If you’ve been following us and the people at Car Throttle, you probably already know that they like to take on various car projects to see just how far a car’s performance can be pushed by regular people. Since we’re catering to truly dedicated people who love driving more than anything else, most of our audience is interested in upgrading cars with the perfect bang/buck ratio. Their latest project is something we can definitely get behind and it started with a simple BMW 330d Touring of the E46 variety.
First of all the guys changed the dampers and springs to make sure the body is kept in control better. After that came a change in wheels and tires for more grip and now it’s time to add some better brakes to the mix, to help slow down on the track. The goal is to make the E46 330d Touring as fast or even faster than an E92 M3, for which they set a couple of benchmark lap times on a track. So far, a few seconds were already shaved off the initial lap times and we’re curious to see what happens next.
Upgrading your brakes can make a huge difference. Usually, during track days, the first things that will fail are the tires and brakes as you push your car to limits it wasn’t designed to handle in the first place. We’re not talking about M cars here but about run of the mill models, like the 330d Touring we have here. The biggest issue with brakes is that you get what is otherwise known as ‘fade’ which is basically the lack of friction between the pads and the rotors. Why that happens is explained briefly in the video below.
To counter that, manufacturers are making discs with grooves on them to help dissipate heat and dust and make sure your car brakes as it should. The guys from Car Throttle are using EBC rotors to enhance their car, a good choice in when you consider the added performance and the price they come with. A Brembo Big Brake Kit would’ve been a lot better but also considerably more expensive. Carbon ceramic brakes would take things even further but would probably cost more than the car. So what what the result on the track? Let’s find out.
