Quote:
Originally Posted by urbo73
These cars are road cars in the end, and yes, it's up to you to invest money if tracking them hard - brakes, tires, etc. All I was saying is that the M3's stock brakes are a lot more inadequate for repeated hard braking/track use than any stock Porsche I've driven at the track. Stock for stock is my point. And this was part of the OP's point as well. Weight is not the point here. You design brakes for the car accordingly. BMW simply chose not to, yet advertises the car differently. I guess if you track it for 3 laps max at slow speeds and then sit 60 minutes for the brakes to cool... It's not rocket science to put in larger stock pads... It's a *decision* not to. Again, stock for stock, Porsche brakes are a lot better and fade nowhere near as fast with stock pads. What you do afterward is up to you, but that's off topic. If you drive the car at the track just on occasion, then maybe you don't need anything more than a change in fluid. Maybe better pads. Maybe even rotors. It all depends on how hard and often you track it. They are road cars as you say after all. But that's off topic as I said earlier.
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1. My original reason for posting the message was because I was very disappointed with BMW dealer/BMW USA handling of this issue. A week to get a reply after a daily phone calls? Is that impatience on my part? Being treated like a criminal at the dealer? All I did was drive the fn MOTORSPORT car on a track. The dealer said that they had a FORMAL WRITTEN response from BMW USA. Would they let me see it? NO, it's for "internal use only."
2. The shop that replaced my rotors/pads was very disappointed by the
lack of cooling ducts and the small size of the pads used in this car. They LOVE the car otherwise, and the owner is a friend of mine. In the shop at the time 996 Porsche, Gallardo, and a Ford Gt40, and a 1980's Porsche Turbo...They know what they are doing. He also used to work for BMW, and was disappointed and appalled that BMW did not cover the repair (he would have made nothing if the dealer covered it.)
3. Looking for an excuse to get a P car... Already have one next to the m3, and had it BEFORE the M3. I was just trying to compare service, and engineering differences.
4. Braking technique...I have auto-x for years, and been to quite a few track events in many different cars, and this was my latest experience. NEVER in the past have I had this problem! Brake fade, yes, but not this. Not in a MX-5 miata, MX-5 cup at Road Atlanta, Ariel Atom, various Porsches, previous MZ3, and M3...
I was NOT looking for a freebie! My point is that don't advertise the $0 ownership, and then treat customer like a criminal after they drive the car like the developers "designed" it and advertise it on the BMW M site. And I don't mean track weekend every week and expect BMW to replace worn out parts. But poor design and failure on the FIRST day at the track-and driven easy...
What the car needs are bigger pads, and venting in the front. The rotors are MORE than enough, and the single caliper is fine too, as is the brake fluid. The problem is the pads heat up after multiple stops, and there is no place for the heat to go. When you have your pads replaced, ask your dealer to see them-you will see what I mean.