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      05-30-2011, 03:07 PM   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by attila View Post
Holy Crap!! I've got the same rotors!! Not tracking them any more though.
What would you replace them with?

Even the best rotors in the world can fail. I personally would trust PF rotors over pretty much anything else. As a matter of fact, I'll be re-installing mine tomorrow. It's nice to reduce unsprung weight on each front corner by a few more lbs.
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      07-08-2011, 01:23 PM   #46
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Has anyone else running the PFC rotors noticed that the centering ring is ever so slightly larger than the stock rotor's? It makes it impossible to center the rotor on the hub and results in a wheel vibration that feels like an imbalanced wheel. I can't seem to get a returned call from PFC in the 3 months that I've been leaving them messages. I've run dozens of cheapo centric rotors and never had such a poor fit as these $900 rotors.
I do like the design of the PFC rotor but I will certainly be keeping a watchful eye on mine after reading this thread.

The rotor in the 1st post does look a bit glazed but the stress cracks don't look that bad to me. Perhaps it's hard to tell from the picture but the cracks don't seem to run to the edge of the rotor. My stock rotors looked about the same when I ditched them for the PFC's.
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      08-17-2011, 11:52 PM   #47
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RickyBobby View Post
Has anyone else running the PFC rotors noticed that the centering ring is ever so slightly larger than the stock rotor's? It makes it impossible to center the rotor on the hub and results in a wheel vibration that feels like an imbalanced wheel. I can't seem to get a returned call from PFC in the 3 months that I've been leaving them messages. I've run dozens of cheapo centric rotors and never had such a poor fit as these $900 rotors.
I do like the design of the PFC rotor but I will certainly be keeping a watchful eye on mine after reading this thread.
That's not very confidence inspiring. Did anyone from PFC ever get back to you? Have you noticed the same issue with other PFC rotors? I'm curious about this issue, because I'm considering getting the PFC rotors as well.
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      08-18-2011, 07:14 AM   #48
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I spoke with a tech at PFC after the incident and was told that the ABS on my car caused it. I doubt that explanation because I almost never activate the ABS. I'm running on stock rotors now but have a new set of PFC rotors (well new rings anyway) for my next set. I'll post my experiences with them. Perhaps this first set had a defect in them and the second set will work better.
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      08-18-2011, 02:21 PM   #49
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These were made using sample parts from our old project car, now our #79 car, which PFC held through the prototyping stage. We bought the entire first production run of these. We more recently measured cars and measured our stock - all is correct. There is a step on the hub which could cause an error in measurement, but the fit is correct. There has been no change in spec from PFC and there has been no obvious change in hub or hub PN from BMW. We have never had reported issues from our customers on this part and I would expect that to remain the same.
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      08-18-2011, 03:09 PM   #50
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RickyBobby View Post
Has anyone else running the PFC rotors noticed that the centering ring is ever so slightly larger than the stock rotor's? It makes it impossible to center the rotor on the hub and results in a wheel vibration that feels like an imbalanced wheel. I can't seem to get a returned call from PFC in the 3 months that I've been leaving them messages. I've run dozens of cheapo centric rotors and never had such a poor fit as these $900 rotors.
I do like the design of the PFC rotor but I will certainly be keeping a watchful eye on mine after reading this thread.

The rotor in the 1st post does look a bit glazed but the stress cracks don't look that bad to me. Perhaps it's hard to tell from the picture but the cracks don't seem to run to the edge of the rotor. My stock rotors looked about the same when I ditched them for the PFC's.

OMG!!! Balancing the wheels kills me since I have the PFC rotors!! Now I have an answer!! I rebalanced my front wheels at leat 4 times, have the front suspension recheked two times, and no one could figure out why I have the steering wheel vibration. It starts about 75-80 and it is very very annoying!!
I will reinstall my old rotors and if it is the PFC rotor i will never ever get close to any PFC product!!!
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      08-18-2011, 03:21 PM   #51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by attila View Post
OMG!!! Balancing the wheels kills me since I have the PFC rotors!! Now I have an answer!! I rebalanced my front wheels at leat 4 times, have the front suspension recheked two times, and no one could figure out why I have the steering wheel vibration. It starts about 75-80 and it is very very annoying!!
I will reinstall my old rotors and if it is the PFC rotor i will never ever get close to any PFC product!!!
Perhaps you could check the rotor/hub interface on the rotor - that would tell you if you have the potential issue the other poster asked about.
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      08-18-2011, 05:39 PM   #52
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I bought these for my 330ci which had the UUC Wilwood BBK and used the OEM E46 M3 rotor.

