Jack London said:
I'm going to be doing some prolonged fast road driving this summer in Europe and would like some ideas about upgrades to avoid brake fade. I'll be refreshing the fluid too.
I've seen that there's not much in the way of matching sets. Porterfield seem to be fronts but not rears for example. So please share your experience and recommendations.
Probably not EBC yellows but if you've used them and found them to be good on the M then please share.
Thanks all.
Interesting that you are doing a Euro trip and are looking at changing pads. I'm doing the same with my Z4MC with a Euro trip in May heading to BMW museum and Austrian Alps but also doing Spa and Nurburgring on the way.
I've been researching this for some time and have come to the conclusion that the EBC Yellow Stuff pads are a superb option all round especially the latest compound spec (3068) that they changed to in 2021. So I'm a bit intrigued with why you are not thinking of EBC yellows as they would be ideal for hard and fast street driving at higher temps with some possible track use thrown in.
https://ebcbrakes.com/products/ebc-yellowstuff-fast-street-pads/
I am thinking of going with a pad and line kit from EBC which includes EBC stainless steel braided hoses, EBC yellows all round, upgraded EBC Glycol fluid with higher boiling temp. They are R90 approved and perfect for fast road and some track use.
For racing or hard regular track use EBC recommend the `BlueStuff or race pads due to Yellows having a longer bed in cycle. I think this is where some people have gone wrong in the past with EBC yellows, especially as some don't seem to understand the extended bed in process is needed to get the EBC yellows ready for high temp use. EBC yellows can also be used for track as long as they are bed in properly. For fast road with high resistant to temperature, it seems to me Yellows are perfect.
There is a BMW specialist, RBM Hampshire in Hook, that work on a lot of M cars, and they have fitted EBC Yellows to a number of M Cars with great results including Z4MC with stainless steel braided lines which really improved pedal feel.
Obviously, there are more pad options out there than we've collectively had hot dinners, but I really like the EBC product which provided you follow the guidelines, should be perfect for the given requirement. My thinking is also to do the braided lines to get the better pedal feel, and I also like the fact that for a UK guy such as me, EBC are designed and manufactured in the UK and very reasonably priced.
Good luck with your choice!