Best Track Setup

[HalexH]

Fulltime track car ?

Do stock e30 brakes suck so bad that everyone is doing all these mods. to upgrade their brakes.

What would you recommend for a good setup.

[Charlie]

Fulltime track car ?

Do stock e30 brakes suck so bad that everyone is doing all these mods. to upgrade their brakes.

What would you recommend for a good setup.

Stock rotors, fresh lines, Motul 600 brake fluid, HT-10 pads.

Keep it simple & cheap.

-Charlie

[cheades]

He tells no lies, good pads and fluid stopped my car on the track for 30 minutes at a time with Hoosiers.

[HalexH]

Would your answers stand if there is lets say around 350 rwhp. Just out of curiosity.

[Jason89i]

Stock rotors, fresh lines, Motul 600 brake fluid, HT-10 pads.

Keep it simple & cheap.

-Charlie

agreed. also might want to consider solid guides to keep pad wear even.

Would your answers stand if there is lets say around 350 rwhp. Just out of curiosity.

um, no. if your building a track car (i would assume you have a lot of track experience under your belt) you will need some big anchors. and if you have a lot of track experience and are planning 350rwhp, you should know that even the e30m3 stuff might get cooked. just out of curiosity.....what engine are you getting 350rwhp? full cage?

cheers, jason

[Gus]

whilst we are talking brakes for relatively stock e30s

i am liking my current setup....stainless lines, slotted front discs, stock pads, 5.1 fluid.

i know its not ideal, but seems to be working well for me at the moment on the track..i was surprised! inherited the slotted discs when a mate upgraded to wilwoods on his race car

[Charlie]

Would your answers stand if there is lets say around 350 rwhp. Just out of curiosity.

Um, why would our answers stand if you didn't bother to tell us you were going to try and double the power output of the car? Of course you would make brake adjustments if you're going to be carrying 30+ more mph into the brake zones. At that point, you'll want to look at larger rotors and serious ducting.

-Charlie

[matt]

I'd want to look into serious ducting anyway...

[FredK]

The original question and followup question make no sense to me. How would anyone even remotely familiar with tracking vehicles not know squat about braking systems? It's pretty simple. 2700 - 2800 lb vehicle + small(ish) diameter and width rotors = lots of heat buildup.

Essentially the same brakes are found on a 110 rwhp M42 and 140 rwhp M20. If you almost triple the power output of any car, you're going to run into problems in pretty much every facet of the vehicle--drivetrain, braking, tires.

What kind of racing are you going to be doing? Club racing? I'd suggest you look at the rulebooks at the different series that you'd be interested in doing before you start planning some ludicrous E30 with 350 rwhp, 17x10" wheels, 13" AP calipers and rotors, etc.

[Dave]

Just jump right in to C-Mod, no worries, you'll be a front runner in no time . . .

[Mike B.]

Are you planning to just do DE's, Auto-x and time trials? Or, are you planning to race the vehicle?

With 350 rwhp, you will definitely need to upgrade to bigger brakes. I personally think the stock brakes are marginal at best for tracking a stock E30, even with upgraded pads and fluid. The rotor mass and pad size are relatively small, especially when compared to a Porsche SC, which has similar hp/weight.

If you are planning to race you will have to take a look at the rules for the class you wish to race in and see what you can take advantage of brake-wise.

[IS]

Mike, youre comparing a sports car to an sports sedan. Porsche has always had some of the best brakes out there.

With a setup like charlie suggested (albeit there are tons of great pads out there) and sufficient brake cooling, the e30 will brake quite well and be adequately fade resistant.

[matt]

Are you planning to just do DE's, Auto-x and time trials? Or, are you planning to race the vehicle?

With 350 rwhp, you will definitely need to upgrade to bigger brakes. I personally think the stock brakes are marginal at best for tracking a stock E30, even with upgraded pads and fluid. The rotor mass and pad size are relatively small, especially when compared to a Porsche SC, which has similar hp/weight.

If you are planning to race you will have to take a look at the rules for the class you wish to race in and see what you can take advantage of brake-wise.

Ironicaly, these two things are way the hell down at the bottom of the list of things that matter in brake systems. More rotor mass just means your brakes take longer to heat up.

The things that do matter to performance are how much friction force the pads can generate (coefficient of friction) how long the moment of the friction force is (rotor radius) and how quickly they can get rid of the heat they generate. The pad compound and fluid are important to preventing fade, along with proper brake cooling.

Mike, youre comparing a sports car to an sports sedan. Porsche has always had some of the best brakes out there.

With a setup like charlie suggested (albeit there are tons of great pads out there) and sufficient brake cooling, the e30 will brake quite well and be adequately fade resistant.

[wazzu70]

Im sure the guy has never tracked a vehicle before or has any experience or he wouldnt have to ask.

PRO3 race class uses stock size rotors and stock calipers with upgraded pads and brake fluid, stianless lines ect. Im sure spece30 runs something similar.

These are race cars that only see track time. If its good enough for them its good enough for you. It never hurts to upgrade, but is it really worth it at your driving level? Thats what you have to ask yourself.

[Dave]

SpecE30 uses stock parts. The only thing you can upgrade are the pads and the fluid. You cannot even use the brass bushing parts that some outlets sell.

Guess what, they stop their cars pretty well AFAIK.