How long do brake discs last?
They say racing improves the breed. I wasn't exactly racing, but I did take the e36 to the track recently. And came back with surprising results.
As luck would have it, courtesy of 535i who had to drop out last minute (thanks dude), I found myself one fine Sunday in the beginner's group in Sepang, with an instructor next to me. I tried to ask him to leave politely, but no can do, beginner's group and all. Okay, I figured he will balance the car's weight anyways.
So, there I was, nicely whacking the curves on the Southern half-track, overtaking the newbies like a bully (sorry guys). There's no better way to spend a nice Sunday afternoon than taking your pride and joy to track. The camber plates worked like a charm (thanks Alvin), the car hugged the corners like unelected politicians hugging their defunct posts.
Just as I was settling down and having fun, they called us in with a red flag. No, I did not do anything wrong, the instructor reassured me. Some car blew its turbo it seems.
That's when I thought I had a flat. Kruk, kruk, kruk kruk, went my left rear wheel. Dammit.
This is what I saw.
The rear left disc was clearly kaput.
I drove home at 40 kph. Man, I never knew the KLIA highway to Subang was such a long stretch. Normally it would take just 15 mins. This time, I had time to read Forza cover to cover. Twice.
So, it's off to my workshop the very next day, where I found more surprises.
Both left AND right discs were cracked. They must have cracked some time ago, since the right disc was not making any noise to alert me.
Left.
Right.
Note that the crack is on the inside, which you can't see unless you remove the disc.
I took out my records to find out when they were last changed. It was 167,600 kms ago. For an average driving pattern of 20,000 km per year, that's 8.4 years. Not too bad, all things considered.
So, here I am, a happy camper on 4 new brake discs and new brake pads all round. And you know how the car groans like an old man when you alight? That groaning is much reduced too. So, I would suggest if the car groans a bit too loudly, have your rear discs inspected.
If not for trackday, I would still be running on my old cracked discs without realising it. Thanks HPC, for organising a regular quality check on my car. Racing improves the breed indeed. :rock:
