OEM Performance Pads and Brake Fluid w/o Spending 5k on Track Package?

[jpk3]

Hey y'all,

I was informed by Tesla service that in order to upgrade my brake fluid and pads on my M3P I have to pony up for the Track Package. I'm not interested in replacing the wheels and tires currently, as the car is brand new.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Is it possible to get the OEM performance parts without buying the Track Package?

 

[jjrandorin]

This isnt that unusual from a car manufacturer / dealer. I would imagine that most people who are actually going to track the car dont have an issue with getting appropriate brake fluid and / or their desired brake pads somewhere else other than " the dealer" (tesla in this case).

Perhaps you should investigate what our track focused members are using?

Master Thread: Model 3s on the Track / drag strip- Videos, Discussion, Setup, Etc

Would it be possible to create a sticky thread for track videos to keep them all in one spot without cluttering up the discussion board? I often like to refer back to videos I've seen posted but have trouble finding them. Either way - here's a video of my latest track day running with NASA...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[talon720]

There are a few good sources of aftermarket (better) performance parts for model 3.
mountainpassperformance.com
unpluggedperformance.com
evtuning.com
racingbrake.com
You should be able to find upgraded pads, and you can use Motul 600 or equivalent fluid. While you’re at it, might as well get stainless steel brake lines, then if you get the “bug” there is a long rabbit trail of upgrades to temp you.

 

[RB_PB]

Your one stop shop for M3 & M3P brake upgrade (brake pads, brake rotors, & BBK):

ROTOR, PAD, BRAKE KIT - SELECT VEHICLE - TESLA - MODEL 3 & Y - RB Performance Brakes

racingbrake.com

 

[Sam1]

Your one stop shop for M3 & M3P brake upgrade (brake pads, brake rotors, & BBK):

ROTOR, PAD, BRAKE KIT - SELECT VEHICLE - TESLA - MODEL 3 & Y - RB Performance Brakes

racingbrake.com

I would caution anyone from considering RB products. I purchased a set of the $2000 rotors in 2019 from this company and the metallurgy was trash. They get hot spots on them and caused horrible surging. Then when I had the rotors turned and had the hot spots removed (by a machine shop that has the specialized equipment to do drilled/slotted rotors and is not a normal brake shop), you could see where the rotors had splotches on them where the metal had large visible spots on it that looked like the grain structure of the rotor had changed. The machinist said that's what happens with cheap metals get too hot.

Then, I sent an email to RB support and it went ignored. I wouldn't recommend this brand for anyone, and am more than happy to share the pics on here of the deformities of the surface if anyone wants.

 

[RB_PB]

Can you provide your order number so we can look into it to validate your claim.

 

[Sam1]

Can you provide your order number so we can look into it to validate your claim.

They didn't even last a year; I thought I ordered in 2019, but apparently it was in 2020. Oopsie on the quality of these!

 

[MasterC17]

It's always very helpful to know what your goals are for the car, as there are 100 different solutions.

Are you planning to take it to a road course?

Are you planning to autocross it?

Do you want improved thermal capacity, or are you just looking for better "feel"?

Let us know and we can guide you to the correct solution. A rough budget is also helpful to know, but not required.

 

[RB_PB]

They didn't even last a year; I thought I ordered in 2019, but apparently it was in 2020. Oopsie on the quality of these!

View attachment 729768

The order was valid but we can't find a record of correspondence from you, by checking your ordering email address and your name, for the issue you had so we still can't validate your claim.

 

[Sam1]

The order was valid but we can't find a record of correspondence from you, by checking your ordering email address and your name, for the issue you had so we still can't validate your claim.

Then you have an issue with the support form on your website.

I really wanted them to work, but it's kind of cost prohibitive if you have to buy new rotor rings annually, then getting no support response by using the contact method your website says to use, elevated my negative experience, which will continue to be shared when people ask.

 

[jpk3]

It's always very helpful to know what your goals are for the car, as there are 100 different solutions.

Are you planning to take it to a road course?

Are you planning to autocross it?

Do you want improved thermal capacity, or are you just looking for better "feel"?

Let us know and we can guide you to the correct solution. A rough budget is also helpful to know, but not required.

What I'm looking for is to not boil my brake fluid or burn through pads doing an occasional track day or autocross. I'm talking one outing every month or two, tops.

