High mileage 08s report in!

bigern79 wrote

Here's a couple. The ZCP wheels came with the car, but had been sandblasted and were not refinished. That was my first order of business!

Already had my first track day in stock form, which will also be my last track day in stock form
...

Very nice
How did the brakes and tyres hold up?
Looking to do my 1st track day soon.

Assimilator1 wrote

Very nice
How did the brakes and tyres hold up?
Looking to do my 1st track day soon.

Thanks! It rained in the morning the the PS4s were great. They get slippery with dry heat though. Fantastic road tire, not totally ideal for the track (but not bad at all).

Brakes...not so good as I expected. I did use Motul 660 fluid, but the stock brake pads started fading/vibrating after a lap. I'm curious how good the stock brakes would be with race pads.

The stock brakes on my E36 were actually great with pads, fluid, and stainless lines.

What e36 did you have? (I had a 323i, never tracked it though).

I'd heard that the e9x M3 brakes don't do well on the track, but I always wondered whether it's because people are being really harsh with them, or whether it's just 'regular' track braking, if there's a difference!
Your car have OEM pads (whoever they're made by [edit] Textar apparently) or some other brand?

I've got Michelin Pilot super sport on mine (predecessor to PS4s).

Assimilator1 wrote

What e36 did you have? (I had a 323i, never tracked it though).

I'd heard that the e9x M3 brakes don't do well on the track, but I always wondered whether it's because people are being really harsh with them, or whether it's just 'regular' track braking, if there's a difference!
Your car have OEM pads (whoever they're made by [edit] Textar apparently) or some other brand?

I've got Michelin Pilot super sport on mine (predecessor to PS4s).

I still have my 1998 E36 M3/4/5 in Estoril Blue over Dove Grey interior. I won't have it for long as it will be hitting BringATrailer soon.

I've heard the opposite about E9X brakes actually. I think they are decent with the right pads, fluid, and stainless lines. I have a set of StopTech's I'll be installing anyway, but will keep the rears for now. I was just using OEM pads from the previous owner. They definitely left deposits on the rotors because my brakes are shaking and loud now, especially at low speed.

E36 goodness for ya'll (I'm really going to miss this one):

Wow! That seems to be in beautiful condition!
What do you mean by hitting bring a trailer soon??

Re M3 e9x brakes, interesting, well i hope so, as all I might do as an upgrade is uprated front pads. (Btw stainless steel brake pipes won't make any odds to braking performance, of course they'd be far more durable though. Braided stainless steel brake hoses improve brake pedal feel, but after having 1 burst on me many years ago, with no obvious external damage, I've never touched them since!).
If your brakes are shaking now it's more likely due to distorted discs than deposits left on the discs, as any deposits are likely to be rubbed off anyway.

Sorry, I didn't notice you were in the UK! BringATrailer.com is an enthusiast auto auction web site here in the US. It's arguably one of the best ways to sell good conditioned enthusiast cars, if you are willing to put in the work for a good listing and communicate with the audience.

Anyway, you're right, rotors could be distorted. I have read several threads that discuss how common it is for the stock pads to leave residue when driven hard. Several people have recommended changing to harder race pads to scrub the material off.

Either way, I'm getting rid of all of it

I did several track events this year, all with Michelin PS4S in the stock 18" sizes (245f/265r). Stock brake calipers and rotors. Novice-to-intermediate pace. No power mods.

In terms of wear rate, wear evenness, and resistance to heat cycling, the PS4Ss held up very well. Big improvement over the PSS, which degraded much faster and could turn to glass after a few heat cycles. I pushed my 4Ss until they chunked, repeatedly, and had no such issues.

The OE pads faded on me at the Tail of the Dragon, so I didn't even want to try them at the track. I tried Hawk DTC-60 but the pedal feel was trash. Ferodo DS2500 felt much better, though still not great and with much faster wear (done after two 2-day events). Otherwise, they were great. Well matched to the tires and very consistent. Only at the end of the season, when my pace was MUCH faster than when I started, did I notice a hint of fade. Some uneven deposits, but those went away with normal driving.

FWIW.

Good to hear your feedback mate, and good to hear your PS4S held up nicely, though it sounds like my PSSs aren't going to be so durable!
What do you mean by turning to glass though?

What's Tail of the dragon??
The DS2500s are ones I've heard about recently in good light, interesting to hear how they fared with you.

bigerm79
No worries , got ya, happens often here (like IamFODI's mention of Tail of the dragon, whatever that is! ).

Assimilator1 wrote

Good to hear your feedback mate, and good to hear your PS4S held up nicely, though it sounds like my PSSs aren't going to be so durable!
What do you mean by turning to glass though?

Permanent loss of grip even before they're fully worn.

Assimilator1 wrote

What's Tail of the dragon??

Legendary mountain road here in the US. Lots of tight corners.

Assimilator1 wrote

The DS2500s are ones I've heard about recently in good light, interesting to hear how they fared with you.

