E39 M5 - Best fast road / trackday pads?
E39 M5 - Best fast road / trackday pads?
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Discussion

Altrezia

Original Poster:

8,728 posts

234 months

Sunday 5th July 2009
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Heya chaps,

We're off to the Nurburgring in September, and my brakes feel a bit spongy. Can any of you lot suggest the best brake pad + fluid combo for fast road and track use?

Cheers,
A.

belleair302

6,995 posts

230 months

Monday 6th July 2009
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E39 forum m5board.com. All you answers are there.

belleair302

6,995 posts

230 months

Monday 6th July 2009
quotequote all
The ring is light on brakes compared to Donnington / Silverstone. It is more of a flowing track so no worries about pads etc to be honest.

I would however look at getting new fluids and maybe new hoses connected to your brakes.

rswheelnut

244 posts

206 months

Monday 6th July 2009
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must admit i find stock brakes not much good even on "enthusuastic" road driving.

I had a set of green EBC on a previous BMW (E90 320d) which i used to do track days with (incl the ring) and they were great, so I would consider them - although maybe red grade for the heavy M5.

belleair302

6,995 posts

230 months

Monday 6th July 2009
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EBC Reds are OK but do wear down the disk over time and are somewhat dusty. Not a bad choice.

TimR69

2,153 posts

250 months

Monday 6th July 2009
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I've got EBC reds on just now and they're very dusty.

nicky284

14 posts

207 months

Monday 6th July 2009
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hey dude, i just switched from the original bmw textar pads to axxis ultimate street pads. highly recommended for road use and priced better than the pagids. work well from cold as well. i was going to change the hoses but i read you can have problems bleeding them afterwards due to the dsc system??? the pedal feel isn't bad though, i just ran a litre of fresh dot 4 through the old system, it took me a while to find the brake fluid reservoir though, lol.

dan101smith

17,009 posts

234 months

Monday 6th July 2009
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Don't go for EBC Greenstuff as they're not designed for something as heavy as the E39 (read: they're crap).

For fast road / Ring use have a look at something like Ferodo DS2500s. Not too hard on discs, not too expensive. But, they're not the last word in stopping power either.

The better they stop, the harder they are on discs.

Altrezia

Original Poster:

8,728 posts

234 months

Monday 6th July 2009
quotequote all
dan101smith said:
Don't go for EBC Greenstuff as they're not designed for something as heavy as the E39 (read: they're crap).

For fast road / Ring use have a look at something like Ferodo DS2500s. Not too hard on discs, not too expensive. But, they're not the last word in stopping power either.

The better they stop, the harder they are on discs.
I'm not too woried about disc usage, as I only do about 100 miles a week. What are the pagids like?

oola

2,685 posts

246 months

Tuesday 7th July 2009
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belleair302 said:
The ring is light on brakes compared to Donnington / Silverstone. It is more of a flowing track so no worries about pads etc to be honest.

I would however look at getting new fluids and maybe new hoses connected to your brakes.
True, however if your first visit then you're likely to be on the brakes more than someone with track knowledge.

Having experienced Pagids RS29's on M3 and CSL (on standard brakes and AP's), they are a good pad but can crack and break up when they are subjected to extreme heat. A decent fluid, hoses and pad change are more than adequate for the Ring though.

rswheelnut

244 posts

206 months

Tuesday 7th July 2009
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TimR69 said:
I've got EBC reds on just now and they're very dusty.
How are they at holding back the heat though and avoiding fade and disc warpage?

For "normal" street driving, do you notice much differnce in feel compared to stock?

TimR69

2,153 posts

250 months

Tuesday 7th July 2009
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rswheelnut said:
TimR69 said:
I've got EBC reds on just now and they're very dusty.
How are they at holding back the heat though and avoiding fade and disc warpage?

For "normal" street driving, do you notice much differnce in feel compared to stock?
I've not taken it on track and haven't really pushed them too hard on the road yet but they feel a lot more responsive compared to the Textar pads that were on it before.

I would've liked to put Pagids on it as I had a set of Pagid Blues on my Fiat Coupe. That's now temporarily running on standard pads and the difference is frightening in a bad way frown

dan101smith

17,009 posts

234 months

Tuesday 7th July 2009
quotequote all
Altrezia said:
dan101smith said:
Don't go for EBC Greenstuff as they're not designed for something as heavy as the E39 (read: they're crap).

For fast road / Ring use have a look at something like Ferodo DS2500s. Not too hard on discs, not too expensive. But, they're not the last word in stopping power either.

The better they stop, the harder they are on discs.
I'm not too woried about disc usage, as I only do about 100 miles a week. What are the pagids like?
I use RS29s all round on my M3, and they're great - no fade, even on tracks that are heavy on brakes. You can occassionally get a bit of pad transfer, but that soons goes.

You might find them too extreme for road use though, as they can squeal excessively and generate a fair bit of dust. But I've yet to find anything that stops the car quicker.

Altrezia

Original Poster:

8,728 posts

234 months

Wednesday 8th July 2009
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Cheers all - some good food for thought.