They did not last long at all. I am not particularly hard on the brakes and I never ran on the track longer than 20 minutes at a time.

I used PFC01 pads.

I wasn't happy with them.
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      08-18-2011, 06:18 PM   #53
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      08-19-2011, 12:02 AM   #54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ttt View Post
That's not very confidence inspiring. Did anyone from PFC ever get back to you? Have you noticed the same issue with other PFC rotors? I'm curious about this issue, because I'm considering getting the PFC rotors as well.
The customer service from PFC has been horrendous. It took months to get any type of call back from them just to have a dialogue about the fitment. You'd think if a company heard that someone was having an issue with their rotors they would want to get to the bottom of it.
After I convinced PFC that they were not installed improperly because the alignment pins only allow for installation in one orientation, there responses were as follows:

"The engineers at Performance Friction have determined that the spindles (hubs) are not "OEM" from the factory, even though, they still may be the original ones that came on your car, or some type of aftermarket spindles. There was a slight change and these do not correctly fit the PFC hats. Their suggestion was to source or have some centering rings fabricated to aid in keeping the hat tight around the hub."

I replied saying that I bought the car with 0 miles on it and have not changed the hubs. My OEM wheels, 2 sets of aftermarket wheels and 2 sets of oem rotors fit the spindle just fine. Also worth noting is that the part numbers for the rotors and hubs have not changed from 08 +

PFC's response: as I’ve said it is obvious that there has been a model year change. We currently do not make the exact hat to fit this application. Possible in the future."

It's disappointing that a company that markets their products as having high tolerances (and charges a premium for it) has such poor fitment on my car. By my measurement, the center hole on my PFC rotors are approx .5mm larger than my oem rotors. While this is small variance, it makes it impossible to perfectly center the rotor which causes vibration at freeway speeds that feels like an imbalanced wheel. When you spin the rotor by hand, you can see it moving in a slight elliptical pattern. I've been running cheapo centric rotors for about 10 years on other track cars and never experienced any fitment issues like this.
At any rate, I just sent the rotors back to PFC last week for inspection so we'll see where that goes. I'll keep everyone posted. For now, I'd stay away from these. Tirerack actually sells Centric rotors for the e9x M3 now, but only drilled. They said that they will eventually carry standard non-drilled. Perhaps those are the better option for us. Too bad, because I do like the design of the PFC rotor.
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      08-19-2011, 12:04 AM   #55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by attila View Post
OMG!!! Balancing the wheels kills me since I have the PFC rotors!! Now I have an answer!! I rebalanced my front wheels at leat 4 times, have the front suspension recheked two times, and no one could figure out why I have the steering wheel vibration. It starts about 75-80 and it is very very annoying!!
I will reinstall my old rotors and if it is the PFC rotor i will never ever get close to any PFC product!!!
Sounds like you could have the same problem. When I put my oem rotors back on my vibration went away.
When you re-install your old rotors measure the center hole of the OEM and PFC's and see if they have any variance. It would be nice to show that I'm not the only one affected.
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      08-19-2011, 12:58 AM   #56
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damm....
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      08-19-2011, 08:23 AM   #57
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I will post some pictures. Hopefully I can do it over this weekend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesC View Post
Perhaps you could check the rotor/hub interface on the rotor - that would tell you if you have the potential issue the other poster asked about.
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      08-19-2011, 08:30 AM   #58
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RickyBobby View Post
Sounds like you could have the same problem. When I put my oem rotors back on my vibration went away.
When you re-install your old rotors measure the center hole of the OEM and PFC's and see if they have any variance. It would be nice to show that I'm not the only one affected.
Trying to get rid of this vibration for more than half a year now. On a long trip (to Yellowstone) where I may have inadvartently violated the speed limit a few times it was very annoying.
I will try to do this measurements soon!
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      08-19-2011, 05:03 PM   #59
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I followed up with PFC today and they claimed that they never received the box with the rotors that I sent them - so I just sent them the proof of delivery showing that their guy signed for it on the 15th. I'll keep everyone posted.

