I have a gp2 that I had my second set of rotors warp. The dealer replaced the first set but refused to replace the second set under warranty. I have around 13K miles They wanted $1,900.00 to replace all 4 rotors and pads. Kinda think they are getting a little to greedy as I bought mini parts from another dealer not in my area for $500.00 and $225 for some yellow stuff pads.
Anyone have similar problems with front rotors and caliper pistons. My dealer probably never checked to see if I have a frozen piston. I do drive the car very aggressively from time to time

 

So what have you done to go through two sets of brakes in 13k?

 

What he said.

Something doesn't add up here.

 

Each set of rotors lasted around 3 track days each session 25 minutes and is done 4-5 times a day. I drive hard and take a slow cool down lap, Park the car after a run against a wood block so as to not need the emergency brake and roll the car back 1 foot or 2 a few minutes after it is parked. not sure if 1 or both rotors are warped. I will check run out on all 4 rotors next time I have some time.
Just took 1 caliper off and looked at the dust boots and the 3 outer ones are starting to show signs of cracking No holes or melted spots. Ceramic tops are good no signs of cracking. The pads were worn uneven with the leading edge on both thicker than the trailing edge. These callipers have 3 sizes of pistons (32 mm 30 mm and 27 mm I think) I forgot to see which one is on the leading end DOOHHH
Has anyone had any experience turning these rotors. I mic'ed mine and it is around 25.7 mm

 

Dude, pads, rotors and tires are consumables in track land. If you wanna play, you got to pay. Your lucky you got help the first time.

 

^+1
If you are tracking your car, pay for your own pads and rotors.
Don't scam the warranty.

 

Out of interest I have found these rotors to be very durable.

I am running 2x dedicated competition cars running these brakes. These are competition cars, not street driven. With competition pads (pagid rs29 and carbotech rp2) the discs have lasted extremely well.

I have replaced the pistons on both cars with metal pistons. The first car had a few signs of cracking after 1000km, not too major. after that I replaced both sets.

I think your problem is probably overheated oem pads causing disc deposits.

 

same here we have 3 track day GP2's and they all melted pistons and got upgraded to metal pistons with EBC yellows. 1 of the cars has gone thru 5 sets of Yellow pads without damaging the front discs and 1 set of rear discs went metal to metal. We realized the life span of Yellows is 1/2 of pad thickness before they turn to dust. On a positive note EBC will be producing the Blue Stuff pads for our cars so we can test them out.

 

Gemster and Swimbaxter I was not trying to scam the warranty... I had an 09 JCW that I tracked about 6-7 times and did not wear out 1 set of rotors. The GP will out brake a 09 JCW by a little but i don't think the rotors should warp after that limited use. I fully understand that you play you pay and that tires pads, rotors and many other parts are consumables, but at what rate. My R-6s and now R-7s are lasting longer than the rotors.
There was slight cracking on 1 of the rubber dust seals on the outboard pistons on the side I looked at yesterday The ceramic tops showed no signs of cracking but did not remove and inspect the pistons. I will tear down and rebuild both sides and see if that does not clear up the issue, Maybe a draging piston or 2 but nothing is pulling. The pads are not worn out but the rotors are not as smoothe as I expected, maybe an inconsistant texture issue on the rotor? Need to check the run out also.
Any other ideas, please chime in.

 

A few thoughts. How much faster is the gp2 then your 09 especially on the straights ? Case in point I ran a BMW 128 on the track it had the performance brake upgrade ( essentially 135 brakes) I changed rotors once in 3 years never had a caliper melting issue and pads wore normal. My 135 counterparts were cooking rotors calipers pads everything. They were consistently 10 - 20 mph faster then me on all the tracks. I always said the added speed and longer braking needs ( along with the additional heat ) and a little heavier car is what caused all the damage for the 135 guys. I don't think you wrapped the rotors. The pads deposited in a bad way. I think you need to change to track pads for the 3 times you go and then swap back to OEM for the rest of the time. Driving style <<<<<<<. Read not ability may be a factor also. Trail braking. Early braking and car not set up otherwise forcing you to compensate with the brakes My .02

When u measure rotors don't use a dial indicator. Cut the rotor into 8 slices like a pizza and take a caliper and measure at 2 points within each slice Write them down and then compare


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Yup sounds like uneven pad deposits from cooking the stock pads. Upgrade the pads and put new rotors on and I bet the problem goes away.

 

Warranty does not cover track or competition use.

Upgrade the pads, replace your rotors, and switch to the metal pistons. The stock pads are not capable of handling heavy track use.

 

Yep, track use will put a beating on your rotors. Also, it could be pad deposits on your rotors and not warping. Finally, be sure that you don't wash your wheels right after driving your car hard, the cold water shock can warp your pads.

 

Question for Way or Jerry or Eric, what aftermarket replacement pads are available for GP2 daily use with occasional HPDE/Auto-X?

Do you recommend swapping track pads in/out when needed so not to cook the OEM pads?

