[Crulexis]

What do you guys use as brake pads when your on the track? Do you actually switch out your OEM pads for track pads or do you just find a sensible option that does street/track well...? Also what about rotors I guess I should change those as well..

I was thinking of just getting the Hawk HPS for the track and after getting home switching to OEM... but I appreciate your thoughts considering I have very little expertise with brakes and types of pads...

ALSO, any idea what place to buy these brakes at a good price? Maybe a sponsor can offer me a discount or coupon... I kind of need to order them and get them shipped for pickup this Saturday (going to buffalo) so not sure if i'm too late...

[3002 tii]

Pfc 08, ogracing has best prices hands down. Hawk hps blow. Separate rotors are ideal but not needed -- just make sure to bed in pads properly if anything.

[will.c]

From personal experimentation and conclusion, I recommend PFC 01 and new front rotors. Bestbrakes.com for the pads and tirerack.com for cheapest blank Centric rotors.

Why new front? As they say, any potential problem unveils itself at the track. If you have any type of small warping in the rotors now (even the ones you don't feel on the street), it WILL show up and destroy your braking consistency, ruining your weekend. I recommend it, but it's your call.

The Z4 dude above said PFC 08, and I think it might work for the heavy E92, but I don't have personal exp to back it up. I can def tell that 08 is quiet on the street, so you can DD it, but I know 01 works well for E92 as a fact, and it's got more torque. Loud as hell though.

Also, flush your fluids with RBF600 or Super Blue.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by wonho

From personal experimentation and conclusion, I recommend PFC 01 and new front rotors. Bestbrakes.com for the pads and tirerack.com for cheapest blank Centric rotors.

Why new front? As they say, any potential problem unveils itself at the track. If you have any type of small warping in the rotors now (even the ones you don't feel on the street), it WILL show up and destroy your braking consistency, ruining your weekend. I recommend it, but it's your call.

The Z4 dude above said PFC 08, and I think it might work for the heavy E92, but I don't have personal exp to back it up. I can def tell that 08 is quiet on the street, so you can DD it, but I know 01 works well for E92 as a fact, and it's got more torque. Loud as hell though.

Also, flush your fluids with RBF600 or Super Blue.

01's are better for sure, just be prepared to go through rotors frequently.

[Crulexis]

Originally Posted by wonho

From personal experimentation and conclusion, I recommend PFC 01 and new front rotors. Bestbrakes.com for the pads and tirerack.com for cheapest blank Centric rotors.

Why new front? As they say, any potential problem unveils itself at the track. If you have any type of small warping in the rotors now (even the ones you don't feel on the street), it WILL show up and destroy your braking consistency, ruining your weekend. I recommend it, but it's your call.

The Z4 dude above said PFC 08, and I think it might work for the heavy E92, but I don't have personal exp to back it up. I can def tell that 08 is quiet on the street, so you can DD it, but I know 01 works well for E92 as a fact, and it's got more torque. Loud as hell though.

Also, flush your fluids with RBF600 or Super Blue.

The question now is, Can I use PFC 01 as a street pad after the track? AND is it ok to keep my OEM Pads in the back or do they also have to be changed...

[Crulexis]

Originally Posted by DSC_OFF

01's are better for sure, just be prepared to go through rotors frequently.

..

How frequently would you say? Will I have to keep 2 sets of rotors, one for track and other for street? And switch em out everytime

[Crulexis]

Originally Posted by wonho

From personal experimentation and conclusion, I recommend PFC 01 and new front rotors. Bestbrakes.com for the pads and tirerack.com for cheapest blank Centric rotors.

Why new front? As they say, any potential problem unveils itself at the track. If you have any type of small warping in the rotors now (even the ones you don't feel on the street), it WILL show up and destroy your braking consistency, ruining your weekend. I recommend it, but it's your call.