It's supposed to be a dual-use pad (road and track). Jack of all trades, master of none. It's about as good as dual-use pads get, though.

On track, its performance and fade resistance were spot-on for my pace. Torque was weak compared to a real track pad, but fine for my tires and easy to modulate. I did eventually get fade but only when I was really pushing. Pad deposits and pedal feel were annoying but tolerable. Noise was just over my threshold for a daily driver, but would be no issue on a weekend car. Main downside was longevity, but making it longer-lived would likely incur sacrifices on other attributes, and I wouldn't want anything else about it to be worse than it is. Better to have a pad that's useful for a short time than one that sucks for a longer time.

I'd say it's a very good pad for mild to moderate track use, and okay to leave on the car full-time (though I still went back to the OE pad for road use).

bigern79 wrote

Thanks! It rained in the morning the the PS4s were great. They get slippery with dry heat though. Fantastic road tire, not totally ideal for the track (but not bad at all).

Brakes...not so good as I expected. I did use Motul 660 fluid, but the stock brake pads started fading/vibrating after a lap. I'm curious how good the stock brakes would be with race pads.

The stock brakes on my E36 were actually great with pads, fluid, and stainless lines.

Run Castrol SRF fluid with a set of DS2500 pads and you’ll be much better off.

80 000 miles -- noisy brake booster vacuum pump, changed
81 000 miles -- coolant temperature sensor fault, changed
82 000 miles -- both front ABS sensors failed in 200 miles interval, changed

m3j0n wrote

Boosted 126k miles with original TAs

I hear as long as you're not always in M mode TAs will be fine - just what I heard tho

GoodTime wrote

About to hit 111k in my 2008. Feels fantastic, but I did just start getting the "cowbell" noise from the driveshaft when I switch from reverse to 1st and vice versa.

I think my CSB is likely original and that could be the source. Waffling between replacing it or just pulling the trigger on a 1-piece CF driveshaft (been eyeing that upgrade for a while) and eliminating it altogether.

Other than that, no noises other than the billion "normal" noises these cars make, haha.

just reading through this long thread and noticed yours. I have same and talked to Martin Motorsports in Alexandria, VA he said stick to the OEM driveshaft vice single if you need to replace...he went on about why but I can't remember lol. He seems to know his stuff all he does is work on BMW and Porsche.

slowe90m3 wrote

just reading through this long thread and noticed yours. I have same and talked to Martin Motorsports in Alexandria, VA he said stick to the OEM driveshaft vs single if you need to replace...he went on about why, but I can't remember lol. He seems to know his stuff all he does is work on BMW and Porsche.

Must've taken a while!

Btw, do you know what he means by CSB?

slowe90m3 wrote

just reading through this long thread and noticed yours. I have same and talked to Martin Motorsports in Alexandria, VA he said stick to the OEM driveshaft vice single if you need to replace...he went on about why but I can't remember lol. He seems to know his stuff all he does is work on BMW and Porsche.

1-piece driveshafts in general, or carbon fiber driveshafts in particular?

Assimilator1 wrote

Btw, do you know what he means by CSB?

Center Support Bearing. The thing that holds up the middle of the shaft.

Ah thanks, it was just the acronym that I was stuck on

Oreo Cat wrote

145k miles on my old sparkling graphite e90 m3 6mt. was totaled by a truck that hit me.
bought an alpine white e90 m3 DCT in may with 100k now at 117k. ess g1 SC and original rod bearings..

Nice
What is your oil of choice and OCI?

330indy wrote

Nice
What is your oil of choice and OCI?

On the old 6MT car 7.5k miles
Dct I do every 5k

10w60 for both

Here's a re-post of one I made in the "What have you done today with your M3" thread, back in July, but because I do have an '08 - it really belongs in this thread..

Clocked 120,000 miles on 22-July-2021. I bought her new in August 2008 having ordered her from the local Dealer. Watched her progress online from May 2008 to August 2008 - as she was being built in Germany and shipped to the U.S. Took delivery at the M-Performance Center in Greer, SC and have lived with her ever since. That was almost thirteen years ago. Still has the original TBs. Rod bearings and bolts have been replaced with BE & ARP. Harrop SC'd since November 2015. The journey continues..
.

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Original Post: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=27834836&postcount=16924

Hit 150k, had a track day at autobahn a few weeks before, car was running strong.

Sadly lost the original throttle body actuators just as I hit 150k.

Getting the TA's replaced along with the DMTL leak, also addressing a coolant leak and finally doing the OEM exhaust mod at 150k.

Time to ride her hard once she is back in my hands from the shop for another 150k!!

I have an X3mc it's a great SAV, but nothing comes close to replicating the feel of the e90 M3....maybe a 458/gt3 or the c8 z06.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!!

2008 with 199,000 miles just pulled the rod bearings they were original 😅 car runs well; building it for light track use

aBMWfan Wow! That's some serious mileage on those shells!

Could you post photos of them in this thread?