[StealYourFace]

So regardless of the typical bmw parts that fit 18 cars over several decades (exaggeration?) the standard 13" front brakes on my 328i N20 stick m sport have a rather exclusive pad shape.

Without spending a ridiculous amount of money, the only mild track day pad I can find are Hawks (never had a good experience).

I thought about buying a set of 335i calipers for the car, which have more pad options, but.... its overkill. I have gone through several sets of EBC Yellows on my old 330i and my m3, and would really kill for a set for the 328i, even if they just had the fronts!

I've searched pretty extensively, what am I missing, or am I really just limited.

HPDE coming up in 3 weeks, will be running on 200tw Kuhmo RS4s (from the e36, fit like a glove)... any suggestions appreciated.

[Polo08816]

Popular options at the track seem to be either PFC or Pagid pads.

[Logicoeur]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

Popular options at the track seem to be either PFC or Pagid pads.

Sounds like be has single piston Bosch brushes and can't find track pads for those.

OP, the 335i brakes are not overkill at all.

[StealYourFace]

Originally Posted by Logicoeur

Sounds like be has single piston Bosch brushes and can't find track pads for those.

OP, the 335i brakes are not overkill at all.

I really dont disagree, Ive been down that road before... my 2006 330i came with 13" front (same as a 5 series) and the same 13" rears the 335i had from the rest of the e90 run. Even though I never experienced any fade at the Glen, I found a good deal on the brackets, calipers and rotors from a 335i - 13.7" .... and definitively never had any fade at the glen, even as my skill and speed progressed... but I was still running Pilot Supersports instead of a track tire. And since that 3400 pound car had bigger brakes than a chevy suburban, EBC Yellows would last a long time, and gave me the confidence to brake deeper, learn trail braking ect....

Fast fwd, I bought an e36 m3, freshened the suspension, brakes and got a set of track tires - a dual duty summer car that I could drive to the track. Last event of the season last year I dropped a valve. With this year being nutty, the m3 has collected dust in the garage, and is finally about to get the motor rebuilt.

SOOO... my 328i is my daily, and it turns out after dialing in the suspension a bit, it feels much more fun and nearly as willing a dance partner as the 330 was (but with more torque, and a little less weight over the front).

My goal isn't to spend 600 bucks on brake hardware and another few hundred on pads for a car that might see 1 or two hpdes a year.

I guess if the calipers were a direct swap and I didn't have to buy brackets (I would do all 4 corners) I could justify going down that road.... but thats not happening between now and the first weekend of oct- I wont have the time to find the parts and do the job with work and the rest of life, so for now, I just need some pads that will hold up. I feel like with fresh fluid (duh) the track I am going to won't see the speeds and abuse that the glen puts on the brakes.

[Logicoeur]

Originally Posted by StealYourFace

I really dont disagree, Ive been down that road before... my 2006 330i came with 13" front (same as a 5 series) and the same 13" rears the 335i had from the rest of the e90 run. Even though I never experienced any fade at the Glen, I found a good deal on the brackets, calipers and rotors from a 335i - 13.7" .... and definitively never had any fade at the glen, even as my skill and speed progressed... but I was still running Pilot Supersports instead of a track tire. And since that 3400 pound car had bigger brakes than a chevy suburban, EBC Yellows would last a long time, and gave me the confidence to brake deeper, learn trail braking ect....

Fast fwd, I bought an e36 m3, freshened the suspension, brakes and got a set of track tires - a dual duty summer car that I could drive to the track. Last event of the season last year I dropped a valve. With this year being nutty, the m3 has collected dust in the garage, and is finally about to get the motor rebuilt.

SOOO... my 328i is my daily, and it turns out after dialing in the suspension a bit, it feels much more fun and nearly as willing a dance partner as the 330 was (but with more torque, and a little less weight over the front).

My goal isn't to spend 600 bucks on brake hardware and another few hundred on pads for a car that might see 1 or two hpdes a year.

I guess if the calipers were a direct swap and I didn't have to buy brackets (I would do all 4 corners) I could justify going down that road.... but thats not happening between now and the first weekend of oct- I wont have the time to find the parts and do the job with work and the rest of life, so for now, I just need some pads that will hold up. I feel like with fresh fluid (duh) the track I am going to won't see the speeds and abuse that the glen puts on the brakes.

The bracket is part of the caliper. You would just need calipers rotors and pads. All of which you can find used on the forums and other places.

[Watsey]

If you want serious braking performance for the track I'd really invest in top-end pads.

From experience :

EBC Yellow - forget then. They wilt quickly, then melt.

Pagid RS4-2 will handle track work but are really a fast road pad.

Ferodo DS2500 - see comments for RS4-2

DS UNO - dedicated track pad. LOTS of screeching on road

Pagid RSL1 - see comments for DS UNO, but, by far the best pads I've used. Immense stopping power and no fade.

You should be able to find new 370mm discs for a good price plus suitable calipers in the used market.

[brigade24]

+1 for the DS2500. Excellent range, release and modulation characteristics.

[juld0zer]

Surely F30 335i/340i grey Brembos are easy to find in a wrecking yard. Or M135/235/140/240 if you want fancy blue calipers.

The E90 guys have been swapping the F30 Brembos for ages so if you really want pad options, E9x 335i calipers and discs should bolt on (I have not tried). You will upset the electronic distribution though

[MacklinUSOB]

Ferodo DS2500s from FCP Euro. I upgraded from HP+ which I did get good use from but with the LRG Ferodo is a no brainer. Available in the single piston front at the link below.


https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...acing-fcp4394h

[StealYourFace]

Originally Posted by Logicoeur

The bracket is part of the caliper. You would just need calipers rotors and pads. All of which you can find used on the forums and other places.