The Z4 dude above said PFC 08, and I think it might work for the heavy E92, but I don't have personal exp to back it up. I can def tell that 08 is quiet on the street, so you can DD it, but I know 01 works well for E92 as a fact, and it's got more torque. Loud as hell though.

Also, flush your fluids with RBF600 or Super Blue.

I was on tirerack.. which Rotors am I supposed to get, it seems I have 3 options between the plain ones.


1/ Centric Plain 120 Series Rotors

2/ Centric High Carbon Plain 125 Series Rotor

3/ Centric High Carbon Plain 125 Series Cryo Treated Rotor

Will these rotors be the same size as the one's I currently have on my 335i, considering I have the sport package?

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by Crulexis

I was on tirerack.. which Rotors am I supposed to get, it seems I have 3 options between the plain ones.


1/ Centric Plain 120 Series Rotors

2/ Centric High Carbon Plain 125 Series Rotor

3/ Centric High Carbon Plain 125 Series Cryo Treated Rotor

Will these rotors be the same size as the one's I currently have on my 335i, considering I have the sport package?

If you're buying a separate rotors and pads for street and track, I'd go cheapest rotors for track. But if the price between the 3 are pretty close, may as well go for the cryo. Yes, sizes will be the same as oem.

[Crulexis]

Originally Posted by DSC_OFF

If you're buying a separate rotors and pads for street and track, I'd go cheapest rotors for track. But if the price between the 3 are pretty close, may as well go for the cryo. Yes, sizes will be the same as oem.

Thanks! Do you recommend I get separate rotors for track and street?

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by Crulexis

Thanks! Do you recommend I get separate rotors for track and street?

It comes down to budget. Whether you buy 2 sets of rotors and make it last 12 months or 1 set of rotors and buy every 6 months, really doesn't make a difference, right? The benefit of having a 2nd set of rotors though is that you you don't need to re-bed your pads every time. If you kept the same rotors for track and street, you might even have trouble removing the layer of pad deposit left from track pads and re-bedding your street pads.

What I used to do was run PFC Z-rated street pads for street, and PFC 06's for track, but only had 1 set of rotors. The 2 pads had enough similar compound where I didn't have to bed in my pads.

Assuming your track and street pads are of different compounds/makes, and you can afford to buy 2nd set of cheap blanks, yes it would make your life somewhat easier. But if you only see yourself doing 1-3 events per year, I wouldn't bother lol.

[Crulexis]

Originally Posted by DSC_OFF

If you're buying a separate rotors and pads for street and track, I'd go cheapest rotors for track. But if the price between the 3 are pretty close, may as well go for the cryo. Yes, sizes will be the same as oem.

Thanks a lot, and sorry this is the last question... Is it ok to keep my OEM Rear pads and just switch the front to street / track...? Considering we do most of the braking using the fronts.. or will this make braking very uneven and jittery

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by Crulexis

Thanks a lot, and sorry this is the last question... Is it ok to keep my OEM Rear pads and just switch the front to street / track...? Considering we do most of the braking using the fronts.. or will this make braking very uneven and jittery

Always go same pads on all 4 corners, or maybe go more bite in the rears to shift the bias.

[johmei]

I am looking to get PFC 08's for the front and staying with the Stoptechs in the rear as my brake shop said there are no rear PFC 08 pads for the E9X. He says that OEM pads in the rear is fine but I'm not sure. When cold the rear will have better initial bite but hot, nothing. Then comes the question regarding getting rotors or not.. will probably stick with the OEM rotors for a while. How hard is it to get the PFC transfer layer off with a regular bedding procedure?

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by johmei

I am looking to get PFC 08's for the front and staying with the Stoptechs in the rear as my brake shop said there are no rear PFC 08 pads for the E9X. He says that OEM pads in the rear is fine but I'm not sure. When cold the rear will have better initial bite but hot, nothing. Then comes the question regarding getting rotors or not.. will probably stick with the OEM rotors for a while. How hard is it to get the PFC transfer layer off with a regular bedding procedure?

