E30 Brakes

[Kurt Zimmerman <kuzimmer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I went to my first driving school last weekend at Gingerman.  During the first 
Sunday session, I lost my brakes going into turn 3.  Fortunately they failed 
during and not before braking---the car slowed dramatically before the pedal 
went to the floor.  I scrubbed off enough speed that I somehow I managed, with 
the accelerator and dumb luck, to negotiate the corner.   

It turns out that I completely burned off my left rear pads.  Since all pads 
front and rear were 3 months old, my instructor felt that there must be 
something wrong with my rear brake calipers.  However, the car handled just 
fine.  Interestingly enough the right rear pads had enough compound to keep 
the brake lining sensor from going off.  So let this be a lesson to all first 
time students---check your pads after every session, don't depend on your 
sensors. Apparently uneven brake wear is the norm under track conditions and 
different tracks wear the brakes differently.  So the fact that one side was 
worn more dramatically than the other was not surprising to my instructor.   
What was surprising is that I didn't go through 3 sets of front pads before 
replacing my rear pads.

My conclusion and my mechanics conclusion is that Textar pads are 
inappropriate for track use.  I probably melted them. The front pads are 
Performance Friction pads and they performed admirably. My mechanic did point 
out that my calipers are probably 10 years old and I may want to consider 
rebuilding them before next season.

So now I have several questions.   

1.  Are stock E30 calipers sturdy enough for the occasional driving school?
	(I plan to do about 2-4 per year)
2.  If so, should I try rebuilding these myself or should I purchase rebuilt 
calipers?

3.  Since Performance Friction does not make rear pads for my car  (yet?), 
what would be a complimentary rear pad?

4.  What brake improvements can I make that will still allow the stock 14" rim?
5.  What improvements are available if I move to a 15" or 16" rim?

Obviously, brake reliability is my biggest concern, but I would like to get 
away with spending a few hundred dollars as opposed to a few thousand.

Thanks in advance,

Kurt Zimmerman

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