 

Yeah, the best performing street/track combo pads are the Hawk HP+ pads (listed on our site for the 135i, which is the correct pad for your car). You can run these pads on both street and track--the only negative is that they tend to be a little bit squealier than straight street pads. I did swap pads at the track for a while, but you run into bedding issues: you don't want mismatched pads/rotors on the track without bedding them.

 

My stock pads are pretty squealy.

When it comes time to do brakes, I'd like to make the switch to HP+ with metal pistons.

Shame there aren't any better rotor options out there.

 

pad deposits sounds like the issue I need to check. I had a grinding rear brake problem several months ago and I suspect that the metal flakes in the rear pads were wet when parked and actually rusted to the rotor. I ended up sanding the residue off with 150 grit sand paper No damage to the rotors and the pads seemed to work fine after that

Drive hard, At Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR). My top speed is usually 128-132 mph just before a hard right that slows down to 55 or so. The GP is a little faster but not by much. I have the same suspension on both cars. KW V3 valved for a mini substantially higher spring rates than stock. I never smoked the brakes. I like the dial indicator to look for warp, The thickness of the rotor is also very important.

Zillion, The dealer where I buy my Minis at has track days they put on at a local track. They encourage participation They never mentioned that you will void the warranty. I don't remember My 09 JCW ever needing a pad change?? Sold it at 34K miles. I probably just forgot. Never changed the rotors.

Helix, I would not intentionally put any metal thru the thermal shock that would occur by getting hot rotors/pads wet. I actually wash the wheels off the car a day or 2 later as they are my track tires and I drive my Mini to the track What is your opinion of Yellow Stuff pads?

Thanks to everyone for all the thought you have put into this subject

 

Having tracked MINIs for awhile now and had a back to back direct comparison between the Yellow stuff pads and Carbotech XP10, I can say, hands down the Yellow stuff don't hold a candle to the Carbos. I would not use them on the track again, ever. First, your brake pedal force is much higher with the Yellow stuff to get good braking. This means the piston pressure is higher in the calipers and the pads are going to wedge more. I also found that the Yellow stuff were not linear. They would build up grip as they heat up which meant that I had to release the brake to get even braking, then the release was abrupt. Also, these pads are only rated to about 900 deg vs 1600 for the Carbos and you may be melting the pad. I melted a set of Wilwood BP20 (rated to 1100 deg) street/track pad on a rain day at the track, but never had a problem with the Wilwood Polly H race pads. Things get really hot in there.

Point is - get a real set of track/race pads for your track events and go from there. I promise, you will be very happy. Remember your brakes are off one of the BMWs (sorry don't remember which) so there should be plenty of options out there. While Carbotechs are my first choice and are easy on the rotors for wear, Hawks do well but wear the rotors more.

Sorry about the warped rotors. I am probably less kind to mine but have not had that problem, at least not that I caused (another story). But I am good with the track pads, always bed them in properly, take care to warm the brakes up slowly during the first lap and I keep 2 full sets on hand in addition to the street pads along with a set of rotors for my track events.

 

We would use the Yellowstuff GP2 pads for the track.

They are really easy to change so I would use stock or the GP2 Reds on the street and just change when you go to the track.

I've never had good luck with Hawks so I don't recommend them.

 

I've run EBC pads on the track to good effect. They tend to wear faster than other pads but probably put less of a beating on the rotors. We used to sell tons of EBC, but we had issues with them de-laminating so I'm less enthusiastic about them than I used to be. We'll still sell them, but I prefer Hawk pads.

 

Seems pretty ridiculous that a car designed and intended for regular use on the track would include brakes that won't hold up to more than a few track days... A quick Google search indicates the 135i guys have a lot of issues with failing brake pistons - granted it's a heavier car, but still gives me cause for concern.

Has anyone used this kit? http://www.racingbrake.com/Save-10-o...p/bb-61bsp.htm

 

ftfy. It's like BMW crippling their beautiful 1M by giving it practically zero front camber. How can a car manufacturer so severely cripple a car they are touting as track-ready? Especially since including camber adjustment is practically "free" when they're designing a car. Kind of off topic but the point is that no matter what the advertising tells you there are very few cars out there that can regularly handle the abuse track days/NASA TT/etc. can dish out.

 

I work in the automotive industry...

Dealerships are there to make money, nothing more, nothing less. Remember that. Of course they want to support you going to the track, and of course they're going to not mention that tracking the car voids the warranty on certain components.

Don't believe me? Okay then...

 

Yes, that is the kit I used to rebuild the brakes on my two cars. No problems with it.

Turner motorsports has a similar kit

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-11...-e82-135i.aspx

You are unlikely to need this on the GP unless you do a large amount of trackwork. My first car had done 2000km of racing when I replaced those. There was only very minor cracking to 3 pistons, but I decided to replace them anyway as I new the problem would only get worse. My second car had done 1000km of rallies, which is very hard on the brakes, and when we removed the oem pistons they looked like new with no cracking.

To be honest, unless you have a dedicated track only car I wouldn't replace them, just keep an eye on them and replace them when they start to show signs of cracking

 

I find it odd that Turner's replacement pistons are aluminum which will transfer heat into the brake fluid in the caliper. The SS ones would be much better option.