why are you driving 80mph in heavy rain in the first place?

The advantage of instant brake bite is there at speeds well below 80 mph too. Most hws here in TX are posted 70 mph. Even with light rain OE/OEM solid rotors hydroplane.

Drive 60 mph on TX hwys during rain and you will be rear-ended by an 18 wheeler or pickup in no time.

I like driving fast in the rain as it makes the drifting (4 wheel track style, not 2 wheel Tokyo style) threshold attainable at somewhat reasonable speeds, but all the rain we get here in the PNW is generally light, not heavy. So, driving 9 months of the year in rain, I think I've just developed a natural tendency to lightly hit the brakes a couple seconds ahead of time. And in the rare heavy rain, I'll do it every few minutes with my left foot.
For those lucky enough to have a car with Bosch DSC 8.1 or newer, the Brake Disc Wiping feature is already done automatically by the ABS/DSC system. Our E53's don't have that though :P

Yeah, the 8.1 does away with wet brake issues.

Seems like the 18 wheeler and pickup drivers speed up during rain, I guess because the cops can't use radar/laser/aircraft to check speeds.

anybody know a mechanic talented enough to do a brake retrofit with the Big Brake OEM for an e39 onto a e53?? http://data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4A...AEREAREQH/2Q==

A couple of Dallas cars and coffee supercars. Cool brakes. :thumbup:

[QUOTE=BIMMER_BLUEBLOOD;974115]anybody know a mechanic talented enough to do a brake retrofit with the Big Brake OEM for an e39 onto a e53?? [IMG]

OEM big brake kit being the M5 kit? this was on another thread here. stock 4.4 brake rotors are thicker and nearly the same diameter. You would probably have to machine a custom caliper bracket as the compatibility of the brackets is unknown between the E39 and E53, the only shared brake component is the pads and caliper. That is of course if the rotor hat is compatible with the steering knuckle of the E53. It's easier to just get a 4.6/4.8 brake setup which was larger than any other vehicle of that era (unless you count the E60 M5 or M6).

@bcredliner
Mclaren must have figured out their mistake. This from the new P1 hypercar:
http://db2.stb.s-msn.com/i/D3/98AB87...98_w598_m2.jpg

[QUOTE=racingbmwm3;974186]P1 brakes are not a correction of a mistake. Carbon fiber ceramic braking is now state of the art, especially on a vehicle like the P1 that weighs less than 3000 lbs.

I don't think the structural requirements to achieve the desired performance and reliability utilizing carbon fiber rotors have any validity when discussing drilled, slotted or smooth steel rotor performance.

Anyone know if there is anything I can spray paint my brake calipers with that will not burn up and catch fire? Are the super engine enamels not super enough for the heat generated by brakes? I'd sure love to dress mine up without actually replacing calipers.

You can purchase brake caliper paint that goes on with a brush or use high temperature spray paint. You have more color choices with the spray and it is easy to touch up but you will spend more time doing the job due masking off what you don't want painted. Both are available at most auto parts stores