Euro Trip - Big Brake Kit

J

jaxZ4

Active member
 South Lanarkshire
In preparation for another Euro trip taking in some autobahn to Stuttgart, Stelvio (again), F1 at Monza than some more Swiss alpine passes, heading up through Lucerne and back into Germany I've decided I want to upgrade the front brakes some more. These were clearly the weak spot on our last Euro jaunt and both Mrs Jax (driving will be shared) and I really want the confidence for some heavy repeated downhill braking on days when several passes will be tackled and also for autobahn, where speeds can easily be circa 130mph+
I've very little scope to practice braking from those speeds in UK -even when chasing the Scottish based M crew on forum runs !

I can't justify £2-3k on a set of Brembos / AP etc. on a 10 year old Zed even with just 37k miles so I'm thinking of some D2s or K-Sports and curious if anyone has any recent experience - I know there has been some similar threads but these have been largely M related.

Link: http://www.d2brakekits.co.uk/

I would be paying to have these fitted professionally and not too bothered about performance form cold or every day driving - the Zed is not used daily or for any commuting style journeys. I am concerned about some reports that more pedal pressure is required - I was hoping for less with good modulation etc.

Opinions welcomed - on pads too - after a few poor experiences with EBC I'd rather use something else. Pagid RS range seem to get good reports but at some cost !

Yes - I had considered just getting an M but have notions of a Boxster S PDK - maybe next year. . . .
 
I would have thought braided hoses, decent fluid, some uprated pads, new discs if they are getting on and perhaps a caliper overhaul would be more than sufficient for that use?
 
Done stelvio and loads of other passes for the last 2yrs and used upgraded brake fliud and textar epads .found this combo great with no fade and the hotter they got the better they worked.that wss with loads of hard driving.lol
M

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IF you go for pb/D2/Ksport etc, be sure to get floating discs and that the pistons have dust shields :)
 
I have driven some of those mountain passes in a 2003 3.0; I only had the brakes overheating when I was attacking every bend on the downhill bits with full acceleration between them (so provoking the issue somewhat!). A fast road pad upgrade and higher spec brake fluid will suffice unless you plan on making your passenger throw up :driving:

Worst it got was a bit of a mushy pedal which recovered after the system cooled.

As for the autobahn, the system is designed to stop the car safely from VMax, its the repeated applications without time to recover which heat soak the discs.

:)

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Thanks for the comments guys.

JE - those PB do look interesting with limited good reviews. Whilst I've no issue with China or Taiwan manufactured goods
(I don't subscribe to the view that Far East means low quality having visited China etc,) , I do fear there could be 20% VAT + import duty on these - plus if something does go wrong it can be a messy process sending stuff back to Taiwan - I will e-mail them for more comment though.

I appreciate that fast road pads help and I've tried a fair few including EBC redstuff, Black Diamond Predator and think I have Mintec discs at present. The last Euro trip did result in warped discs as diagnosed by a very helpful technician at BMW Baden Baden - though I think it may have been pad deposit on the discs - after a rapid descent down the many bends of the Route 500 a few days after Stelvio and 4/5 other passes such as Fluella, Bernina etc.

I've not yet tried some upgraded brake fluid and had wondered if that can make a significant difference - any recommendations ?

Rear drilled discs & decent pads are also pretty new so I don't think I would need to redo both front and back. I'm aware that the brakes might seem a little unbalanced though but guess you can only tell after a trial ?

Will look at Textar E pads - not too familiar with them.

GuidoK - whilst I like the idea of floating discs it does involve a further £250 - am I likely to witness much difference ? Seems like many are tempting me not to replace calipers/discs but just go for relatively modest upgrades - interesting.

Keep the ideas coming please !
 
Discs - the BMW ones seem pretty good to me, I would probably stick with those

Fluid - if your brake fluid hasn't been changed recently, then new fluid will make a big difference; higher spec fluid should also help, as it will have a higher boiling point. I use Motul RBF 600/660; but there are plenty of options

Pads - really I wouldn't mess about, if you are having braking issues I'd go straight for Pagid RS. Assuming they are available in the right fitment, then I'd suggest Pagid RS 4-2. They are not an extreme pad, but work really well.

Textar are a widely used OEM manufacturer, e.g. They make lots of Porsche OEM pads.

Braided hoses - these won't make a huge difference, but as they are cheap, why not cover all the bases?
 
I use the textar epads and found these excellent with greater stopping power as they warmed up on those mountain passes, again need to change the fluid as tertius says.
Cheers M

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A higher spec brake fluid really would make a difference with endurance but then your might experience brake pad fade. Fluid boil is what cause the well-known mushy pedal feeling. Brake pad fade is when it simply wont stop no matter the force through the brake pedal. With the same brake discs and high spec fluid such as Motul RBF600 or ATE Super Blue and a decent set of brake pads you should be sorted although still liable for overheating at extremes. A big brake kit will provide even more endurance and peace of mind simply by virtue of the disc's and callipers bigger size, more metal makes for a better heatsink. If you can afford it get a BBK. If not, better pads and fluid will make a good enough improvement.
 
Go for ate super blue.
imho how good you bleed (that is: complete flush) your brakes and how often is much more important than the spec of the fluid.

with super blue it's much more controllable (if you have normal fluid atm).
 
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