[jclaib7]

I picked up my M2 in August and I plan to start hitting some tracking/HDPE events next year. I'm a BMW CCA member but I mostly track with Porsche PCA friends. I'll likely attend 6 track day events per year give or take. I'm in the blue solo group now and progressing soon to the white group if that means anything to anyone. White group starts to move around the track quite rapidly. This car is my daily year around driver.

I need to track on a budget so I want to spend my money wisely. Tracking costs can add up quickly.

Tires: My car came with the Contis unfortunately so I'm planning on using them and then replacing with Mich Super Sports at some point next year when the Contis wear out. Long term dedicated track rims with Hoosiers but i'm not there yet.

Brakes: Again planning on just using the stock M compound brake pads and then replacing with Hawk or Pagid at some point. I will be upgrading to stainless steel brakes lines by Stoptech or ECS with Motul racing fluid.

Harness: Over the winter i'm going to purchase the Schroth quick fit Pro harness and mount it in my car and use with a HANS Sport III helmet brace. Absolutely necessary? Probably not but good bang for the buck for some added safety.

Any other items I should consider for track use?

[CosmosMpower]

Do no track on stock pads, period. Get track pads for track. Don't need the brake lines, make sure you change the fluid to high temp fluid.

Quick fit Pro works well. I would get camber plates or you will kill your tires pretty quickly.

[PackPride85]

Camber plates if you want the outsides of the tires to live.

[jclaib7]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

Do no track on stock pads, period. Get track pads for track. Don't need the brake lines, make sure you change the fluid to high temp fluid.

Quick fit Pro works well. I would get camber plates or you will kill your tires pretty quickly.

Can you recommend a camber plate that works with stock suspension and send a link? I understand the concept but i'm not familiar with how they mount. Is this something I can install on track days or does it stay installed?

[jclaib7]

Is this a decent option?

https://groundcontrolstore.com/colle...-caster-plates

[bentom2]

I’m a high intermediate solo driver by Audi Club NW standards. Not sure how that compares to your blue or white group. Been driving on track for a few years now, with 16 days under my belt this year.

My car came with the Conti tires as well. They’re not all that grippy, but have held up well to track use. They will overheat and get greasy if you over drive them, but they recover quickly and seem to be durable so far. I have 4 track days on them. First day was as delivered other than a brake fluid change to Castrol SRF.

OE pads held up fine on that first day, but I was just getting to know the car on track and trying not to push too hard.

Since that first day, I changed to Pagid RSL29, had a local shop install the Ground Control camber plates and align the car. The next three days have been great. Tire wear has been even for me at 2.7*f/1.6*r. I plan to swap back to OE pads for the offseason.

The M2 is my daily as well. While the Pagids are quite unbearable on the street, the GC plates barely added NVH that I notice. Just a mild increase in tire noise on older asphalt. I have about 3,000 miles on them since install.

I’m still running the Contis with 4,200 miles total. Still have 6/32" tread left. For next year, I’ll probably just switch tires and add the Quickfit harnesses, then call it a day. It handles really well out of the box.

Long story short, I’m happy with the GC camber plates. I’m also running their plates on my 2002 (along with some other GC parts) and no complaints there either. Good customer service as well. They proactively kept me updated when some bits for the M2 camber plates were on backorder and answer emails quickly.

[jclaib7]

Originally Posted by bentom2

I’m a high intermediate solo driver by Audi Club NW standards. Not sure how that compares to your blue or white group. Been driving on track for a few years now, with 16 days under my belt this year.

My car came with the Conti tires as well. They’re not all that grippy, but have held up well to track use. They will overheat and get greasy if you over drive them, but they recover quickly and seem to be durable so far. I have 4 track days on them. First day was as delivered other than a brake fluid change to Castrol SRF.

OE pads held up fine on that first day, but I was just getting to know the car on track and trying not to push too hard.

Since that first day, I changed to Pagid RSL29, had a local shop install the Ground Control camber plates and align the car. The next three days have been great. Tire wear has been even for me at 2.7*f/1.6*r. I plan to swap back to OE pads for the offseason.

The M2 is my daily as well. While the Pagids are quite unbearable on the street, the GC plates barely added NVH that I notice. Just a mild increase in tire noise on older asphalt. I have about 3,000 miles on them since install.

I’m still running the Contis with 4,200 miles total. Still have 6/32" tread left. For next year, I’ll probably just switch tires and add the Quickfit harnesses, then call it a day. It handles really well out of the box.

Long story short, I’m happy with the GC camber plates. I’m also running their plates on my 2002 (along with some other GC parts) and no complaints there either. Good customer service as well. They proactively kept me updated when some bits for the M2 camber plates were on backorder and answer emails quickly.

