Brakes

I don't know if there is really THAT much difference between car and bike brakes, but I would treat new pads just the same. Hard braking for a good 15 mins alone a nice and quiet road.
 
My brakes are so hard that I actually have to replace my windscreen at every set of traffic lights because I end up headbutting the window no matter how gently I try to brake. I also get my interior wet-vacced every week to remove the blood stains from the inevitable bleeding from my forehead.

It's really quite annoying.
 
Kenai said:
My brakes are so hard that I actually have to replace my windscreen at every set of traffic lights because I end up headbutting the window no matter how gently I try to brake. I also get my interior wet-vacced every week to remove the blood stains from the inevitable bleeding from my forehead.

It's really quite annoying.
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Whatever you do, do not get 318i brakes, I hear they are ferocious.

You will be exiting the car ala GTA4 style with those bad boys.
 
Everybody does bang on about BMW brakes being rubbish but frankly I've found mine to be absolutely excellent - the original road test of my car recorded a 60-0 time of 2.7 seconds and Autocar had this to say:

The wet weather had little effect on braking times. It's ventilated front and solid rear discs brought the 530i to a standstill from 60mph in just 2.7 sec - one of the best times we have ever recorded on a wet track
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which doesn't sound that shabby?

I think a lot of the criticism is bandwagoning based on the fact that they don't resist fade particularly well so are largely useless after 5-10 laps of a track.

Which is not particularly relevent on the road 90% of the time.
 
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[TW]Fox;22516177 said:
Everybody does bang on about BMW brakes being rubbish but frankly I've found mine to be absolutely excellent
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What have you driven to compare them to though? Have you ever driven anything (in anger) that is touted as having superb braking?

I found the 330d to be ample, but that was it, it could stop the car, it never felt like it was going to be a problem, but it was never the positive reaction I feel from the brembos on the Leon.

They (BMW brakes) are certainly not bad, but at the same time are nothing special.

And as for that quote, tyre performance will have as much (if not more) to do with wet weather braking as the actual brakes.
 
I find the brakes on my 328 pretty good. Providing the pads and tyres are up to temp the decel is quite impressive and yes it will throw you forward and lock the seatbelt. Interestingly enough, the setup (fronts anyway) is the same as a 318.
 
paradigm said:
What have you driven to compare them to though? Have you ever driven anything (in anger) that is touted as having superb braking?

I found the 330d to be ample, but that was it, it could stop the car, it never felt like it was going to be a problem, but it was never the positive reaction I feel from the brembos on the Leon.

They (BMW brakes) are certainly not bad, but at the same time are nothing special.

And as for that quote, tyre performance will have as much (if not more) to do with wet weather braking as the actual brakes.
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Compared to my 1098S with it's mono block brembo's, my mk1 feels like it has cheese between the pistons and I am pushing down on a line of jelly. Scares the crap out of me sometimes haha.

"Blurgh, lights turning red... Brake... Brake!!! BRAKE GOD DAMMIT!" :eek:
 
I bought some yellowy stuffs for my wife's MX5, I even took the wheel off and had a look, but the yellow stuffs still sit in their box (front and back) as I shall now buy some disks too, then take the wheels off again and have another look.

Then take it to Mazda and get them to fit em. I love saving money without saving money.
 
Housey said:
I bought some yellowy stuffs for my wife's MX5, I even took the wheel off and had a look, but the yellow stuffs still sit in their box (front and back) as I shall now buy some disks too, then take the wheels off again and have another look.

Then take it to Mazda and get them to fit em. I love saving money without saving money.
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Hahahahahahaha, brilliant :)

My mate's first words of advice were when we picked it up was "Disks and pads... Replace ASAP".
 
That standard MX5 brakes are exceptional, they have just run out of stuff and need some new stuff and I have a warped disk too.
 
BMW brakes are fine, they just don't take well to track work compared to other solutions on their M cars but as a road car they are fine.
 
Housey said:
BMW brakes are fine, they just don't take well to track work compared to other solutions on their M cars but as a road car they are fine.
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This is pretty much how I see it, too. If I took my car onto a track I'd expect the brakes to turn into a mushy ineffective mess after about 5-10 laps. On the road, though, it's rather different. Surely the benefit of massive brakes such as the Brembo's paradigm wont shut up about are in resistence to fade anyway?
 
[TW]Fox;22516592 said:
This is pretty much how I see it, too. If I took my car onto a track I'd expect the brakes to turn into a mushy ineffective mess after about 5-10 laps. On the road, though, it's rather different. Surely the benefit of massive brakes such as the Brembo's paradigm wont shut up about are in resistence to fade anyway?
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Being rear drive and decent weight distribution the E39 will probably have decent braking provided by the rear wheels too in the wet too.

It's worth bearing in mind that the 4 pots can be easier to modulate but size of disk is the key for brake leverage.
 
I can understand a passenger being flung forward under heavy braking, but if the driver is losing control of his body, especially during an event that requires braking, something is wrong. (with the person and his or her body, not the brakes being like the Hammer of Thor)
 
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