Track day brakes

[kingstonbe]

Hi guys, i'm getting my 325is ready for her first trip on the track and she needs a bit of work in the brakes department...

i've got a corroded brake line that is currently being replace and all the others are getting a thorough inspection aswell. The brake pedal was feeling a bit spongy prior to this,

My priority with respect to the brakes for the track day is -

(a) safety -which should be taken care of with a good brake service and inspection

(b) brakes that won't fade too bad (fast road pads will hopefully sort this)

(c) Good pedal feel, the pedal hasn't been feeling good prior to this, is the 325's pedal normally a bit vague? Anybody tried braided hoses?? Should (a) and (b) above improve the pedal feel?

As for fluid, is a higher spec neccesary for track (i.e. does dot 4 boil if you're giving it holly). As for Dot 5 etc, I have read elsewhere that this grade is much more hydroscopic, needs replacing more often and is really only for non-road use.

What's your thoughts on these issues guys?

[Jimbob]

Hi,

I'd recommend braided hoses, especially if you currently have a line corroded, this will definately improve pedal feel. Fast road pads do where quicker obviously but should last a good few track days!

[Davenotouring]

I would consider a big brake upgrade...

Especially with the weight of an E30.

Plus regular fluid changes, using Castrol SRF if you have the spare cash.

As already mentioned, braided hoses can only help.

Enjoy!

[astondg]

In my 323i I have standard size brakes but slotted rotors and different pads and I have done probably 20+ track days now (and 20+ autocross events) and I haven't had any problems with fade or braking power. The brakes could probably always be more powerful but these seem ok considering the performance my car has. I usually only do 7 to 10 laps at a time though. It also depends on the circuits, I don't think the ones I go to are too hard on the brakes and my car has not a lot of performance and keeps good corner speed so I don't have to use them much. I also don't brake quite as hard as I probably could because the brake pedal is very spongey.

I did overheat the orginal Greenstuff pads I had but I never really noticed any fade, they just looked in a bad way when they were replaced.

Aston

[Motorhole]

Try Group N discs (Plain GrpN discs are cheap from Rally Design) and Mintex Pads. Excellent value and very effective!

[Simon13]

i can vouch for mintex pads my m1155's were very good on track

[Lordschleife]

I suggest you do a search on here, its been covered many times before - you'll get plenty of opinion/options then.
Also go read up on brake fluids
DOT 5 is totally different to DOT 5.1
DOT 5 should NOT be used in our systems

Here's what I'd recommend in order of importance:

Replace the fluid with something like Motul RBF600 - its 2nd only to SRF and a lot cheaper, you can get it from camskill, you'll need a litre
Brake fluid is usually the 1st thing to go on the brakes when punished.

Use a trackday pad as these will not fade or gas anywhere near as bad as std pads.
Ferodo DS2500 are my choice as they have a high friction co.eff and its pretty constant through the temp range. Also not too harsh on the discs
Of course if you're fairly light on the brakes you might get away with fast road pads, on the other hand you might find you need something like DS3000 - but these eat discs and cant be used on the road.

MAKE SURE YOU BED THE BRAKES IN PROPERLY
http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm

If your discs need changing then put ATE power discs on the front, stick with std on the back

Braided hoses help keep the pedal firm if the fluid gets hot

[Davenotouring]

i can vouch for mintex pads my m1155's were very good on track

You need to go faster!

[Simon13]

i can vouch for mintex pads my m1155's were very good on track

You need to go faster!

i know but novices tend to be harder on brakes, was hot out there too

Remember the rears were on fire!

can't wait till end of march big D