Sounds like we're at a similar level. Two questions.

Will the PAGID RSL29 pads destroy the OEM rotors faster?

The camber plates are adjustable. Do you adjust them back and forth for street and track? Not sure how easy that is and if you need to realign the car each time you do it.

[dcgolfdr]

You need to swap pads and fluid at a minimum. The Pagids may wear the rotors faster but the alternative would be much more costly. Someone is selling some used Pagids in the classified section. Also check the F80 forum since they use the same OEM brakes.

[dvas]

Originally Posted by jclaib7

Is this a decent option?

https://groundcontrolstore.com/colle...-caster-plates

GC and Vorshlag seem to be the most popular options. I've had the GC plates on my car for the last 8k miles or so without any perceptive negatives outside the initial cost of purchase and install.

I'm running about 3.3 negative camber up front with room for more adjustment.

[DOMs335D]

It's been said a few times already, but I can't stress enough how important track pads are. I use Pagid RSL29's. If you drive the car daily I would swap pads back and forth.
I swap mine back to stock right after each track day, also because the Pagid's are unbelievably loud. To answer your question, yes they do destroy the stock rotors sooner. Part of the problem is that the rotors are drilled instead of grooved so you get stress risers at the holes, which start cracking. I don't think there's a way around it, tracking is an expensive sport. I have been going at it for a year on the M2 and no problems so far.
Brake fluid is as important as the pads and I use Motul RBF600 with no complaints. I know a lot of people here also use Castrol SRF.
I don't think braided lines are necessary, so I would not spend that money.
I have ground control camber plates and you don't have to change them between daily use and track use. I would set the car up with -2.7deg or thereabouts and you will have a good allrounder.
If I was you I would really consider going with a track set of wheels from the get go. I had MPSS and they are not very good on track, on top of it they are quite expensive. Check out APEX for some excellent and much lighter track rims (mine only cost 1300USD) and go with a dedicated track tire. It will mean that your expensive street tires will last you longer.
In terms of track tires I love my RE-71R's, but you have to be careful with our heavy cars they can heat cycle quite easily. A close alternative with much better wear would be Hankook RS4's. I will give them a try after my current 71R's are gone.

Hope this helps

[JTPitsch]

After about 4 track days I've destroyed the outsides of my front tires even though the rest of the tire has plenty of life. So I will also agree on the camber plates are a must. I am getting some installed before the next track even, along with new front tires.

[TimOudin]

What everybody else has already said about track pads. And, no, they won't chew up the rotors. There is probably some increased wear but it's really negligible. As point of reference, I drive the **** out of the car with tires having way more grip than the Conti's and use the brakes for everything their worth (at Road America, a brake heavy track). I went through a set of PFC 08 last year, 1/3 the way through a second set. My rotors show very minimal wear. Buy some track pads, they're cheap compared the damage from running out of brake heading into a wall.

I use Vorschlag camber plates, have on many cars, and love them. The other options are probably solid too. Though, they aren't the fix all for tire shoulder wear. They help, but shoulders will still get destroyed if you push the tire hard enough. An option is to swap left/right as the outside tire starts to wear. Unsure if there's an inside/outside with the Conti's, but unmounting/remounting so that outside shoulders become inside shoulders will also buy some time on tires if done before they're trashed.

I may be in the minority here, but will say that brake lines are almost pointless. Spend that money on a pressure bleeder and do you own fluid flushes, or just save it. The M2 is fine, no actual need for SS brake hoses.

Have fun!

[Twt]

Originally Posted by dvas

GC and Vorshlag seem to be the most popular options. I've had the GC plates on my car for the last 8k miles or so without any perceptive negatives outside the initial cost of purchase and install.

I'm running about 3.3 negative camber up front with room for more adjustment.

I have been running GC camber plates for the past 2 years and leave them at -3.2. It is not reasonable for most people to keep changing the alignment from track to street. The surprising part is how many track days I have run, and curbs I have hit ( on purpose!) and the settings are rock solid.
I run Motul 660, it's worth the upgrade from 600, with PFC08 pads and SS lines. I think for the $100 the brake lines are good insurance, plus they do provide for a slightly firmer pedal.
I have installed DIY cooling ducts ( $50) and I think this has been a big factor in my no fade system.
Finally, when I put Stoptech slotted front rotors on it took care of most of the squealing so I don't have to swap pads....drilled rotors are stupid!

[jclaib7]

All,

This is fantastic information and has changed my thoughts on what mods/additions need to come first. Camber plates, Race pads, fluid, and race harness. Then we'll see after that.