Don't know how hard it is but why not go 01's in the rear?

[will.c]

From what I gather here, here's what I recommend:

1) buy cheapest front rotors (Centric 120).

2) buy all four pads of same kind (if available), e.g. PFC 01/06/08. There's a post from a renowned member here who described how maintaining the brake bias will stabilize braking and reduce overheating.

3) if the old front rotors still have good life, re-surface (aka "cut") them and have those as spares. (you will have to find a shop that is willing to do that. ~$20/piece)

4) drive with those track pads on the street and see if you can live with:
- low initial bite when cold (MUCH lower than the OEM pads);
- noise: mindless soccer moms yelling at you that you need brakes at intersections.

5) if you can't stand it, just re-install your street front pads (and keep rear track pads) and see if this is okay. Still keep the "track" rotors on because it's a little more pain to replace them than just pads.

Even with track pads, you shouldn't have to replace the rotors so often. Maybe once a year as opposed to once every 2-3 years.

[will.c]

Speaking of, I'm actually selling my front PFC 01s pretty cheap for fellow forum members

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=811273

[akotten]

Why is it so impossible to find rear pads for the 335? Where is everybody buying their rear track pads?

I've read that the E46 M3, E46 330, and E90 335 all share the same rear brake pad. Is this true? Pad shape 548...

[akotten]

No one?

Seems like the E46 M3's rear pads are close enough. I'm going to try a set of Hawk Blue's using the E46 rear pad and the normal 335 front.

(E90 335 pad on left, E46 M3 pad on right, both rears)

[The HACK]

PFC-01 in the rear and PFC-08 in the front is not ideal, the 01 compound has more initial bite and torque compared to 08 and you would essentially shift the bias rearward. Unless you're an experienced track driver this combination may produce unexpected result. I'd go all PFC-01 if that's the only one available in the rear.

High carbon rotors are harder and last longer, but for track use may not be ideal unless you have a relatively light car with excellent brake cooling to keep operating temps within range. Otherwise the rapid super heating of rotor and cooling off cycle will crack the high carbon iron due to the brittleness of its metallurgy.

Those rear pads look NOTHING alike and are not interchangeable. Look at the mounting hardware on the tabs on the backing plate.

[akotten]

Originally Posted by The HACK

PFC-01 in the rear and PFC-08 in the front is not ideal, the 01 compound has more initial bite and torque compared to 08 and you would essentially shift the bias rearward. Unless you're an experienced track driver this combination may produce unexpected result. I'd go all PFC-01 if that's the only one available in the rear.

High carbon rotors are harder and last longer, but for track use may not be ideal unless you have a relatively light car with excellent brake cooling to keep operating temps within range. Otherwise the rapid super heating of rotor and cooling off cycle will crack the high carbon iron due to the brittleness of its metallurgy.

Those rear pads look NOTHING alike and are not interchangeable. Look at the mounting hardware on the tabs on the backing plate.

I'm thinking they might just need a little modification to fit...they're actually pretty close. I guess we'll see. I may look into retrofitting a different rear caliper instead.

[taibanl]

I want to do a PAD ONLY swap for HPDE...does PFC 01 still fit the bill?

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by akotten

I'm thinking they might just need a little modification to fit...they're actually pretty close. I guess we'll see. I may look into retrofitting a different rear caliper instead.

No. They're going to require MAJOR modification to fit, and even if and when they fit, you have to keep in mind that those little ears that you're shaving off? They're what the calipers slide on. If you don't have them machined right, they'll either bind or be too loose and rattle like crazy.

You want to try and modify them to fit? Your prerogative. I wouldn't. Not unless I have access to a machine shop and willing to throw away a set of $200 pads when they mess up.

Believe you me. That exact scenario happened to me, and all I did was try to modify a set of pads for the rear of my MZ4 Coupe, which DOES use the same exact pads as the E46 M3 rear. $200 set of rear pads down the drain.