Hey guys - had a few quick questions hoping someone may be able to shed a little light on... Going up to the Bimmers across the border next month and thus need to make some preparations for the car. Wanted to know what type of brake pads people have run for this car. I'm looking at Hawk HP+ for the front, but can't seem to find anything similar in style for the rears. Has anyone had luck running stock rear pads with the Hawk's up front? Should I be looking for a "performance" pad from another company instead of the BMW stock rears? Also - have really wanted to install a short throw shifter but no one seems to make one for the xi (sadly, only the i). I imagine the shifter configuration is different due to the AWD, but hoping someone may have some tips here. Lastly, looking at a set of lightweight wheels to mount some new tires for the track; I found the following on Tirerack that looked pretty promising: http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whee...alse&filterBrand=All&filterNew=All&sort=Brand thoughts? Any other tips for tracking the 330xi? Will probably upgrade with a KW V3 at some point down the road, but not ready to make that jump just yet. Thanks in advance!
Well I clicked the link for the wheels and the very first thing I noticed was they only have four lug holes... Is it just that image and they make a set that is correct for your car?
There are lots of aftermarket performance pads around. If you give one of the Roundel advertisers a call (eg Bavarian Autosport, Turner, etc) they will have lots of good options. Kosei K1 are well regarded. Phone Tirerack though before ordering as they may require spacers to get the "offset" correct (they are like that for E30s at least). Tirerack will know. (Also check the above mentioned adverisers. For example, Bimmerworld has a better option for E30s: Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.3s.)
Damien - good eye. Supposedly a representative picture, they ship with the correct configuration for the car. Brian - thanks for the advice. I will definitely give those guys (Roundel adverts and Tirerack) a call this week. Cheers, Dave
I'm not too fond of the design of the K1, but I myself have one (spray painted of course) and don't really notice the weight difference at all. Unless you're highly competitive, it doesn't really matter what the weight is, in real life. But, it's a relatively cheap wheel and is lightweight to boot, so even if you're not competitive, it doesn't hurt the bank much. I run Hawk HPS pads front and rear, street pads but they put up with track usage rather well. With these pads, I'm confident I don't need ABS (it doesn't work anyway) and they seem to have nearly endless stopping power without locking the wheels up. I've run two track days on them so far and at least 5 autocrosses and they still have plenty of stopping power. They don't fade much at all, at least not in my experience, but I also have a lighter car and less weight to stop, so I don't know if I can say the same for your car.
