Cracked AP disc :( + Performance Friction opnions?

[Franzino]

I have a BMW Z4M that I equipped with a full AP racing BBK in 2011. I bought this set brand new with my local AP dealer for street driving and doing some occasional trackdays (mostly Nurburgring). With my first set of front AP discs I did two years of street and track day driving and never had a big problem, then they were worn down and it was time to replace them.

9-10 months a go my Belgian AP dealer fitted new front AP discs on my car. With the new AP discs (CP-3581 / G8) I only did 3-4 tourist trips to the Nurburgring and 1 trip to Spa. The car is not used on track from november till march...so the new discs did not see a lot of hard use. Before stopping the car; I always do a cool down run without breaking, to let the brakes cool before parking the car. My car is also equipped with some extra brake cooling ducts for extra air.

After my last trackday my right front AP discs looked liked this.





This is not normal and it's unsafe to still use this disc! I'm always using the same brake pads and using the same brake method as in the past. Never had any problems before with my previous set of AP discs! The crack on the edge made 1 disc useless...while the front disc are only 20-30% worn down and are still in really good shape (besides the damage).

In my opinion this is not normal for a high quality AP discs, that costs this much money. In my opinion I had bad luck and I received a faulty manufactured AP brake disc (this can happen). I hope AP can help me fix this issue and give me a solution.

Me and my other trackday buddies are all using AP racing on our track day cars and we love them... Trackday enthusiast talk a lot about their modifications and their experiences online. We are hoping AP can give an explanation on how this happened and a goodwill solution from AP to fix this problem. It's absurd to already have to buy a new set of two AP discs again so soon. If AP racing does not want to replace the discs, then I will not take the gamble with AP again and I will buy a set Performance Friction front discs (they promise no cracking).

Any advice on what to do?
I already send a email to AP racing UK and posted a message on their Facebook page.

Any opinions about Performance Friction discs vs AP racing discs? They fit perfectly on the AP racing bell and have identical size..

Edited by Franzino on Wednesday 7th May 20:13

[darreni]

Why not wait for AP to get back to you first, instead of slagging them on a public forum & facebook?

[Franzino]

darreni said:

Why not wait for AP together back to you first, instead of slagging them on a public forum & facebook?

I'm not slagging them! I'm telling about my experience with their product. It is clearly stated that I think AP is a quality product and that my discs is probably a faulty disc. I have posted on a dozen forums in the past on how good I think their brakes are and how I love them. I actually know of two people who bought AP brakes on my advice. So why should I not post when there is a problem? If AP helps me..I will also post their solution and people can see how good their costumer care is. Seems pretty fair to me! I would be strange to never post about the bad things that can happen with a product. I only posted the problem on 2 forums in the UK and in the same topic I'm also seeking advice of others about the Performance Friction alternative.

Edit; for the time being I removed my complaint of their official Facebook…

Edited by Franzino on Wednesday 7th May 20:44

[Franzino]

Good news! After sending some emails with AP racing UK and telling them about my experience and the problem...there is a solution. As a gesture of goodwill; AP racing UK is going to ask my Belgium AP dealer to send me 2 new front discs. AP also wants my old discs to investigate the damage and try to find out what happened with it.

I did not expect this and it is a very nice gesture from AP! Their customer support is A-class! I can only hope this cracking of the AP disc was a occasional event...the future will tell if this is the case. But for now I'm happy that I did contact AP first before trying other brands of discs.

[cpufreak]

with my old E46 M3 CSL, which had APs all round, I switched to performance friction discs, as I too had problems with the AP disks cracking
there would still be plenty of life left in the disks, but huge cracks. lots of others at the 'ring had the same problem.

I would just switch to PFC after your given ones expire.