Thanks

[bentom2]

Originally Posted by jclaib7

Sounds like we're at a similar level. Two questions.

Will the PAGID RSL29 pads destroy the OEM rotors faster?

The camber plates are adjustable. Do you adjust them back and forth for street and track? Not sure how easy that is and if you need to realign the car each time you do it.

I don’t have enough miles on the pads/rotors to comment on increased wear, but it looks like others have commented.

It really isn’t practical to adjust the camber plates back and forth for street and track, but I suppose it’s possible. You won’t be able to adjust precisely, but you’ll also be impacting toe, which the internet tells me in excess has a greater impact on treadwear than camber, but haven’t personally experienced.

I’m seeing pretty even wear at 2.7* over 3k miles so far, so I think it’s a good compromise for street and track.

[TimOudin]

Originally Posted by jclaib7

All,

This is fantastic information and has changed my thoughts on what mods/additions need to come first. Camber plates, Race pads, fluid, and race harness. Then we'll see after that.

I'd dare to say that this is all an M2 really needs, beyond that it's a matter of tightening the nut behind the wheel!

[Twt]

I thought this was a helpful comparison:
Brand Name DOT
Rating Dry Boiling Point C Wet Boiling Point C Compatible with
Conventional DOT4
Brake Fluids* Typical RRP (500ml)
AP Racing Radi-CAL R4 4 340 204 Yes €45.00
Pagid RBF 626 4 330 200 Yes €29.55
Motul RBF 660 4 325 204 Yes €19.95
Carbon Lorraine Racing 4 325 195 Yes €25.00
PFC RH665 4 325 183 Yes €22.50
AP Racing Radi-CAL R3 4 320 204 Yes €29.95
Castrol REACT SRF Racing 4 320 270 Yes €63.50
Motul RBF 600 4 312

[MagnusT]

With camber around 3.0 - 3.3 you should stay away from a lot of toe. Camber doesn't add wear on the street but toe will. I stick with absolute minimal toe in (not zero). Works great on the road, I daily my M2.

[jclaib7]

Took a pilgrimage up to Turner Motorsports today to see what they recommend as they will ultimately be doing a lot of this work for me. Here is what i'm doing over the winter.

- Vorschlag Camber Plates
- ECS SS Brake Lines w/ Castrol SRF Fluid
- Schroth Quick Fit Pro Harness
- Simpson Hybrid Sport Head Restraint
- Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
- Dinan Resonator Delete Straight Pipe

Possibly some sway bars. Does anyone know what mm thickness the stock front and rear sways are?

Interestingly they told me to stick with the M compound brakes for a track day or two and see how I do. I can upgrade to Pagids later.

[Twt]

Originally Posted by jclaib7

Took a pilgrimage up to Turner Motorsports today to see what they recommend as they will ultimately be doing a lot of this work for me. Here is what i'm doing over the winter.

- Vorschlag Camber Plates
- ECS SS Brake Lines w/ Castrol SRF Fluid
- Schroth Quick Fit Pro Harness
- Simpson Hybrid Sport Head Restraint
- Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
- Dinan Resonator Delete Straight Pipe

Possibly some sway bars. Does anyone know what mm thickness the stock front and rear sways are?

Interestingly they told me to stick with the M compound brakes for a track day or two and see how I do. I can upgrade to Pagids later.

We all agree that the people at Turner are the best....but I see no reason to do any exhaust work, unless you just want it louder. Most of us would destroy the factory pads in a day, plus brake fade is a real problem.

[DrKevM5]

I totally disagree with the braking suggestion, unless you're just doing reconnaissance laps around the track. The stock pads will wear very quickly under aggressive track conditions, and will fade as heat progresses. You need pads like the Pagids that offer much better braking efficiency and wear. Why take a chance on poor brakes?

[jclaib7]

Originally Posted by DrKevM5

I totally disagree with the braking suggestion, unless you're just doing reconnaissance laps around the track. The stock pads will wear very quickly under aggressive track conditions, and will fade as heat progresses. You need pads like the Pagids that offer much better braking efficiency and wear. Why take a chance on poor brakes?

I tend to agree with you. So what is the recommended brake pad to use? Bear in mind i'll be tracking 4 to 6 days a year so I don't need to go overboard. I can swap out these pads before and after the track event.

I just want something that isn't going to destroy my rotors and leave impossible to remove brake dust on my rims.

RS29's is what i'm hearing but I can't find them. It seems like the RSL29 is the new Pagid part number?

The resonator delete is all me and wasn't pushed by Turner. I just want to add a little extra growl to the car.