A Glance In The Mirror

CVC Calls on HMS

June 23, 2007

By Roger Chartier

Many enthusiastic members from CVC and Patroon Chapters. A premier New England Bimmerhead destination. Pizza. As Col. Hannibal Smith often said:
“I like it when a plan comes together!”

Our host, HMS President Joe Marko, provided us with a safety and brake clinic. Joe was able to strike the fine balance in catering to both the street and track Bimmer fan in his presentation on braking. Hands-on was the term of the day, as we got to check out cryogenically frozen rotors, different braking kits and pads, and bleeding kits. Brake fluid is NOT effective forever.

The Frozen Rotors were particularly compelling, as they undergo a proprietary, 60-hour cryogenic process that permanently and dramatically improves the usage life and stability of brake rotors to create a distinct advantage in tensile strength, abrasive wear resistance and rotor longevity. This treatment is also said to help resist cracking, fading, and metal fatigue. It’s nice to hear the term “cryogenic” without a famous athlete’s head being involved!

It was soon time for more “hands on” as we learned about the important bleeding process, and how easy it can be to do it yourself. Learning is fun when you use an M3 racecar! Brake fluid can absorb water, and can also boil. If you like driving schools or autocross, changing often is a really, really good thing. For the street driver no more than a two-year interval at an absolute maximum is advised.

The “one-person” bleeding kits really rock!

The “hands on” session continued with brake pads. HMS’s own Matt Long took the mystery out of pad swapping for your particular application. There’s no “universal pads” out there that will stop on a dime and make change (dustlessly). So it is quite conceivable that you might want to swap out depending on your car’s agenda.

After the session we were able to discuss a host of E-36 performance mods with a high “blast per buck” quotient.

Overall, this particular Saturday was absolutely one of the best-spent ones in memory.

HMS will be pleased to answer your questions on BMW safety and performance. Online you can visit them at hmsmotorsport.com. Or, by the time you read this, you can visit their new expanded facility in Danvers, MA!

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