Brake Pad Question

[HP Man]

I am planning on doing the occasional track day this summer and am seeking advice what to do about brakes. I am not going to upgrade to a BBK at the present time but do plan on putting on stainless lines and racing fluid. However, when it comes to pads, I am wanting advice on whether I should:

1. Use racing only pads (which obviously need to be changed before and after a track day) -- if so, what pads do you recommend?; or

2. Use a sport performance pad that will work for both track and street use -- if so, what pads do you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

[rzm3]

Try StopTech Street Performance pads. It's standard on ST BBKs and they are a good hybrid pad.

You can also inquire about BMW Sport pads if you want to go the OEM route.

[JAJ]

Originally Posted by HP Man

I am planning on doing the occasional track day this summer and am seeking advice what to do about brakes. I am not going to upgrade to a BBK at the present time but do plan on putting on stainless lines and racing fluid. However, when it comes to pads, I am wanting advice on whether I should:

1. Use racing only pads (which obviously need to be changed before and after a track day) -- if so, what pads do you recommend?; or

2. Use a sport performance pad that will work for both track and street use -- if so, what pads do you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

I have a set of Pagid RS19's for the stock calipers with some track time on them that you can *have*. You know, free to a good home, gratis, no charge, etc. Well, not quite "free" - I want to see your ESS S/C setup in person.

Send me a PM and we'll sort this out. You will want to change them between track days, unless you're ok listening to the racket they make. They stop fine on the street; they're just noisy.

[noxredna]

HAWKs are pretty good too. I ran Hawk HP + on the street/track for a few months; they squeal a lot on the street and it was annoying but there was a significant increase in stopping power and initial bite. I however advise against using street/track pads if you push the car very hard on the track and have good track experience, I melted my HAWK HP + pads and had permanent deposits on my rotors which resulted in a free replacement from my dealership (which is cool with me). I probably could have gotten away with resurfacing it...

I plan to run HAWK DTC-70 which are race pads, I have had good experience with them on other cars and its stopping power is probably one of the highest in terms of the different pad selections. However keep in mind that your rotors do take a beating when you run race pads. If you have the patience and time, I suggest running a street pad (our BMW OEM pads are fine) and then switch out to race pads when you track. I just can't stand the squealing on the street as I drive a lot in the city and its quite annoying when you do a lot of short stops in between lights.

[david @ eas]

You also might want to consider some Cool Carbon brake pads. They're track tuned street pads that work in both applications and are much better than the OE pads. Feel free to PM me or ask any questions you might have.

[M II]

Originally Posted by rldzhao

Try StopTech Street Performance pads. It's standard on ST BBKs and they are a good hybrid pad.

You can also inquire about BMW Sport pads if you want to go the OEM route.

The Stoptech Street Performance brake pads have been getting great reviews from our customers and from our own personal use.

The coefficient of friction is higher than the OEM pads, it withstands temperatures similar to that of a high performance semi-race pad, and there is very low dust thanks to it's hybrid compound.

Originally Posted by noxredna

HAWKs are pretty good too. I ran Hawk HP + on the street/track for a few months; they squeal a lot on the street and it was annoying but there was a significant increase in stopping power and initial bite. I however advise against using street/track pads if you push the car very hard on the track and have good track experience, I melted my HAWK HP + pads and had permanent deposits on my rotors which resulted in a free replacement from my dealership (which is cool with me). I probably could have gotten away with resurfacing it...

I plan to run HAWK DTC-70 which are race pads, I have had good experience with them on other cars and its stopping power is probably one of the highest in terms of the different pad selections. However keep in mind that your rotors do take a beating when you run race pads. If you have the patience and time, I suggest running a street pad (our BMW OEM pads are fine) and then switch out to race pads when you track. I just can't stand the squealing on the street as I drive a lot in the city and its quite annoying when you do a lot of short stops in between lights.

I like Hawk pads for the track, but even their street pads were pretty aggressive and take more material off your rotors quicker.

There are much better street / light track pads than the Hawk brand in my opinion at least for the BMWs.

[M3 Montreal]

Originally Posted by **********s II

The Stoptech Street Performance brake pads have been getting great reviews from our customers and from our own personal use.

The coefficient of friction is higher than the OEM pads, it withstands temperatures similar to that of a high performance semi-race pad, and there is very low dust thanks to it's hybrid compound.



I like Hawk pads for the track, but even their street pads were pretty aggressive and take more material off your rotors quicker.

There are much better street / light track pads than the Hawk brand in my opinion at least for the BMWs.

I bumped into a guy that uses Pagid street/track with slight squealing on street (not sure which ones exactly).

He paid $1600 for them but they have lasted him through 55,000 kms and 11 track days and he tols me they still have 65% life left. He has yet to change his rotors once and he has about 65,000 kms.

Remember prices above are canadian even though we are not far from par nowadays. We still pay more up here.

[Bijan02]

good info here, i had similar questions.