Hawk Hps Blue Pads Leaving Deposits on Rotors
Hello all,
I see many posts from owners concerned about a shaking steering wheel in their M3 as they apply brakes. Having just repaired a 2011 M3 with this issue I decided I would take a couple pictures and briefly explain the process which is very DIY friendly.
When asked about shaking steering wheel or vibrations under braking, the common response is that the rotors must be warped and should be replaced. Unfortunately this is a conventionally accepted response but is usually the wrong answer. As a result the owner will replace his rotors at a parts only cost of $500-600, but after a few thousand miles will be facing the exact same situation since it is caused more by driving style and how the car is used.
First lets start with some education. I won't explain the whole story since it is lengthy and has already been noted in many places online. Try these links:
STOPTECH PAD DEPOSITS LINK
STOPTECH PAD DEPOSIT REMOVAL
Those links will explain what this DIY post is going to achieve.
This particular M3 was running OEM pads which are prone to leaving uneven deposits in certain usage scenarios. This M3 would shake so violently under braking that it would have caused a dangerous situation in an emergency or panic brake situation. It also causes unnecessary wear to the suspension and steering system. Since this M3 had rotors that were recently replaced and practically measured no wear, we wanted to save them so we employed this method.
The first step was to purchase new pads. We are going to use Hawk Blue racing pads to remove the uneven pad deposits, then are going to install and bed new Hawk HPS street pads, a bump up from stock BMW pads. This is considered a down and dirty method. There may be more elegant solutions but nothing is as DIY friendly and fool proof as this procedure.
1: Safely jack up the car, remove wheels etc. to gain access to the pads.
New pad selections shown. An 18mm socket for the caliper brackets are all you need.
2: After installation and reassembly, either drive your car normally for a couple of days until the vibrations have been resolved, or go out and perform a number of stops to remove the deposits. We are NOT trying to heat up the brakes to bed them in.
Don't run these pads longer than necessary. They are very aggressive and will remove quite a bit of rotor material if used long term. Your wheels will be filthy and after this process you will want to thoroughly clean your wheels and wheel well as the dust that is produced is mostly steel which will rust and leave spots in your wheel and paint finish.
These products (or similar) will aid new pad installation. Lube your caliper guides and use the anti squeal on the final pads you intend to use. Here we have the freshly "ground" rotors with the newly installed HPS pads, ready to be bedded.
3: How to bed brakes is explained in the links above so I won't go into that, but at this point you must bed-in the new pads before putting the car back into normal use. If you don't you will run the risk of experiencing uneven pad deposits again in the near future. Here I have just bedded in the new HPS pads and you can see the light blue tint of the new pad deposits placed evenly upon the rotor's surface. Don't wash these or get them wet until they have cooled.
After this process, our M3 is back up and running with brakes that have not even a hint of vibration or shudder. Since we didn't have to buy new rotors we've also saved about $500. The M3 has pretty robust brakes from the factory so it is very rare to actually see rotors that have truly warped. It is still possible however, so if you've run through this process and you still have problems then it possible that you will just need new rotors (or you are experiencing a different suspension issue). Hope this helps the community.
Source: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1384226
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