1st HPDE ever - do I need to replace breakpads (R:5mm, Fr:6-7mm)?

[Neebs]

Thanks again for all the input guys.

I am leaning towards replacing all the pads with Stoptech but also considering just replacing fronts with new OEMs - will figure it out this weekend. Even though the OEMs I have on might just be good enough to make it through the weekend, I think they will have me concerned the entire time and detract me from the real goal of learning and having fun.

As for dedicated track pads, if i get hooked, I won't really have a choice

[Neebs]

Just out of curiosity, if you get pad deposits and vibration and take the car to dealership, you guys don't think they will fix/replace the rotor even if the car is under warranty? Not even the first time?

[arter]

If you have vibrations, it is very unlikely that it is a warped rotor, you just need to get the deposits off. The best way to do this is to put some track pads on and then do some hard, repeated braking. This will clean up the deposits and the vibration will be gone.

Alternately, you can wait and see if the stock pads will clear everything off, but this can take a long time

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by Neebs

Just out of curiosity, if you get pad deposits and vibration and take the car to dealership, you guys don't think they will fix/replace the rotor even if the car is under warranty? Not even the first time?

not likely. i had this situation and they told me my rotors were the most warped ones they had ever seen. then i used pagid pads to clean them off and wow not warped at all. they refused to cover and i refused to believe they were warped.

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by Neebs

Just out of curiosity, if you get pad deposits and vibration and take the car to dealership, you guys don't think they will fix/replace the rotor even if the car is under warranty? Not even the first time?

I got new front pads and rotors under either warranty or Ultimate Service after having this issue with the OEM setup (even after telling my SA that it happened at the track), but I knew they wouldn't keep doing that after every weekend, hence my decision to move up to the StopTech pads, and since then to race pads. But I also have an SA who's gone above and beyond for me in about 50 different ways, to the point that I bought him a bottle of JW Black Label for Christmas, so I can't guarantee that just because I got free pads and rotors for this issue that anyone else would. Yes they might have gone away had I ran for a few weeks with race pads, but since I didn't have any of those handy, I was kind of stuck.

As for warped vs. uneven pad deposits, I've found most people diagnose warped rotors even when it's uneven pad deposits, maybe because they're measuring the thickness of the pad deposits as part of the rotor.

[LiM3y]

Originally Posted by Neebs

Just out of curiosity, if you get pad deposits and vibration and take the car to dealership, you guys don't think they will fix/replace the rotor even if the car is under warranty? Not even the first time?

Like has been said. They just need to be scrubbed by daily driving. You are unlikely to have this issue firt time out. If you do have vibration on braking after an event, you know what it is now and won't be freaked out.

I was freaked out until I came upon a friendly M3 driver on Day 2 of a two day event who explained what had happened...good luck in finding another on of those guys!!!!

[Triple M]

Track pad and fluids especially since its a 2 day event. Once start getting things by the start of next day. Instructors might start to encourage you to go faster, break a little harder, none of which used street pads are going to withstand. Brand new street pad MIGHT survive the weekend. Safety for yourself and your instructor is priority, get the track pads.

[Neebs]

Hoping not to run into any rotor related issues from the event, but if i do, I now know what it is likely to be thanks to everyone here. I have ordered Stoptechs SP pads - they are no track pads but I hear they are better as far as leaving deposits and holding up on track go vs. oems

[quicktwinturbo]

Give us an update. I need to change my pads pretty soon..
Considering PFC08 or Stoptech SP or EBC Yello (I had pretty good experience with this on my AMGs)

[Neebs]

Originally Posted by quicktwinturbo

Give us an update. I need to change my pads pretty soon..
Considering PFC08 or Stoptech SP or EBC Yello (I had pretty good experience with this on my AMGs)

Will do. The tech I went to for break fluid flush mentioned ebc yellowstuff. However, i didn't find much feedback on m3 forums on them, but found a lot of positive feedback on Stoptechs SP so went with SP (plus they were cheaper - $160 all in from tirerack).

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by quicktwinturbo

Give us an update. I need to change my pads pretty soon..
Considering PFC08 or Stoptech SP or EBC Yello (I had pretty good experience with this on my AMGs)

I went from StopTech SP pads to PFC 08 when I moved up to Yellow group. PM me if you have any specific questions.

[jphughan]

Well OP, how was your first track day??

