Stock Brakes

[Kdubski]

What are the stock brakes supposed to feel like? I've got a 2004 non competition and I feel like my oem brakes are seriously lacking at 130k miles.

I keep the car well maintained and do an annual brake fluid flush with ATE Type 200. I do about 2.5k to 10k miles on the fluid annually over the last 8 years. The fluid can't be deteriorating in that time frame and I dont do more than 1 track day a summer now- so it's not getting cooked. Also, pedal feels fine.

It feels like they lose bite and stopping power after minutes of spirited back road driving. This last track day I did I felt like I lost 50% of braking as the brakes warmed up by mid session. Theyre both oem pad and rotor. I know oem brakes are not the best but these feel hazardous and I don't remember them underperforming to this extent.

Bit of a rant but looking for direction. TIA

[nextlvel]

I had the same experience pretty much with same fluid and 170k miles, especially with brakes feeling bad mid session at my last track day. I recently ended up swapping to a full 996 front and rear with ZCP rotors, made a BIG difference on my M3. The car stops very well and consistently. My only gripe I'd say is the pedal feel could be a little bit more stiff and more bite.I used oem pads, I think track pads and using a better bleeder would resolve this and get the fluid to a better place.

The brakes on my E46 ZHP with stock brakes and braided brake lines feel great for a non-m. I believe because my friend who works at a BMW dealership used their big power bleeder that pretty much runs all the old fluid out the system completely. blurry pic attached of what the machine looks like.

[cobra]

When running Redline RL-600 brake fluid (similar to Motul RBF600) and pretty stock brake setup (zimmerman rotors, textar pads)

On the street they always feel great and I've never experienced any significant fade or change in pedal feel even when hoonin' pretty good.
On the track, they turned into sponges halfway around the first lap at Buttonwillow.

I have switched to EBC blue stuff pads that are supposed to hold up a lot better, but no track time on them. They are great as street pads so far.

[enjoy_m3]

I ran some ksport bbk and had knockback issues. Went back to stock and found myself a great setup for stock (non competition brakes) that worked well in most tracks in Southern California.

Endless RF650 Fluid
SS brake lines
Endless ME22 pads

This setup can take abuse before fading (only t1 at laguna seca after 3 laps). It had good modulation. Not the best initial bite but my preference because it was great for trail braking. Not as much brake dust compared to hawk, oem, or ds2500. Doesn't squeal a lot, mostly during cold braking.
For socal guys, this brake setup ran 1.58 at buttonwillow with bilstein b8 suspension, 3.62, untuned engine, re71rs. This led me to believe the m3 brakes was sufficient when you find the sweet spot. Of course, it has it's limits but pretty good for what it was.

[bigjae46]

There are low temp pads and high temp pads which work differently. Using low temp pads in a high temp application (track) will overheat the pad and cause the friction material to either wear out extremely fast or become hard as a brick and have zero stopping power.

Newer model G-chassis original BMW brake pads seem to do a much better job at dual duty. Anything F-chassis and earlier not so much.

[Kdubski]

I had the same experience pretty much with same fluid and 170k miles, especially with brakes feeling bad mid session at my last track day. I recently ended up swapping to a full 996 front and rear with ZCP rotors, made a BIG difference on my M3. The car stops very well and consistently. My only gripe I'd say is the pedal feel could be a little bit more stiff and more bite.I used oem pads, I think track pads and using a better bleeder would resolve this and get the fluid to a better place.

The brakes on my E46 ZHP with stock brakes and braided brake lines feel great for a non-m. I believe because my friend who works at a BMW dealership used their big power bleeder that pretty much runs all the old fluid out the system completely. blurry pic attached of what the machine looks like.

What pads do you run on the 996 bbk? Wondering if pad choice is as important on the bbk's. That's a nice machine. I've gone as far as bleeding abs using INPA with a pressure bleeder.