Cooked brakes

[Leg]

Well, 7000 miles of exuberant driving and a reasonably (ok very) aggressive track day saw my brakes making a humming noise in use. No depredation in braking but an annoying humming noise.

After much investigation my dealer can’t find anything wrong but acknowledges the humming noise and BMW Germany have told them to just replace all my pads and discs under warranty to be on the safe side.

So, all new brakes for me tomorrow for free!

[LateBraking]

Stock pads melting on the rotors? I read something about it in this thread.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171594

Comments on it by Lucid, I think.

[Leg]

Nah, knew about that. Just a humming noise, no vibration, brake fade or anything. Dealer is stumped as are BMW Germany.

[JIO]

With the cross-drilled rotors on my E46 M3, I would always get a high-pitched squeal from the track with hard braking. Mine turned out to be pad material burned on to the rotors. It would go away after about week....just in time for the next track day...he he.

[Gearhead999s]

Originally Posted by Leg

Nah, knew about that. Just a humming noise, no vibration, brake fade or anything. Dealer is stumped as are BMW Germany.

Hmm!mine also humms in a moderate high speed stop.Maybe time to get it checked out as my pads are less than 50% now.Brakes are not covered by the service warranty in Canada.

[M3101]

Originally Posted by Gearhead999s

Hmm!mine also humms in a moderate high speed stop.Maybe time to get it checked out as my pads are less than 50% now.Brakes are not covered by the service warranty in Canada.

Ouch...

[booforty]

Lucky bugger! Free brakes after a track day!

[skierman64]

I'm getting a humming noise after 3 track days. Right after the track weekend it was a vibration, now it's down to a hum. It's from the pads melting to the rotors when the car is parked after a track session. Mine is slowly going away and will be back to normal in a few weeks. .

[swiss_cornholio]

After the 2nd Nordschleife weekend my brakes have to be replaced for the 2nd time. The first time there was a rattle when braking at high speeds, so the discs were replaced (under warranty). Now after the 2nd weekend there is less intensive rattle which might even go away after some time, but: this time the front pads are done (at least according to i-drive). To fix this once and forever I told my dealer to replace all pads by the harder sports pads. After calling at least 5 times they finally believed me that sports pads exists for the E92 M3 and told me they will order them. Now after waiting another 2 weeks they told me today that the pads are not available before week 41. When I told them that I need my car next week, they said they would first replace them with the regular pads (somehow under warranty) and we'll see about the sports pads later.

I'm getting more and more at BMW for not recognising that the brake issue is serious and not providing a solution. If it was just me, I would accept that it might be my fault, but I have read tons of posts from people complaining about exactly the same thing.

[swamp2]

Despite not being a fan of big bright red calipers with multiple pistons purely from the performance perspective, it seem abundantly clear from multiple postings on this topic that when subjected to hard track use the OEM M3 brakes are simply not up to the task. I'll join the legions of folks chanting "shame on BMW" for not using a better brake system. However, mine is a shout for greater performance not necessarily for red calipers nor multiple pistons.

Sorry to hear about your brake toubles Leg (and the others with similar trouble). We certainly need a good BBK for less than $7k USD. What a joke that price is.

[swiss_cornholio]

I'll try the BMW race pads first: ~1300 is a better deal if they work.

Originally Posted by swamp2

Despite not being a fan of big bright red calipers with multiple pistons purely from the performance perspective, it seem abundantly clear from multiple postings on this topic that when subjected to hard track use the OEM M3 brakes are simply not up to the task. I'll join the legions of folks chanting "shame on BMW" for not using a better brake system. However, mine is a shout for greater performance not necessarily for red calipers nor multiple pistons.

Sorry to hear about your brake toubles Leg (and the others with similar trouble). We certainly need a good BBK for less than $7k USD. What a joke that price is.

[GT3 Tim]

If you can get the dealer to pay for them, great. If not, I would go for a set of Pagid RS19's. Great pads for the track and are still streetable, just a bit noisey.

[skierman64]

The easiest and probably cheapest solution to the brake problems on the track is a duct system to cool the front rotors. Hopefully there will be a solution available soon.

BBK not required IMHO. Pads and ducts are all that is needed.

[consolidated]

Originally Posted by skierman64

The easiest and probably cheapest solution to the brake problems on the track is a duct system to cool the front rotors. Hopefully there will be a solution available soon.

BBK not required IMHO. Pads and ducts are all that is needed.

I think your right, street pads just won't work for hard track use.

I pulled the oem pads from my Cayman S and replaced them with Pagids and saw more fade resistance, higher friction, lower pedal pressure, more consistent pedal travel, less pad material transfer onto the rotors and much longer wear per set. They're too noisy for the street but I've gotten very quick at swapping pads, bleeding lines and changing wheels.

[sayemthree]

street pads on the track = FTL!!!

[rzm3]

Originally Posted by sayemthree

street pads on the track = FTL!!!

+1

[Dascamel]

Originally Posted by sayemthree

street pads on the track = FTL!!!

+10000

Get better pads, upgrade the brake fluid, should see the rotors doing better from the combo.

[swamp2]

I know most P cars are lighter than the M3 and that is a big factor. Still don't they generally get by just fine track and street? It is a fairly lofty goal to set but not one that is impossible - a pad that is trackable and streetable.

[Strax]

Track pads for the track, street pads for the street. Problem solved!

[Lil. Lucas]

Originally Posted by swamp2

Despite not being a fan of big bright red calipers with multiple pistons purely from the performance perspective, it seem abundantly clear from multiple postings on this topic that when subjected to hard track use the OEM M3 brakes are simply not up to the task. I'll join the legions of folks chanting "shame on BMW" for not using a better brake system. However, mine is a shout for greater performance not necessarily for red calipers nor multiple pistons.

Sorry to hear about your brake toubles Leg (and the others with similar trouble). We certainly need a good BBK for less than $7k USD. What a joke that price is.

I wouldn't be too quick to jump sides swamp, I'm still not convinced that the problems "most" people are reporting arent because of stock pads/fluid..

[armyav8tor]

Why not track pads for the street? How noisy are they under normal driving? Do they squeal a lot during light braking? I hardly ever brake during daily driving so I'm thinking I would be fine running track pads all the time. Anyone has other thoughts on this?

[swiss_cornholio]

Originally Posted by armyav8tor

Why not track pads for the street? How noisy are they under normal driving? Do they squeal a lot during light braking? I hardly ever brake during daily driving so I'm thinking I would be fine running track pads all the time. Anyone has other thoughts on this?

+1

The only problem might be the salt in the winter, but I'm still gonna try this.