My understanding is that the pads on the M3 fade and require replacement very quickly. I'm not sure if that is true still with the Performance.

If that is not the case, then I'll flush the brake fluid with some RBF 600 (and some PS4S's down the road) go along my merry way. Ideally I'd like to keep the car as stock as possible.

 

[MasterC17]

What I'm looking for is to not boil my brake fluid or burn through pads doing an occasional track day or autocross. I'm talking one outing every month or two, tops.

My understanding is that the pads on the M3 fade and require replacement very quickly. I'm not sure if that is true still with the Performance.

If that is not the case, then I'll flush the brake fluid with some RBF 600 (and some PS4S's down the road) go along my merry way. Ideally I'd like to keep the car as stock as possible.

Certainly the brake fluid is the first thing to change out, and RBF600 is a good reasonably priced choice.

To your point, the stock Performance pads are both expensive and don't last long once heat is introduced. They also wear pretty tapered.

There are a number of aftermarket pad options. Carbotech has several compounds available in stock sizes but are very noisy. Racing Brake XT910's or XT970's were a decent option in my experience (I do not recommend their rotors or BBK's).

You can also reach out to Ken @ KNS Brakes if you would like a custom compound pad made, I have Raybestos made in stock sizes and they performed very nicely and quietly.

 

[jpk3]

Certainly the brake fluid is the first thing to change out, and RBF600 is a good reasonably priced choice.

To your point, the stock Performance pads are both expensive and don't last long once heat is introduced. They also wear pretty tapered.

There are a number of aftermarket pad options. Carbotech has several compounds available in stock sizes but are very noisy. Racing Brake XT910's or XT970's were a decent option in my experience (I do not recommend their rotors or BBK's).

You can also reach out to Ken @ KNS Brakes if you would like a custom compound pad made, I have Raybestos made in stock sizes and they performed very nicely and quietly.

What would you recommend I do, if you were in my shoes?

 

[MasterC17]

What would you recommend I do, if you were in my shoes?

The RB pads are an easy, drop-in solution tbh.

 

[gearchruncher]

What I'm looking for is to not boil my brake fluid or burn through pads doing an occasional track day or autocross. I'm talking one outing every month or two, tops.

I have found the stock pads to actually be quite good for AutoX, and have agreement from some very fast drivers that have co-driven my car. I would not worry about them if AutoX is your primary goal, and worst case you find them insufficient you can swap them after you find that out. Fluid is basically the same too, almost no AutoX is long enough to worry about that, unless you go somewhere that lets you run back to back to back.

Road courses are totally different, and you should swap pads before heading out for more than some early novice laps.

 

[MasterC17]

I have found the stock pads to actually be quite good for AutoX, and have agreement from some very fast drivers that have co-driven my car. I would not worry about them if AutoX is your primary goal, and worst case you find them insufficient you can swap them after you find that out. Fluid is basically the same too, almost no AutoX is long enough to worry about that, unless you go somewhere that lets you run back to back to back.

Road courses are totally different, and you should swap pads before heading out for more than some early novice laps.

Let me just provide a counter-argument here.

Brake fluid is cheap and easy - seems like a no brainer to me so that you can "set it and forget it", especially considering OP mentioned he may be doing track days. We're talking like $35.

While the stock pads may be adequate for Autocross, they are fairly expensive and they aren't going to last as long as an alternative pad solution. It is cheaper to swap out the stock pads with something like the RB's at ~$200 per axle than it would be to replace the stock pads after they have been beaten to a pulp at $330 per axle.

To conclude, long-term it is cheaper to just change out the pads than to run the stock ones. If you're just doing an autocross one time for fun, that's a different story.

 

[gearchruncher]

While the stock pads may be adequate for Autocross, they are fairly expensive and they aren't going to last as long as an alternative pad solution. It is cheaper to swap out the stock pads with something like the RB's at ~$200 per axle than it would be to replace the stock pads after they have been beaten to a pulp at $330 per axle.

I have about 200 1 minute AutoX runs on my stock brake pads, and they are only about 1/2 worn, and I brake hard enough to turn my rotors blue at every event.

You have to AutoX a LOT to wear out the stock pads.

That being said, you are absolutely right about the cost of the stock pads- I think they are more like $500 per axle nowadays. Like I said, for sure if you are doing any road courses, pads and fluids are needed.