OK - so when I put the 335i fronts on my e90 330i, I needed the longer calioper brackets, you are saying the brackets are the same from a 328i with the 330mm front rotors and 320mm rears? front and back, just swap the calipers to accept the standard 335i rotors? The calipers can be had rebuilt dirt cheap.

Regardless, I settled, ugh, for Hawk track pads to get me through the 3 days I have left. I just bought fronts, if after this Sunday I feel like I need to add rears, I will either get the matching Hawk rear, or the fedaro 2500... they are both new tracks to me, and neither will see high speeds, but I am running sticky rubber so we'll see.

The fluid won't boil thats for damn sure

[Logicoeur]

Originally Posted by StealYourFace

OK - so when I put the 335i fronts on my e90 330i, I needed the longer calioper brackets, you are saying the brackets are the same from a 328i with the 330mm front rotors and 320mm rears? front and back, just swap the calipers to accept the standard 335i rotors? The calipers can be had rebuilt dirt cheap.

Regardless, I settled, ugh, for Hawk track pads to get me through the 3 days I have left. I just bought fronts, if after this Sunday I feel like I need to add rears, I will either get the matching Hawk rear, or the fedaro 2500... they are both new tracks to me, and neither will see high speeds, but I am running sticky rubber so we'll see.

The fluid won't boil thats for damn sure

No just that the 335i/340 calipers are a single unit. The "bracket" is integrated into the caliper, so you can't remove it from the caliper or buy it separately.

I've seen some swap this caliper to the e9x, but Idk if they required an adapter to get the offset correct, or if they could use the regular f3x rotor.

[skier_du]

Originally Posted by StealYourFace

OK - so when I put the 335i fronts on my e90 330i, I needed the longer calioper brackets, you are saying the brackets are the same from a 328i with the 330mm front rotors and 320mm rears? front and back, just swap the calipers to accept the standard 335i rotors? The calipers can be had rebuilt dirt cheap.

Regardless, I settled, ugh, for Hawk track pads to get me through the 3 days I have left. I just bought fronts, if after this Sunday I feel like I need to add rears, I will either get the matching Hawk rear, or the fedaro 2500... they are both new tracks to me, and neither will see high speeds, but I am running sticky rubber so we'll see.

The fluid won't boil thats for damn sure

Which Hawk pads did you get? And just an FYI, I've found (as well as others) the brake bias, when you get aggressive with pads and tires, is more stable with a less aggressive pad in the rear than the front. Depending on what you got, instead of same pad in rear, a step or so done for the rear hawk pad may feel better under threshold braking and especially for trail braking.

[StealYourFace]

Originally Posted by skier_du

Which Hawk pads did you get? And just an FYI, I've found (as well as others) the brake bias, when you get aggressive with pads and tires, is more stable with a less aggressive pad in the rear than the front. Depending on what you got, instead of the same pad in the rear, a step or so done for the rear hawk pad may feel better under threshold braking and especially for trail braking.

I got the Mildest trackpad they have - something that won't destroy rotors.

I always have had excellent luck with the later formulation EBC Yellows... At first when I started tracking, I left oems on the front, eventually, I put yellows on the rear too, it helped me rotate/trail brake a bit.

I was especially surprised how hot the rears really got after a session, the back rotors turned the same blue the fronts did, really helped the car hunker down... went the same route with the e36... the pads didn't last as long, but I was carrying a little more speed with sticky rubber.

[skier_du]

Originally Posted by StealYourFace

I got the Mildest trackpad they have - something that won't destroy rotors.

I always have had excellent luck with the later formulation EBC Yellows... At first when I started tracking, I left oems on the front, eventually, I put yellows on the rear too, it helped me rotate/trail brake a bit.

I was especially surprised how hot the rears really got after a session, the back rotors turned the same blue the fronts did, really helped the car hunker down... went the same route with the e36... the pads didn't last as long, but I was carrying a little more speed with sticky rubber.

That's interesting. Really the opposite of what myself and most people I know have. My buddy builds race cars and most racers he knows go less aggressive in the rear for pad compound. I've found that to be more stable too. Car rotates just fine and feels good on trail braking. It's more than willing to bring the back around. Are you still on stock suspension?
Regarding compound, probably either their HP+, which is their street/track day and auto cross compound, or possibly their dtc30/street race compound. I'd your not too aggressive and back off here and there to let the brakes cool, they'll get you by.

[casualDIYer]

I've run the Hawk HP+ for two years now and find they are perfect for the track and car (340i) I drive. To be fair, there is really only one place at that track (Mosport Grand Prix) where there truly is a difference between street and race pad but a difference they do make. The HP+ does get dirty but not obscenely so. Squeals, yes, but not like a neglected freight train. Don't forget to use anti-squeal grease. The HP+ is also gentle on the rotors and have lasted almost 8 weekends so far. Price-wise, I'd say mid-tier for track pads. Only downside, the anti-squeal shim glue eventually failed on mine. Not really a problem though. I put the shim back on, with a bit of anti-squeal between shim and pad, and it's fine. Attempts to re-glue the shim fail. No glue I've tried works.

I run the HP+ in the front and keep the Hawk Street 5.0 on for the rear. If curious how the Street 5.0 do on track, I ran them for half a session ONCE. The Hawk 5.0 did okay for 9 of 10 turns, but was not at all adequate for the hardest of brake zones. Hawk states the Street 5.0 is not a track pad. They are correct. As for the HP+ on the street, I find it's okay but takes time to warm up. The Street 5.0 is much better for street duty.

Would I purchase the HP+ again? Yes.

[E90lova]

Try EBC Orange stuff front for BMW F80 2 piston brakes.