2005 BMW 645ci convertible track day pad / disk /fluid combo

[peterh2]

Impossible question possibly but can anyone make a decent suggestion as to what combination of disk / pad / fluid I should be looking for?

It’s my daily driver and 75% of driving will be stop / start traffic unfortunately. 20% fast road and 2 – 3 track days per year.

The standard setup gave fade within a lap and within 2 laps was pretty much useless.

I’d prefer to keep the standard caliper setup if possible? Ideally after something that will be OK for a 6-8 lap session yet still usable for the commute.

I know this is a bit of a big ask for a 1,900kg car with a limited set of pads available in the standard size?

Thanks!

[peterh2]

GreenV8S said:

I've drive cars with woefully inadequate brakes that lasted longer than that, and I think fading that quickly shows that you will need a substantial upgrade to survive. How much scope do you have for increasing the rotor diameter i.e without the calipers fouling the inside of the wheel?

I expect the front brakes will be the limiting factor, can you confirm?

If the existing brake balance is about right you should bear in mind how any hardware changes are going to alter the brake balance and may need to take steps to correct that. This may entail upgrading both ends, in which case the rears are likely to be harder to sort out.

Yes I the fronts are the limiting factor.

I'm not really sure what pads are on it at the moment - I bought the car 2nd hand with the current pads fitted so I'm hoping they're some really cheap options that are worse than OEM combined with old fluid.

There's very little space inside the wheel. It's on 18" and the rotors look massive which is why I was surprised that they're so poor.

Keen to keep to standard size rotors and pads if possible. I've tracked clio sports and MX5's before both of which were made completely fade free for my use by simply changing the pads and fluid but I'm struggling to work out what pads are available / suggested for this.

[peterh2]

aaron_2000 said:

You track a 645ci? What's it like on a track?

Apart from the brakes it was good! It has the electric suspension so stays very flat and you can really play about with it my moving the weight around between the axles using the power or trail braking. It's no Elise but surprisingly competent in the corners when running MPSS tyres.