M3 E46 Brakes

[Team Grenville]

Just bought a 2002 M3 SMG and think it is amazing however i seem to be having a problem with my front off side brakes. When braking hard from reasonably high speed it seems to seize up and rub. The other day i took all the pads off and greased up the carriers and put them back but it has made no difference. I know brakes are a problem on these cars but surely it should take more than 1 hard push at speed before becoming useless?

is it comon for the calipers to seize, that is my next job to take the caliper off and grease up the piston and try that?

the pads are new and were done just before i bought it, i dont think they are BMW ones as it doesnt say it anywhere on them, could this be the problem that pads are overheating? however it is only happening on one side so i dont really know where to go with it and what to change 1st?

any similar problems had by anyone? help appreciated.

[RatBoy M3CS]

When you say seize... what do you mean exactly.. as the ABS shouldnt be able to allow this to happen..

You do get some aggressive noises coming from these discs and pads...

Are you getting brake pedal bounce, or can you hear the tyres chirping on the tarmac as they grip and release with the ABS..?

You could try swapping the front pads over corner to corner to identify if its a pad problem or a caliper problem perhaps.. re-bedding them in again of course..

If you drive it hard on the road or planning to do any track days just bin the OEM pads.. they are rubbish when they get hot..

Go for Ferodo DS2500 as a good fast road pad, or Pagids but these are 2wice the price..

most likely your problem is pads.. you will find endless threads on this and how poor the OEM ones are...

Check the trye on the problem corner for tread and pressure if this is buggered this will be a part of the problem too, run 36 front 37 rear cold pressures (19 inch rims) and you will notice a difference

Have Fun..

R...

[gwatson]

RatBoy M3CS said:

Go for Ferodo DS2500 as a good fast road pad, or Pagids but these are 2wice the price..

I am looking at the Ferodo pads for my M3 Evo... are they on the same level as Pagids in terms of performance. Any good for the odd track day? The are certainly better value....

[RatBoy M3CS]

I tracked my Ferodo DS2500's and they were fine.. much better than OEM ones when hot... not quite as much cold bite.. but way better.. Pagids are better again but for double the price they should be.. the DS dont squeel on the road where as the Pagids do.. depends what you can put up with or pay for really...

I went to AP's after this trial but still run DS2500's in them too...

R...