Finally was able to take the GP to our local track here in Ohio (mid-ohio race track). I must say that the GP can hold its own on that track, the car it self was doing good but after 3-4 hot laps the brakes were getting hot and was starting to fade on me. That really was only the issues i was getting stock tires held up good got a little greasy after a few laps but not too big of a deal. I kept the JB+ at 50% running 93 oct no issues on that as well it was kinda hard to watch the timing on the gas gauge going around the track but the motor didn't let go and no codes came up.

I'd let to upgrade the brakes on it and i think the GP would be a good track car with no worries about anything else. Is there anything that can be done ATM besides pads?

 

Change the fluid to a better one (Molul 600) with higher boil temp. Find a better track pad ( EBC , Carbotech). Titanium shims?.

 

Did you have DSC off, in GP Mode, or fully engaged?

 

It was in GP mode the whole time on the track.

 

I am surprised that the brakes were a problem since they are six piston Brembos. Maybe Mini has very street biased pads on the car. As suggested maybe some different pads and fluid.
Also the tires should not have been a problem after just a few laps since the stock tires are basically race tires. What tires are on the car?

 

When i say fading it wasn't that big of a fade, i just had a fluid change done at Mini 2 weeks before that track day. I am just wondering if they put cheap stuff or not what the mini came with from the factory. Tires will get greasy no matter what after they get hot (they are still the stock v700). I am just looking to improve the brakes all around, so better pads, fluid and maybe rotors if possible other than that the brakes and tires worked very well IMO.

 

Also i should note that i saw a bit of fluid on the outside of the reservoir, but i am not sure if that is from it over boiling or Mini didnt clean up after they did the flush.

 

Both my 2003 R53 and 2006 GP tend to seep a little brake fluid at the reservoir during track days, even with BBK and high temp fluid.

 

New pads and fluid and try again. With stock suspension/power/aero some upgraded pads and fluid should be sufficient.

 

Yeah i think i will try a better track pad with better fluid as well next year.

How hard is it to flush out the system your self on a GP (given if you have two ppl). Back in the day i was told on ABS system's that you'd need a tool to have the valve body open so you can completely flush the system or youll end up with air in the brake system.

 

I never experienced any fad on track. The breaks always performed perfectly. I would say maybe the GP mode has someething to do with it ? I know some of the VW guys complain they have a similar issue with the electronic diff/breaking **** overheating the breaks on cornering. Not sure.

The tire that came with my GP were torched a few thousand miles after getting it. That was a fun couple months.

 

I've been keeping tabs on a friend who's been tracking his GP2 at High Plains Raceway here in Colorado. I've even driven it a few laps myself. It is a blast to drive and keeps its composure quite well! I can't wait to try it again.

Only complaint is the brakes. The problem isn't brake fade but uneven pad wear. The problem he reported was that the trailing end of the pad wore down much quicker than the leading edge. The differential was such that the trailing edge wore down to the backing plate before the wear sensor in the middle of the pad touched the rotor. Overall mileage was about 10K with around 500 track miles.

Is anyone else seeing this kind of uneven pad wear?

 

The JCW 4 pots and the GP 6 pots have really weak pistons. They have been known to crack or collapse under high heat conditions (repeated track days). This is what causes the uneven pad wear. You should rebuild the calipers and replace the stock pistons with strengthened metal pistons.

Read this thread: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...questions.html

 

I can confirm this potentially is a problem with the GP brakes with repeated track use. Remember, the calipers are the same as the 135, and this is a well known issue on that car. To be honest, the problem does not seem to be as widespread on the GP2 as it is on the 135, even on GP2's that have seen serious track abuse.

There are a couple of options for rebuilding.

I have personally used this product

http://www.racingbrake.com/Save-10-o...p/bb-61bsp.htm

Turner motorsport also has an excellent reputation, and I am sure their product is a good one as well

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

 

I am very impressed with the folks at MINI. I took it into the dealer to address the uneven front brake pad wear. They opened up the brakes, inspected the pistons and sent photos to MINI engineering for a technical review. After some back and forth discussion with further parts inspection, the engineers decided to replace the calipers on my car.

 

Johnna, did Mini replace the calipers with the same OEM with same pistons or with a caliper with upgraded pistons?

 

It hasn't happened yet. Parts are on order but I think the replacement calipers will be the same as the original ones. Until I hear more, I'm guessing that they decided that there was some kind of defect that was causing the uneven brake pad wear. I've asked several places and nobody else has experienced the same wear pattern. I'll give an update when I get my car back.

Additional info:
We have heard about the BMW 135i pistons with the deteriorating ceramic endcaps. The pictures are downright alarming. When I saw them, I immediatly imagined that mine looked the same and that crumbling pistons were the cause of the uneven brake pad wear. I took my car to the dealer and I contacted the guy who posted the pictures in the BMW thread.

I talked to the tech at the dealer and shared the BMW piston thread with him. He examined my pistons and found some scuffing on the faces of some of the piston heads. It was not nearly enough to cause such uneven pad wear.

I also wrote to the guy who posted the BMW piston photos and asked about uneven pad wear on his car. He wrote back and told me that he thinks his piston deterioration was the result of using racing pads that were modified to fit the Brembo brakes and not mate well with the pistons. Self inflicted damage. He also said that even though he was tracking the car pretty heavily, he did not experience uneven pad wear.

I shared this info with my tech at the dealer so he started looking into other causes. This lead to discussions with MINI and Brembo tech support engineers which lead to calliper replacement.