[pyro225]

I took my car to the stealer for some warranty work on the windows which i recently had replaced, and they kindly lent me a brand new Z4 s23i. It was quite nippy and i really liked it, what struck me is that the brakes seem ever so much more sensitive (which i prefer) and my dads new 320i are just as sensitive. I mentioned it to the dealer and the said its because its a newer system and nothing wrong with my brakes. what do you guys think?

Also i was gobsmacked by how poor it was on fuel, half the engine size and it cost me £22 to go 68miles! thats similar to the m5 with 2 more cyliunders and twice the capacity.

Also noticed the bonnet wings and bumper are made of plastic! infact the only panel that seemed to be metal was the roof!

Even though i am moaning about those copule of things everything else was fantastic and id love one fo rthe weekends! Probably would get the s35i though ;-)

 

[zarnd]

They are more than likely correct. Remember the brakes will be almost new on theZ4 as well. I have noticed that newer cars seem to have a lot more bite than older cars.

cheers

 

[100%Cocoa]

Unless you have AP's fitted to your beast, then any other car you ever drive seems to be suffering from brake-fade the whole time, no matter how new it may be..... :S

 

[leviathan]

having just owned an e36 m3 (older than my e39 m5) i can safely say the m5's brakes feel like an old pick-up truck, comparatively. i'm somewhat let down by how mushy they are. supposedly my new m5 even has stainless steel brake lines (haven't verified that, yet). i knew they wouldn't be AS "good" as my m3, but...i guess it is an e39 (5 series) at the core so i can't be too harsh.

 

[Mfreakin5]

The E39 M5's brakes are probably the car's weakest link dynamically. The suspension is excellent, the engine and transmission are near perfect, but the brakes lack the aggressive bite you'd expect from an M car and they fade quickly as well. However, I believe there are 3 reasons for this:

1. These cars are getting older so brake components are getting on in years. Although Master cylinders and calipers may be within spec on our cars, put some fresh calipers and a freshly rebuilt Master cylinder on your car and see if some of the braking vigor doesn't return.

2. Braking technology has come a long way in the 13 years since the M5 was introduced.

3. This is supposed to be a more civilized M car than the M3, more adept to cruising and daily driving than track duty so maybe a little finesse was built into the brakes so they wouldn't be overly grabby and be unpleasant to passengers. The E46 M3's brakes are phenomenal, easily 30% stronger than our cars.

 

[StatusQuo]

When ever I drive an E90 the brakes seem too assisted but very powerful,the M5 brakes feel very natural in comparison but the pedal is too soft.When it had OE pads I once tried stopping from 150 on a sight down hill and it really took some hauling up but once I changed to EBC yellows that really did make them bite alot harder from those speeds and kept the wheels a bit cleaner.

I have the ST60 BBK coming in shortly so it will be interesting to feel the difference.

 

[JustinM5]

Modern cars are too assisted.
My e36 m3 responded far better to new fluid and braided lines than this thing, didn't make a difference; m3 was really sharp.

 

[dave_gt]

I like the Z4 too; a friend had a Z4M and it was a fantastic toy. Also had a go in a 3.0i - nice cars, they go well and I love open top motoring.

Every current BMW I have driven has more sensitive brakes than the M5, but I find those on the M5 more progressive. I find they are easy to modulate to the braking force you need, and heel and toe braking is easy. I've heard that the brakes on the E90 M3 are fantastic, but I haven't driven one of those.

 

[blackxs]

Personally I like the M5 brakes. My old E36 brakes fit the E36. The E39 brakes fit the E39. I dont like touchy brakes, where you tap them and one micron of movement causes the car to violently slow down. I love being able to modulate my M5's brakes, coming to a full complete stop without any lurching/jerking movements...

I love the stock brakes on this car, personally..

 

[Schuttsr1]

I think the m5s breaks work well. If you want alittle more bite you can always install braided stainless lines and that tends to add some firmness to the pedal.

 

[Need4Spd]

If you want good initial bite (as well as good fade resistance), change the pads on your M5 to Axxis ULT pads.

 

[plenty]

Personally I dislike the over-servoed feel of most modern cars' brakes. Even the M5's system is a bit too assisted for my taste (although suits the effortless character of the car). The uprated brakes on my 968 (like all of its control weights) are perfect - no slack in the pedal, it's the driver rather than the servo doing the work but the ultimate stopping power is tremendous, with a wide range of modulation on offer.

 

[Kevin The Clean 1]

I personally wish the brake pedal was just a tad bit firmer. But, overall I have no complaints with it. For a street driven car, the factory brakes are fine & there are many that agree. Still haven't found a set of brakes with more col initial bite then the factory pads display... The Hawk HPS pads work best when warm to hot but they lack the grip (brake torque) below those temps...