Service: UPS Ground Weight: 20.00 lbs Returned On: 08/15/2011 10:13 A.M. Returned To: CLOVER, SC, US Signed By: CLARK Left At: Receiver Thank you for giving us this opportunity to serve you.
Sincerely,
UPS
Tracking results provided by UPS: 08/19/2011 5:50 P.M. ET
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      08-20-2011, 10:54 AM   #60
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the service don't sound so hot

i just order their bbk.... lol
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      08-21-2011, 09:55 AM   #61
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twboy1999 View Post
the service don't sound so hot

i just order their bbk.... lol
I was planning to order their BBK! (I will need one soon since I somewhat toasted my OEM calipers on the M3) I was even thinking about ordering their kit for the GT3 RS when available (need to take off PCCB). I will do my measurement and if there is any more difference than 0.1mm between the OEM and PFC rotor, no PFC for me any more.
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      08-21-2011, 04:30 PM   #62
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I have the PFC BBK, front and rear, and have had no rotor fitment issues nor do I have a vibration/unbalance due to the rotors.

I'm guessing the designs of the mounting hats are different between the stock and BBK rotors due to rotor thickness and/or caliper placement but they had to be designed using the same measurements taken from James' stock e92 M3. The current issue of GRM has a brake pad comparison test and they used PFC rotors for all pads, and if James thought there was a safety issue with the basic design I doubt he'd be heading into the turn 1 braking zone at VIR > 150 mph as well as using them on the GS race cars. I could be wrong but I believe Ganassi Racing uses the same design on their DP race cars.

For people considering the PFC BBK...Compared to the AP Racing BBK on my e46 M3, the PFC calipers have better initial bite/release characteristics and modulation. I've never driven an e9x M3 with APs calipers so I can't make a direct comparison. However, comparing the two setups I'd have to say overall braking performance is very similar (no fade, no soft pedal under extreme conditions) and given the extra weight of the e92 M3 (plus my e46 is not at stock weight) that's impressive - if I had to do it all over again I'd still go with PFC. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.
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      08-21-2011, 10:07 PM   #63
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dbarnes View Post
I have the PFC BBK, front and rear, and have had no rotor fitment issues nor do I have a vibration/unbalance due to the rotors.

I'm guessing the designs of the mounting hats are different between the stock and BBK rotors due to rotor thickness and/or caliper placement but they had to be designed using the same measurements taken from James' stock e92 M3. The current issue of GRM has a brake pad comparison test and they used PFC rotors for all pads, and if James thought there was a safety issue with the basic design I doubt he'd be heading into the turn 1 braking zone at VIR > 150 mph as well as using them on the GS race cars. I could be wrong but I believe Ganassi Racing uses the same design on their DP race cars.

For people considering the PFC BBK...Compared to the AP Racing BBK on my e46 M3, the PFC calipers have better initial bite/release characteristics and modulation. I've never driven an e9x M3 with APs calipers so I can't make a direct comparison. However, comparing the two setups I'd have to say overall braking performance is very similar (no fade, no soft pedal under extreme conditions) and given the extra weight of the e92 M3 (plus my e46 is not at stock weight) that's impressive - if I had to do it all over again I'd still go with PFC. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.
Thanks for feedback. I didn't mean to make this an anti PFC thread, I just wanted to post my experience with the rotors. I think PFC makes awsome stuff, hence the reason I bought the rotors in the 1st place - and their pads are still some of my favorite on the market. I shared direct information with PFC in that my center hole is bigger than my stock rotors and was brushed off for months. I would still trust these rotors for heavy track work but am annoyed by the minor fitment issues and even more annoyed by how PFC is handling it.
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      08-22-2011, 04:59 AM   #64
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Although my situation is different from yours, I too, have had trouble getting PFC to respond to emails and phone calls - I've been tying to get dimensions of the front and rear BBK profiles so I can, with confidence, get a set of custom built Forgeline wheels

My comments were more of a general statement about my experience with PFC and not at all directed at you. Also wanted to make sure people who just purchased, or are considering purchasing, their BBK don't think they made a bad choice and wasted a lot of money.

It's clear to me based on your comments that you still want to use their products and are just looking for basic technical support.

BTW, my favorite pads are PF 01, 03 and 05 compounds, regardless of caliper type/brand.
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      08-22-2011, 07:56 AM   #65
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Truth to be told so far I heard only good things about PFC product. That's why I boyght their rotor.
I did not have the this weekend to take the rotor off, but I did inspect it. It seems centered on the hub. All studs seemed centered too.
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      09-13-2011, 11:49 PM   #66
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PFC ended up giving me a refund. I'm kind of bummed because I really wanted to use the rotors. I was thinking that I could have wrapped one layer of safety wire around my spindle to center the rotor and all would have been fine. Oh well, perhaps it's time for big brake kit..
ShadeD1 are you back on track with a new set of PFC rings?
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