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Originally Posted by AY4EVR
Sounds like the thing to do is to get the RB rotors for the CCB calipers and get track pads elsewhere. I like the Carbotech idea -- I have used their XP 10/8 setup on my Mini JCW and was very happy with it. Good to know they are flexible with producing that size pad.
Anyone else know if Hawk, Pagid, or anyone else makes aftermarket nonceramic track pads for the CCB calipers?
I'm trying to outfit my '15 M3 for the track. I bought it used, it came w/ CCB's. I'm not about to track them; just want to do HDPE / track days, nothing competitive, so not worth $12k+ to me to have the unsprung weight benefit. Bought an extra set of stock wheels and put sport cup 2's on them for the track, so they'll work w/ the CCB calipers without spacers, fender rolling, DCS issues, etc.
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Be careful... It appears that's exactly what RacingBrake did. They made (procured?) some rotors and then went out to find metallic (non-CCB) pads which would "fit" the BMW/Brembo/CCB calipers...
They made a terrible choice in choosing pads which simply "fit" the calipers. They obviously did not check the piston contact area on the pad backing plate (or did not care). This not only destroyed my pads and rotors but also effectively destroyed my pistons and calipers as well. (...and they wouldn't even refund the full cost of their kit - much less the price of the additional damage it did to my calipers). Based on the hole pattern in the backing plate, I'm guessing the pads they found which "fit" were intended for 4-piston calipers and not the 6-piston CCB calipers.
Just because a pad "fits" the calipers doesn't mean its appropriate for the application. My case is a perfect example. Take a look at the photos I posted of the RB pad backing plate to see what the piston contact area looked like and see the resulting damage to the pads/plates and calipers.
Pad backing plate design aside, it may not even be sufficient to find a metallic pad which "works" (vs "fits") the CCB calipers. The CCB calipers only have room for pads which have about 12mm of pad material. While this thickness might be sufficient for CCB pads, it might very well not be sufficient for metallic pads. The smallest variant of the AP/Essex Radi-Cal brake kit I am now getting ready to put on the car uses 18mm pads and they have another which supports 24mm pads. 12mm might be OK for CCB pads, but maybe not for metallic....
I've been running CCB's on the track and they work great. The unspring weight is the least of it. The initial bite is better, the grip is more linear, they don't fade, and they actually last longer than iron brakes. They DO perform better on the track. Its just that they are much more expensive to maintain. If I can get 95% of the performance at 25% of the maintenance cost, that would be a good thing. If you are not regularly tracking your vehicle I probably wouldn't even change them out (no brake dust)... I went through a full set of rotors and 2 full sets of pads in about a year of track time. (My car sees about 95% track use). That's about 25 full-on track days with each day consisting of 5-6 25 minutes sessions. ...and these are not "club days". These are full on track sessions where I can often go a whole session and never have to negotiate a point-by (either way). On average, there might only be 2-5 cars on the track during an entire session. So yeah, "full on", continual high speeds and heavy braking! ;-)
Ironically, its when you run the CCB's hard (or competitively) that they become very expensive. If you are only running a couple of HPDE track days a year I would never consider switching them out. HPDE events are not that demanding and if you are only running a couple of them a year...
BTW... A cheaper/better track solution is to run Apex Arc-8 wheels (19x10 et 25) wheels square. They will clear the CCB's, suspension, and bodywork just fine, are available in black, are a much cheaper wheel ($300). Running them square will allow you to rotate any wheel to any corner to balance wear. The Sport Cup 2's are a great tire but if you are running a dedicated set of track wheels you'll find the Hoosier R7 (285/35-19) race slicks will run circles around them on the track! The R7's are about the same price as the Cup2's ($300) and you can buy them from Tire Rack already heat cycled in.