Long term track use: How are people's cars holding up??

[RickyBobby]

Originally Posted by Dodge2Dub

Which Ti plates and pads are you using? Have you seen any trouble with the track pads causing undue wear on the OEM rotors?

I got them from tispeed.com which I think is now called http://hardbrakes.com/
No undue rotor wear. I got 30k out of the oem rotors before they wore to min specs. You'll probably have to scrap the rotors due to cracking before you wear them down to min thickness.

[Dodge2Dub]

When you guys change out your oil, do you just use an extractor and keep the oil filter (changing out the oil filter at the 15K intervals)?

[wwjd15]

Originally Posted by Martin_D

You'd have to call Casey at AE Performance and ask him what they did for the race car. The brake boost assist system pulls vacuum when you exceed a certain level resulting in an inconsistent pedal. They were working on delete and do not know at this point if they finished with it.

At VIR it happened a lot, high speed 145+ ...

I just installed a brake duct system for front BBK's, it held up fine for the first track day. I will report back after this weekend and see if that helps.

[wwjd15]

Originally Posted by Dodge2Dub

When you guys change out your oil, do you just use an extractor and keep the oil filter (changing out the oil filter at the 15K intervals)?

I changed when my engine oil temp overheated or about 2-3 track days depend on how hot the oil temp gets. Always change the oil with oil filter together.

[Dodge2Dub]

Originally Posted by wwjd15

I just installed a brake duct system for front BBK's, it held up fine for the first track day. I will report back after this weekend and see if that helps.

Please post pic and DIY.

[wwjd15]

Originally Posted by Dodge2Dub

Please post pic and DIY.

I didn't do it by myself. I'm sure there's tons of info available on the Internet.

[biglare]

Originally Posted by wwjd15

I just installed a brake duct system for front BBK's, it held up fine for the first track day. I will report back after this weekend and see if that helps.

What cooling plates did you use? Any pics?

[1MOREMOD]

Mine feels like its wearing out and I am going to be forced to buy a BBK and coilovers

[wwjd15]

Originally Posted by biglare

What cooling plates did you use? Any pics?

I don't know. I believe it's custom made. I'll take some pic when I jack up the car next time.


For the brake ducting, it worked perfectly. If the inconsistent braking gets solved by brake ducting system, then I have 4 guess for the root of cause: 1 my AP bbk can't handle heat; 2 mintex brake pads can't handle heat; 3 BMW didn't build any cooling for the brake; 4 the issue Martin has addressed.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by wwjd15

I mean the braking power is not stable enough to give me confidence. For example, if braking at a long straight away, Brembo GT BBK and Stoptech BBK (even some cracpy stock ones) on my other cars are able to brake and stop at the same spot lap after lap. However, AP is not the same. Sometimes it stops earlier than usual, sometimes it stops later than usual, which is really annoying and force me to brake earlier than where it should be. It can be happened just about anytime during the day, doesn't matter cold or hot.

Originally Posted by mastek

This is not right -- you either have defective parts on your BBK -- or your pads are defective -- or your fluid has air in it -- or your ABS pump is wrong -- or your brake booster is wrong.

Originally Posted by Martin_D

It is the brake boost assist. This happens to fast drivers in the E9X M3. The system pulls vacuum from anywhere it can and you get an inconsistent pedal.

Since wwdj didn't mention anything about pedal feel, my money would be on ABS operation rather than the brake boost levels in this particular scenario where braking distances vary in the absence of difference in pedal feel. If brake boost was to drop off, you should have a solid pedal but can still brake with you stand on it. In other words, there should be a direct and very observable difference in pedal feel.

If ABS is not working properly in certain conditions (which could be an issue with the modified bias of an aftermarket system), you might not always feel something significantly different in pedal feel, but can experience significant differences in stopping power/distance. One can usually observe what I mean when trying to threshold brake at a bumpy braking zone vs. a smooth one on the same day at the same track. (Of course, braking on a bumpy section complicates traction as well, which also factors into ABS operation).

Anyway, I am speculating and there are many potential causes that might explain the inconsistency.

[klammer]

Well, to keep things on track (pun intended )the car has been holding up great! Have put close to 30 track days on my e90, 25k mileage in total and no concerns whatsoever. I've changed the oil more frequently, every 2-4 events, only a brake flush in the beginning of the season and one bleed thereafter (last 2 years) and have gotten almost 15k out of my AD08's and almost as many track days and the only reason I had to replace at all was due to potholes and a slow leak in the rear, which was just once, so the replacements have been staggered (tough to get a true timeline) but am very impressed with the Advans. Went through 2 sets of race pads this year and a set of rotors which can be pricey, but that's with a shade over 20 events this year Plan on a smaller season next year so who knows but will report back. Would love to hear from people with 50 track days or even better 100. Am trying to stay away from making this, or getting, a dedicated track car, and am really curious about the durability of this car as I plan on testing those limits. I bot it and I plan on using all of its all-aroundness to the max

[Ilia@IND]

Klammer's car is a real trooper.

