Can you reccomend me some budget trackday pads?

[bigfatnick]

Hi all.

I'm hoping to crack on with my first track day soon. I've got an e36 325 and to be honest, as standard, the brakes arent brilliant at coping with heat (had them feeling as if they were wanting to fade a bit with a bit of downhill, fast road driving) so i should imagine on a track i could kill them.

I've just picked up some bremo max disks for the front (hoping theyre slightly better than the stock stuff) and some stock brembo disks for the rear. I've been advised to get some ferodo ds2500 pads but theyre awfully expensive (around £170 for front and rear, although i dont know if i can get away with just posh ones up front?).

Are there any cheaper pads that that'll do for the track AND as a daily driver? I've been told to stay away from the ebc stuff, are they that bad?

Thanks

Nick

[GT4 Baz]

You could try ducting air to the front brakes to help keep the temperatures under control. It is very effective and will allow you to stay out longer if your brakes are marginal.

When you say the brakes fade, are you talking about pedal going to the floor or lack of retardation with a firm pedal?

[bigfatnick]

Thanks for the quick reply! Having had a base model peugeot 306, i got used to the feel of overheated, fading brakes. Its just that "these arent quite as powerful as they were, ***mph ago" kind of feeling.

Now they did feel a little squishy, so i'm gonna change the fluid, and was planning on swapping out the foglights for some ductiing, but mostly it felt as if they were a bit too hot and losing their efficiency.

cheers mate

Since starting this thread, i've noticed ebc yellows dont seem to have the poor reviews of the greens. Would people suggest its a good idea?

Thanks

Nick

Edited by bigfatnick on Friday 2nd January 18:04

[Oilchange]

ds 2500 are ok, I use them on the front, ds3000 are pretty awesome with enormous bite and zero fade(I had these before and whilst they are bril they are harsh on discs and squeeled afterwards on the road back), don't know about price though.
I suspect standard pads on the back will do, they are ok on mine. Fronts will take the most punishment which is obvious. saved you a few bob already
Change the fluid for high temp stuff, Castrol SRF if you can afford it. I can't and I use ok stuff which is fine as long as you warm up and, most importantly warm down (cool down?) after. Also when you pitch up in the pits try and park on a level surface and leave your handbrake OFF. Use a chock of some sort if necessary

I have used greenstuff and they are for light road use only. Red/yellow/black stuff I can't speak for although I have heard that yellow is a good compound.
OC

ps AP supply DS2500 with their kits

[GT4 Baz]

I have ran Yellow and red stuff on the GT4 and would be happy to recommend the Yellow stuff. The red's lacked bite from cold, wore out quickly and had to have ducting to keep them cool enough on track.

The Yellows on the other hand bite well from cold, were very strong on track and lasted much longer. This is on a 330 bhp, 1340kg 4WD car and no brake ducting.

I am now running Carbotech XP8 pads all round and whilst expensive (around £250), they offer massive retardation in all conditions, great bite from cold and have so far stood up to 3 rounds on the Toyota Sprint Series, 2 Bedford Autodrome track days and living in Milton Keynes

[F355GTS]

Mintex 1144 are a good road and track pad or if you drive it hard go for the 1155's, try Questmead for a price, http://www.questmead.co.uk/

[swtmerce]

I would suggest Performance Friction Z rated pads. You will be able to get F and R for under £120. Perfect for road and track without excessive abuse of the discs which most race pads will do e.g. DS3000.

[bigfatnick]

thanks guys!

your advice has been much appreciated!

nick

[sniff diesel]

Does anyone know if the rear calipers are the same on some E46 models as the E36 325i? They appear to use the same size rear discs on the non-vented models (280mm diameter, 9.9mm thick with a 75mm bore)

[System-G]

I run a light (just over 900kg) MK1 MR2 for track use and have cooked DS2500 within 10 minutes (a few months after they were bedded in). I'd hate to think what you'd do to them in an E36.

At the end of the day your brakes are potentially what stop you - especially when you need them most. You really should not skimp in this department.

[teabagger]

i would go for yellow stuff on the front and some flexible hose ran from under the front bumper to the brake disc.

i fitted some ducting to mine. it was a free mod but it make a big difference to brake temperatures.

[taffyracer]

the only pads I would consider are Pagid RS29's, excellent on track and on road and last forever, EBC are utter tosh wouldn't even bother, Mintex 1144 are not ideal for such a heavy car and the DS2500 are not great either

[Brummmie]

Carbone Lorraine, made DS2500's feel like rosewood.

[Birdthom]

£170 doesn't sound like much for a full set of pads to me TBH. There are much bigger expenses than that when it comes to tracking a car.

[juansolo]

System-G said:

I run a light (just over 900kg) MK1 MR2 for track use and have cooked DS2500 within 10 minutes (a few months after they were bedded in). I'd hate to think what you'd do to them in an E36.

At the end of the day your brakes are potentially what stop you - especially when you need them most. You really should not skimp in this department.

I managed to destroy a set on a Westfield! They used to squeal like a bd also on the road. I'm trying Mintex at the mo, but haven't really had chance to use them in anger yet. Better than the DS2500's on the road so far. Better bite from cold and no squealage.

[Birdthom]

In order of price:

1: OMP "track day" pads (371s?) disintegrated in no time and were generally rubbish

2: 1144s are fine for light cars but are nothing special and will wear pretty quickly on a hefty saloon.

3: DS2500s were good apart from squealing.

4: Pagid blue are great on road, work well and last ages but cost quite a lot.

I use the pagids every time now - they are worth it IMHO.

(on mix of cars like 172 Cup, Lotus Elan and Elise)

HTH

[pikeyboy]

taffyracer said:

the only pads I would consider are Pagid RS29's, excellent on track and on road and last forever, EBC are utter tosh wouldn't even bother, Mintex 1144 are not ideal for such a heavy car and the DS2500 are not great either

got to agree i use rs29's in the club sport and they're brilliant. rs29 yellows front and rs14? blues in the rear..not really a budget set up but as they say pay monkeys get peanuts.

[Big 968 Dave]

Its not worth skimping on brakes. After all there there to STOP you. Before the barrier does.....
Pagids all the way for me....

[Oilchange]

I've looked up pagids and yes they seem to be highly recommended. But are they 2.8 times the price better?
I paid about £80 for my Ferodos and they do very well on track and normal driving, Pagids were over £230. If I had the money I would give the RS29 a go but I cant justify the dosh.
I am quite confident in the ferodos stopping performance for the price.
Its a bit like the 'which helmet' thread. The answer is usually 'how much do you value your head' well, as long as you are wearing a helmet you have protected 98% of the risk, the last 2% comes in helmet design, but at an inflated price. I suspect its the same with pads.
Get the best you can afford, check them regularly as well as the discs and change the fluid regularly... is the advice I give.

Edited by Oilchange on Tuesday 6th January 10:34

[jleroux]

wouldn't ever use anything but pagids on my elise - some things aren't worth compromising on.