Edit: Since you're doing a 2-day event, wait until after Sunday to respond. I guarantee that unless you crash your car, you'll feel a whole lot better after Sunday than you did after Saturday.

[Neebs]

Originally Posted by jphughan

Well OP, how was your first track day??

Edit: Since you're doing a 2-day event, wait until after Sunday to respond. I guarantee that unless you crash your car, you'll feel a whole lot better after Sunday than you did after Saturday.

It was awesome! Waaaaay too much fun. I think I may be in trouble now because I can't wait for the next time TDE is at MSRH . Can't believe I waited 2 years to take this car to the track...

The car held up like a champ - what an incredible machine it is. The Stoptechs did well too - it was a cooler weekend and 2/4 sessions on Sun were wet due to rain, so all that prob helped the brakes. I should be able to get at least one more track day out of them if not more (haven't looked closely, but there is plenty of pad left from what I can tell).

Also, I have to say, I was super impressed with Driver's Edge. They run a very tight ship with great instructors and informative classes. Solid organization. They also promoted me from green group to blue (or at least that is what my instructor told me) for future events despite it being my first track day, so now I have even more of an incentive to run with them again

One more thing - really appreciate all the help you all provided here. Thanks again.

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by Neebs

It was awesome! Waaaaay too much fun. I think I may be in trouble now because I can't wait for the next time TDE is at MSRH . Can't believe I waited 2 years to take this car to the track...

The car held up like a champ - what an incredible machine it is. The Stoptechs did well too - it was a cooler weekend and 2/4 sessions on Sun were wet due to rain, so all that prob helped the brakes. I should be able to get at least one more track day out of them if not more (haven't looked closely, but there is plenty of pad left from what I can tell).

Also, I have to say, I was super impressed with Driver's Edge. They run a very tight ship with great instructors and informative classes. Solid organization. They also promoted me from green group to blue (or at least that is what my instructor told me) for future events despite it being my first track day, so now I have even more of an incentive to run with them again

One more thing - really appreciate all the help you all provided here. Thanks again.

Awesome! That's what we like to hear!

If you can't wait until Driver's Edge is back at MSRH, definitely check out Texas World Speedway. It's an easy track to learn but more difficult to master. It's also relatively easy on brakes, and since it has both fast turns and long straights, it rewards both Miatas and higher-horsepower cars. There's something really fun about building up a bunch of momentum and being able to keep a lot of it, compared to other tracks like CotA where you have lots of tight turns that you have to drop your speed way down to negotiate. Additionally, it's looking like Texas World Speedway may be closed sometime next year to be demolished in order to make way for housing complexes, so get out there while you still can.

I'm glad you had a great experience with The Driver's Edge. It's definitely not uncommon. I ran with them for my first event and have felt absolutely no need to look anywhere else. My worst instructor has been merely "fine". Most of them have been good to amazing, and I've never had a downright bad instructor. They do indeed have HPDEs down to a science.

As for your StopTech pads, I think I got 3 or 4 weekends out of them at Texas World Speedway when I was in Blue group, so you can absolutely keep using them. With street pads (even street performance pads like these) you generally want to stop using them at the track when the outboard pad is down to about 40% of its original thickness. For tracks that are extremely hard on brakes like Eagles Canyon or CotA, you might want even more pad thickness than that just to be safe (or just bring a new set in a box if you confirm trackside service will be available at your event). There are two reasons for this early replacement. One is that the stock brakes are sliding calipers, which means that the inboard pad (that you can't see just looking through the wheels) will always be more worn down than the outside pad. And the second reason is that as a pad gets thinner, it can't cope with heat as well, so not only will the second half of your pad wear down faster than the first half, but you'll experience brake fade sooner out on the track. You can of course run those StopTech pads right down to the bitter end if you're only driving them on the street, but you can't go to the track that way. Race pads on the other hand can usually be run much closer to the end (especially when used with street tires) since they're designed to handle much higher heat loads. This was another reason that steered me toward the BBK. The easy pad swaps allowed me not only to use race pads at the track, but also to stop throwing out my StopTech pads early just because they were no longer good on the track even though they had plenty of usable life left on the street.

And lastly, definite congratulations on moving up to Blue your first weekend out! Did you get a chance to actually run in Blue during that event, or will you just be Blue next time you go? And if you ended up letting your instructor drive your car around, what did you think of that??

Glad you had a great time, and once again, congrats on your new addiction!