How do the stock brakes hold up at the track??

[SpencerM3]

Hey guys,

Just picked up an 87 325is that will see its fair share of track time. I'm fairly new to the E30 world, so any help would be appreciated.

First off, how well do the stock brakes hold up to track duty? I'll be using fresh brembo blank rotors, along with some sort of track pads (haven't checked selection yet), and super blue fluid.

Will I need to impliment some sort of cooling ducts?

Any suggestions to make the stock setup work would be appreciated. I'd rather not have to go to a BBK and do like the cheap 14" tire prices.

Thanks!

[Charlie]

What tracks are you looking at?

The stock system on the e30's with a decent street/track pad will hold up allright with Superblue in it. I made the mistake of trying to squeeze 4 track days out of the fluid, and paid for it on the last session of the day, it's safe to say I pretty well cooked the fluid. On a faster track with massive brake zones such as VIR, you might start running into some fade issues, so I'd probably be bleeding fairly regularly.

Brake ducting is on my list of winter plans for the car.

Edit, forgot to mention my pad combo, Hawk HP+'s up front with pagids rear. Decent. Eventually I'm going to run some HT10's or blues.

-Charlie

[ydubbs4]

You should be fine with a good fluid, and some track dedicated pads. I used to run at WGI on Carbotech's and never had a problem. Dont run stock pads, ever. I didnt make it through the morning session at LRP with them.

Will

[SpencerM3]

Thanks for the replies. Didn't think I'd hear anything since this section is so quite.

As far as tracks that I will be running, mainly 2nd Creek and Pueblo raceways here in CO. They are smaller, local tracks that you can do 'test/tune' days during the week for less than $50. They are moderatetly hard on brakes. We are at 5500ft, so that limits power, which limits top speed on the straights.

Anyways, I'm glad to hear that the stock system is worthy of track duty. I'll defintely be running some sort of dedicated track pad. I've had good luck with PF97's on my E36 M3, so I may give them a try if they make the correct pad for this car.

Do you guys have any problems with wrapped rotors? They are relatively small, so I can see them getting too hot. :?:

Thanks again.

[Rob]

They are smaller, local tracks that you can do 'test/tune' days during the week for less than $50.

rob- ultra jealous

[gmh1234]

Been starting to have mild fading on tracks lately and I think it's attributed to not having brake ducting in my '87 325is. Was having quite a bit of braking issues on the 3rd and 4th sessions at Laguna coming down to turn 2. Not a good place for the brakes to fade. Also, Thunderhill Raceway in Norcal, I'm starting to fade a few places there too.

Running Balo solids, Hawk HT10's (front)/Axxis Ultimate (rear), SS Lines, Super Blue.

[UNHCLL]

I've got a set of 3" brake duct backing plates you can add to reduce fading.

If its a track only car, or you dont drive it on the street a lot, pull out the fog lights.

[gmh1234]

Yah, I was going to try welding a 3" x 1" pipe to the backing plate, then run the ducting from the front center sections on either side to the brakes. Just haven't had the time lately to do this. It's mostly a track car, but I still drive it on the street sometimes, because my daily isn't such a fun car. Nice and comfy, just not fun. :D

[gmh1234]

oh yah, another thing. I have a CAI that I made right behind and below the left side headlights that is blocking the rear of my fog lights. I was going to try to fabricate some sort of thin scoop to strap onto the front two lower slots of the pre-88 'is' spoiler and then run the ducting that way. It's not really a straight shot, but I like my CAI too much to remove it for brake ducting. :P

[UNHCLL]

oh yah, another thing. I have a CAI that I made right behind and below the left side headlights that is blocking the rear of my fog lights. I was going to try to fabricate some sort of thin scoop to strap onto the front two lower slots of the pre-88 'is' spoiler and then run the ducting that way. It's not really a straight shot, but I like my CAI too much to remove it for brake ducting. :P

run the hose from the fog light holes inboard and have them "blow" onto the rotors from inside, next to the strut. This will "pull" the air through the rotors and help cool better than just blasting the air onto the outsides.

[gmh1234]

That's sorta what I had planned. Just going to draw the air from the center of the front spoiler rather than the fog light positions.

[M3fiftyseven]

Here's the recipe on bulletproof brakes on an E30:

Brake ducts with backing plates behind the rotors (helps brake AND wheel bearing cooling) - Similar to these (these are E30 M3):



Run Hawk Blue pads. I raced a whole season on one set of Hawk Blues a couple years back...7-8 races.

BLUE 901 - Medium/High torque brake compound. Low pad and rotor wear with good brake modulation. - 250F - 1000F / 121C - 538C - Road racing and Rally applications where low to mid temperature effectiveness is critical

Then, get rid of the ATE blue/gold racing fluid stuff and put some Motul 600 in there.


BTW, why do you guys even USE the brakes on an E30 ??? ;)

[nando]

what's wrong with the ATE fluid? or is Motul just that much better?

[M3fiftyseven]

We've had some breakdown of ATE during endurance races. We've been using Motul for a while now with no issues. It's got a 60 degree (nearly) higher boiling point than ATE as well.

[gmh1234]

I've boiled my ATE Blue before, and have been thinking about running RBF600. A little pricey though. If my DIY brake ducts don't help with running Super Blue, then it looks like it's time to upgrade. :D