[Nick340]

Hello,

Considering trading 340i in for an M2.

Daily driver plus 2-3 track days a year.

I've heard the brakes are pretty terrible on track and wondered if anyone can give experience?

Also read M performance fluids and pads can improve?

Or after market pads like pagid?

[5.M0NSTER]

The M2 brakes are not bad. They do require track pads and racing fluid (SRF by Castrol is the best), but most other cars used on track need this too. Like other cars brake cooling helps a lot on M2 as well.

With good pads and fluid you’ll be fine up to advanced-intermediate level of driving. If you are advanced or instructor level and spending a lot of time on the track and focusing on saving a few 10ths in lap times you’ll need to consider aftermarket racing caliper setup.

After some hard laps the calipers will change color to green. They should have been black from the factory instead of blue.

And remember this are the 4 piston Brembo units like on other cars. There is no reason to refer to them as bad. You just have to consider your use case and plan on pads, fluid and maybe cooling setup. There aren’t many ready to install kits. A lot of members put together their own cooling setups. The few ready to install kits are quite expensive compared to other cars.

[dvas]

The brakes on the M2 are actually pretty good in terms of on track performance. And everything else 5.Monster said.

[Nick340]

Thanks for responses.


I've read it in a few places the brakes are a bit poor on track and recently watched this YT video, which promoted me to make the post:

Perhaps he is being a bit dramatic for clicks and views?

I tested the Competition today, liked that a lot.

Trying to track one down with the competition brakes from the M5, which I'm sure have everything I need.

But potentially I might take the standards and just get the pads/fluid, see how I get on with that.

[Poochie]

BMW ISTA-D claims the F87 M2 or its stock brake pads was not build to operation on track or competition racing but if you choose to, the proper brake pads and wear sensors are a must..

[Drop the hammer]

Drop proper pads and fluid in and you’ll be good. Once you start pushing the car then you’ll need to add cooling. And next step would be a full racing Caliper set up (after better tires imho). Depends how much track and how hard you will push.

[dcmac]

Originally Posted by Nick340

Thanks for responses.


I've read it in a few places the brakes are a bit poor on track and recently watched this YT video, which promoted me to make the post:

Perhaps he is being a bit dramatic for clicks and views?

I tested the Competition today, liked that a lot.

Trying to track one down with the competition brakes from the M5, which I'm sure have everything I need.

But potentially I might take the standards and just get the pads/fluid, see how I get on with that.

I watched that a while ago too. The guy is definitely being dramatic. With good pads and fluid the stock M2 brakes are fine. Everything Monster said is spot on.

[eeyang92]

Agreed on good track pads and fluid. Just those 2 changes and I've never had any issues with brakes on track.

[LuvMyE92]

I get a little chuffed when I read comments like that, that the brakes are "terrible". These are some of the best brakes that you can get OE on a street car, second only to the 911.

Everything is a trade-off. These stock pads are dusty but are quiet and wear well, and hold up to heat very satisfactorily. Your 340i pads are going to be less dusty but not perform as well. True race pads will wear quickly, be noisy as heck, totally ineffective when cold and twice the price.

A big part of having "decent" track pads is learning how to drive. Proper brake application will "save" the brakes and a good driver can get a lot more out of the brakes - and the entire car - than some bozo who just buries the accelerator and then stands on the brakes at brake marker 1.

So, step 1, learn how to drive.

Step 2, make sure that you always drive on track with fresh brake fluid. Even the best high temperature fluid, after a few months, will lose its temperature rating.

Step 3, get race pads. If it's going to be used for the street, get a second set of rotors and keep the pads and rotors matched (i.e. swap them all).

Step 4, add some ducting for more brake cooling.


Of course, it also depends on what track you are on. Brakes are going to take more abuse at Road America than at Mid Ohio, for example. Most of my time is spent at VIR, and it's got some very fast sections that can require massive braking if you are pegging that pedal on the right all of the time. My feeling is, you learn next to nothing driving fast in a straight line. I'm going to have just as much fun as you are on that back straight with me topping out at 110 and you at 140. The difference is that at the end of the day, you'll be complaining about losing your pedal and having to buy new pads, and I'm going to drive home on my OE pads whistling a happy tune.

[LuvMyE92]

Originally Posted by Nick340

... recently watched this YT video

I going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the YouTube dude is a chuffer who did not flush the brake fluid before his track day. The sections that I watched (I couldn't stand to watch it all) of the bits on the track didn't seem to indicate that there were any serious braking zones, which makes me think that the car wasn't properly prepared.

Apologies to my UK friends if I misused that term.

[mr_lab_rat]

Originally Posted by LuvMyE92

I going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the YouTube dude is a chuffer who did not flush the brake fluid before his track day. The sections that I watched (I couldn't stand to watch it all) of the bits on the track didn't seem to indicate that there were any serious braking zones, which makes me think that the car wasn't properly prepared.

Apologies to my UK friends if I misused that term.

I'm not going to question whether the dude is a douche but looking at his YT channel it looks like the car was less than 2 months old so I don't think he was completely unreasonable in expecting the brakes to work for more than one lap.

[Bee Pee]

Originally Posted by LuvMyE92

I going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the YouTube dude is a chuffer who did not flush the brake fluid before his track day. The sections that I watched (I couldn't stand to watch it all) of the bits on the track didn't seem to indicate that there were any serious braking zones, which makes me think that the car wasn't properly prepared.