[dawgdog]

I have 40+ track days and 43,000 miles and so far so good. Also my AP brake kit is flawless other than occasional brake groan on the street since I started using Pagid yellows front and rear.

[von_zoom]

I have a good 40 days at the track in my E92, all at VIR. Stock everything except for PF Race pads, SS brake lines, Apex Rims with BFG R1 275X35X18 compounds sq setup. Brake fluid, oil, filter change at the beginning of the season, checked prior to each event. Have used no oil. Note, my car is not run all that hard each session, however, it does see some agressive driving during every event. I too am struggling with what to do going down the road, seats, restraint, roll bar, suspension, brakes. I think that I will leave the status quo in tact.
vz

[bigjae1976]

I've beat on my E90 for 6 days over the last month and a half. Not even a year old and its at 17k miles! I'm on my second set of PF01s...the car eats brakes!

[admranger]

Had my first track day last Saturday. Car was pretty easy to drive considering how big and heavy it is... This was not a planned track day for this car. A broken car forced a last second switch to this car. 5k miles on the car. My experience level is long and sordid (raced for 10 years, instructor, etc., etc.), though I have no remarkable skills.

Brakes became an issue when I decided to be more aggressive in two pretty heavy braking zones (Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada -- 3.2 mile configuration). Pedal went squishy and stayed squishy. Pressure bled the brakes the next morning and there were no noticable bubbles. The cheese grater brake rotor holes were full of stock pad material (have others seen this?). Clearly, PF-08's would have been a better pad choice, but I wasn't planning on using this car so it didn't happen (I don't have a set of performance pads for this car...).

I had a few drops of power steering fluid on the reservior after the event. No noticable oil consumption per the idiot gauge in the dash.

No temp issues, but we had absolutely amazing weather with high temps in the low 70's (unheard of). Great day all around!

[OC3]

Originally Posted by lucid

Since wwdj didn't mention anything about pedal feel, my money would be on ABS operation rather than the brake boost levels in this particular scenario where braking distances vary in the absence of difference in pedal feel. If brake boost was to drop off, you should have a solid pedal but can still brake with you stand on it. In other words, there should be a direct and very observable difference in pedal feel.

If ABS is not working properly in certain conditions (which could be an issue with the modified bias of an aftermarket system), you might not always feel something significantly different in pedal feel, but can experience significant differences in stopping power/distance. One can usually observe what I mean when trying to threshold brake at a bumpy braking zone vs. a smooth one on the same day at the same track. (Of course, braking on a bumpy section complicates traction as well, which also factors into ABS operation).

Anyway, I am speculating and there are many potential causes that might explain the inconsistency.

I don't know if I'm fast, but I've been having this issue for a while now (Brembo BBK). Would pre-tapping the brake pedal before braking help towards this issue?

[admranger]

Originally Posted by OC3

I don't know if I'm fast, but I've been having this issue for a while now (Brembo BBK). Would pre-tapping the brake pedal before braking help towards this issue?

Pad "knockback" is a phenomenon that happens with BBKs sometimes. Tapping would push the pads back closer to the rotor and leave you with less pedal travel and a more solid 'feel'. Worth a try to see if it helps or not.

[CSanto]

Can anyone comment on how their car has held up to the wear? Do your front bumpers/hoods get blasted with debris?

Also, do you think all the tracking will have a substantially negative impact on resale value?

I have 35k miles on my car, no track days, the car looks brand new as I've kept really good care of it. I'd like to get into tracking and use my car. I'm afraid of things getting beat up badly.

[bigjae1976]

Oh yes, plenty of rock chips on the sides. Not so many on the hood but I have a clear brea on the bumper and front part of the hood up to the bulge.

Without the bra...my car's paint would be looking terrible.

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

Without the bra...my car's paint would be looking terrible.

i bought mine used and made the mistake of not getting clear bra anyway even though there were a few chips. now there are tons. the front fascia and hood need a respray at this point due to tracking.

[leo95se]

Originally Posted by chriszeh

i bought mine used and made the mistake of not getting clear bra anyway even though there were a few chips. now there are tons. the front fascia and hood need a respray at this point due to tracking.

Me too. This paint stinks lol