also use greens on the rear. I cannot fault them. I have never tried reds, so can't speak for or against them.

Mon Dec 29, 2008 4:57 pm

Mintex M1155's served me well round the ring

Mon Dec 29, 2008 5:03 pm

caneswell wrote:Pagid RS29s for me. Expensive but worth it.

I was pleased to see a set of the above crumbling yesterday which put my mind at rest about my EBC yellows. They were 2/3rds worn though. He said he would without doubt be using the Pagids again despite them costing £140(4 pot AP calipers).

Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:35 pm

Agree with Si on Mintex 1155`s have run them on the track car before with good results.

Pagids are also good, even their fast road pads.

May also want to consider Ferodo DS2500 or if just for track use only, DS3000.

Currently running DS3000 up front with no fade being expirenced at all.

Everything you use will be a trade off against stopping, pad wear, disc wear, pad transfer and is all dependant on the driver, circuit,cost and HOW Much you use the brake pedal.

Less brake pedal = Less brake wear - Simple, avoid using the brake pedal.

cheers

Dave

Mon Dec 29, 2008 11:14 pm

Also running DS3000 up front on mine with standard calipers and braided hoses. The improvement over the EBC Greens which i ran before is immense!

Great initial bite and no fade experienced at all. I have done two trips to the ring, two track days and two drift days (although the drift days hardly count) and they just about need replacing now. (I was quite hard on the brakes during my last ring trip!)

They say that the DS3000 are not for road use but I have used them on the road when driving to and from circuits with no problems at all, not really sure why you shouldn't use them on the road.

Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:52 am

I use Pagid RS29s on my Race 325. I wont use anything else now. As an Endurance Pad they dont have the initial bite of some of the other types of pad however progressive braking is excellent and they dont fade. You can get RS29s for around £165 from Performance Braking. The other plus side is that my first set Lasted for 2 X 6 Hour Endurance Races,4 Test Days, 2 Track Days,8 Quali Sessions & 10 Races. Not bad when you compare them against other types of Race Pads that last 3 or 4 races at £60 a set.

Wed Dec 31, 2008 10:27 am

Has anybody used both DS2500 or 3000 and the RS29s?

I'd love to hear from somebody who has - and see if they're really worth it.

Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:24 am

Ferodo DS 3000. The ultimate race pad.

NOT street friendly. Will kill your disks in 8k kms...

Sat Jan 03, 2009 10:26 am

scaraveos wrote:Ferodo DS 3000. The ultimate race pad.

NOT street friendly. Will kill your disks in 8k kms...

If it kills your disks it cant be a good pad ! You will struggle to find a range of pads more suited to all conditions better than Pagid, but if its price thats the issue remember you get twice the life out of them so half the price ?

Sun Jan 04, 2009 3:42 pm

The more I read the more I learn that there is rarely a definitive answer to a given question. Everyone has preferences and/or horror stories to share.

Sun Jan 04, 2009 3:46 pm

theres never a definitive answer in this sort of question , just as you say peoples personal preferences. its worth trying a few to find out for yourself what works best for you.

Sun Jan 04, 2009 3:48 pm

It's because everything about brakes is a compromise:

For brakes to work when hotter the material normally isn't so good when cold.
To have loads of bite (friction/grip) from the pads you get more squeel.
To have better initial resistance to fade you need heavier discs.
To have bigger pistons in the caliper and therefore more leverage you get a softer pedal.

..and so it goes on!

Sun Jan 04, 2009 4:01 pm

^
At the two guys above me and anyone else really.
I'm still undecided on pads, although considering the advice I greatly appreciated in my previous thread I've decided to go for OEM BMW discs.

I need something that will serve me well for road use, but also something I won't be able to cook on the 'ring. I'm not concerned about disc wear, and noise isn't vital although the quieter the better.
The road use for my car will be pretty much typical road driving, so basically as long as the pads hit their operating temp without the need to me to drive like a loon AND they'll take a lap or two of the ring without overheating then I'll be more than happy.

Should I discount the Mintex/Ferrodo suggestions above?

Sun Jan 04, 2009 4:20 pm

N00b wrote:^
At the two guys above me and anyone else really.
I'm still undecided on pads, although considering the advice I greatly appreciated in my previous thread I've decided to go for OEM BMW discs.

I need something that will serve me well for road use, but also something I won't be able to cook on the 'ring. I'm not concerned about disc wear, and noise isn't vital although the quieter the better.
The road use for my car will be pretty much typical road driving, so basically as long as the pads hit their operating temp without the need to me to drive like a loon AND they'll take a lap or two of the ring without overheating then I'll be more than happy.

Should I discount the Mintex/Ferrodo suggestions above?

I would take a set of EBC Reds with you to the ring as well....just in case! The fronts are the most important of course.

Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:11 pm

Pagid Motorsport pads are the dogs period. For an E30 RS29's front, RS8's rears. Yes you can get cheaper but I doubt you can get better.

People blow £200 on a track day, £75 on Fuel, £100 tyre wear, £50 in bearing/suspension/linkage wear and worry about spending the difference between EBC & Pagid pads and the Pagids will last longer

For road pads its not the same but for serious track pads its well worth the money.