Apologies to my UK friends if I misused that term.

Mate - no need to apologise to us here in the UK.

That YT vlogger is a tart and his vlog is click bait.

My car runs standard pads and Castrol React SRF and it's fine.

As said already next step is better pads so have oem m4 sport pads ready to go on next once these pads are done in.

[Crebain]

Hi,

I track my Miata a lot, spec Miata built off supermiata.com specs. Anyway, the stock m2 is fine for people running in lower runs groups, if your running in a higher group based on time and experience the stock pads then fluid are not enough.

Ive tracked my 2018 m2 twice and won't go back till I swap pads and fluid, mind you this is for advanced group with with free passing. Tires are a whole other ballgame, for all of these things please read the posts in the track forum.

Please DO track your m2, but realize at a certain skill level of 30+ track days and or pure skill and your in the faster run groups you need to swap brake pads asap. The stock pads start dying after 10 ts,minutes at a certain pace and your braking points change every lap. If your ok with that cool! More driver input =)

Other wise swap and be safe once you start to feel fade which drastically changes your braking points.

Cheers,
Tony

[M2joey]

Brakes are great! The guy in the video has an issue or is just ignorant.

Another point that needs to be made. When you start driving fast enough with DSC On you will certainly start making the brakes hot, especially the rear. Which can certainly overwhelm OEM pads and brake fluid. I'll start to over heat the brakes in just a couple laps if I do not (or cannot) turn DSC Off. This is a learning curve every track driver goes through. Of course take your time learning before turning DSC Off.

[JG_Coupe88]

The brakes are great street performance brakes, but the inevitable is that to track most street cars a few times a year you're going to want to race pads + fluid like everyone else said. You'll swap em before every track day, to preserve your oem pads and to throw them back on post track day. Swapping pads in our cars is stupid easy for even the least mechanically inclined.

Listen to the people in this post 😊.

[PilotxERAU]

Originally Posted by Nick340

Hello,

Considering trading 340i in for an M2.

Daily driver plus 2-3 track days a year.

I've heard the brakes are pretty terrible on track and wondered if anyone can give experience?

Also read M performance fluids and pads can improve?

Or after market pads like pagid?

But BBK’s are cool bro.

[rich8566]

I agree with most of the thoughts here. I could not tell if the OP completely turned off the nannies, but that certainly could have been a big contributing factor to his brake issue. I also agree with the comment that more advanced drivers need to swap out the pads as they don't stand up to the heat generated on tracks with very heavy braking zones. My personal experience at Watkins Glen in fact left lumpy deposits on the rotors due to overheating the pad material. I immediately went to track pads for all futures events and have never had any issue at all. The brakes themselves are actually very good, the issue is that the OEM pad compound does not like the high temperatures generated on certain tracks.

[rich8566]

Originally Posted by Nick340

Hello,

Considering trading 340i in for an M2.

Daily driver plus 2-3 track days a year.

I've heard the brakes are pretty terrible on track and wondered if anyone can give experience?

Also read M performance fluids and pads can improve?

Or after market pads like pagid?

In my opinion if you are in intermediate or below you probably do not need track pads. I strongly recommend them if you are in the advanced group or with open passing groups on certain high speed tracks like Watkins Glen.

[gphung]

I think it's worthwhile to get track pads and higher temp fluid even if you're a novice. While some newbies may not drive particularly fast and thus not need to brake as hard, I feel others might exprience the opposite effect and end up braking a lot more/harder than the more experienced individuals.

The stock pads are known for leaving a residue on the rotors when overheated, and they will cause brake shudder on the street for some decent number of miles before it goes away. That, and brake fade on the track is a buzzkill and potentially dangerous.

I feel like track pads and fluid are a must.

[PilotxERAU]

Originally Posted by Nick340

Hello,

Considering trading 340i in for an M2.

Daily driver plus 2-3 track days a year.

I've heard the brakes are pretty terrible on track and wondered if anyone can give experience?

Also read M performance fluids and pads can improve?

Or after market pads like pagid?

OEM brakes from any manufacturer are not made for racing. I just watched the Ferrari Pista go around Anglesey by a pro driver (autocar or similar video on YouTube) and the brakes faded by the end of the hot lap. 🤦🏻*♂️

You need something like AP Racing competition BBK if you really want to track with zero fade.

[m7ammed]

Originally Posted by Nick340

Hello,

Considering trading 340i in for an M2.

Daily driver plus 2-3 track days a year.

I've heard the brakes are pretty terrible on track and wondered if anyone can give experience?

Also read M performance fluids and pads can improve?

Or after market pads like pagid?

are there M performance brakes and fluids?

also what do people usually recommend as fluid and lines? I've been told its good to have upgraded lines as well.

Pads i'm not sure, I've got a service package so is worth to upgrade the pads as well? maybe swap them out before track days?

[5.M0NSTER]

M performance pads exist. They improve fade resistance with heat but now as well as a proper race pad like PFC or Pagid, or Carbotech.

Consensus on fluid is Castro’s SRF but Motul is also good, just needs to be changed more frequently.

Brake lines help firm up the pedal. But I wouldn’t worry about that at first. OEM likes these days provide good resistance against popping, and aftermarket lines expend less thus firming up pedal feel.