BMW brakes on fire!! What is wrong here??!! (2018)

Hello dear viewers!
A different video from us than usual, please read the following text.
To start off we would like to say that APEX Auto Magazine conducts investigative journalism whereby the tests are done with professional and calibrated equipment. These tests are performed by highly educated professionals with years of technical experience. What also must be said is that all of the cars viewed in this video were made available by BMW Nederland, the importer for the Netherlands, so no cars from a dealership or otherwise.
The footage in these videos show that there are significant differences and problems with the brakes of different models from BMW.
APEX Auto Magazine is publishing this video in the common interest of the consumers that buy these cars. After conducting the brake test of the BMW 330e PHEV a while back we discovered serious shortcomings that resulted in brakes that got white-hot and eventually caught fire. Brakes that turn red are very hot and are acceptable with these tests, but white-hot means that their temperature lies well above 800 degrees Celsius and self-ignition occurs with due consequences.
APEX Auto Magazine introduced the braking test some years ago to show that braking with a (fast) car is of equal importance or perhaps more important than accelerating. Where most car media aim purely at acceleration times: 0-100 km/h, 0-200 km/h etc. But a car that drives this fast must also be capable of braking hard without any problems. And that is the reason why we do these tests. The braking tests we do are done with cars that drive 200 km/h or faster and not just only BMWs, but also models of other brands with fast cars.
Braking is done with maximal force (with reflex-action and around 100 kg pedal pressure) with the car at a speed of in between 200 and 275 km/h whereby full use is made of ABS, brake force assistance, stability systems and other assistance systems that are used in an emergency brake situation.
The measurement in another BMW (540i) also revealed a braking force of up to 1.4g which is 0.2g to 0.3g higher than is usually the case.
The M4 CS even became very unstable during the braking tests. At a speed of 220 km/h the car started to swerve making counter-steering necessary which you can see clearly in the footage. This indicates uneven braking force per brake-unit and we’re talking about carbon-ceramic brakes here!
APEX Auto Magazine at that time tried to start a conversation with BMW Nederland, but after we showed the brakes catching fire on the BMW 330e PHEV the reaction of the Product Communications Manager of BMW Nederland was in our eyes quite stoic and reserved, the person in question put the problem in our hands which is of course not realistic. What also was said was that one can never drive that fast in the Netherlands, which is of course nonsense, just cross the border with Germany and you can drive as fast as you like. In short: the blame was on us. How the internal communication within BMW Nederland has been about this problem is not known to us. But what was indeed ‘urgently’ asked of us was to change the way that we do these tests, but of course we didn’t comply with that request.
Sadly, we don’t get any feedback by BMW Nederland about this problem.
Thus far our report about this subject.
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For questions, remarks and other comments you can use the space below.

[@Robin-ic7sy]

1st owner car for sale perfect condition never driven hard.

[@tramvaj1271]

Actually I do not worry as much of fire but not stooping for so long. 1G brake force you can get with Yugo 45 brakes...

[@danielson1989]

@@tramvaj1271 Yugo is one of the very few cars that costs whatever you have in your pocket, you can fit the whole drunk squad no matter how many and 0 - 100: Yes

[@thecrew5164]

@@tramvaj1271 u golfu dvici

[@danielson1989]

Haha “why are the brakes melted.....”. Yeah it was Factory option.

[@dokterkarel]

only driven once after replacing brake pads

[@filip2529]

What we have learned from that is that friction cause heat.

[@AhileyGusani]

New world discovery

[@Ecan26]

Since satan were made from fire, then braking hard = new satan emerge

[@googleuser3357]

@@Ecan26 motherfucking genius! We should start worship Lucifer now

[@athayaaa2618]

Wow. Jutaan orang tidak menyadari (million people didnt aware)

[@kadonio1085]

Lmfao

[@user-dh4sb8pl4z]

Me : Questioning about me whole life KZbin : Wanna see some vehicle break ? Me : okay.

[@Kayshots]

없습니다다른 방법은 brake*

[@mynameiscool397]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@presentaha6163]

Xd same

[@verystrongseju]

맞춤법 좀

[@user-fo1eh8yb5s]

SAAAAAAAAAMEEEEEEE HAHAHAHHAHA

[@setwarrantybit]

What this tells you: Step on the gas when you think yr wheels on flames

[@philipandriescu3812]

김영우 he did it to cool the brakes🤦🏻‍♂️

[@hugomanai6452]

Philip Andriescu You think, Sherlock?

[@AhileyGusani]

Hugo El Manai not everyone is smart

[@jan_7557]

@@philipandriescu3812 I dont even think he knew his brakes were on fire. He started to drive again because he didnt want to stand on the autobahn for too long

[@mehmetkara2752]

@@jan_7557 his breaks arent on fire and this isnt a problem. This is completely normal

[@saran.2101]

Goes 250+ kmh and asks us why the brakes are glowing after braking hard

[@Simon-rg7ly]

how about on fire? compare this to other cars brake tests and you'll see that brakes that catches on fire isnt that normal lol

[@fionn1206]

@@Simon-rg7ly it just means that these brakes produce so much friction and according to that much heat, that the car is very good at breaking

[@Errost5]

@@Simon-rg7ly because every vehicle had the M brakes attached, and the more heavier 330e did not. Thats probably the reason why.

[@dokterkarel]

then why make cars that go 250+ km/h if the brakes can't handle it?

[@fionn1206]

@@dokterkarel nobody said that they cant handle it. They are just not made for such extreme braking but this doesnt mean that they cant handle it. The m brakes Just have better cooling for braking several times hard in a row

[@VKumar-zy1rb]

Driver like: "Boring night drive. Lemme out and light a cigarette" Brakes : "ok"

[@Liam40]

So an organic pad experienced non sustained fire under extreme emergency loading. Good job. 10/10 video. I learned so much. I also learned that friction causes heat.

[@f00kinglasrsights89]

Organic for real

[@alenanikitina5929]

I tell you what's wrong here. 3:01 going 270km/h on winter tyre that's rated for 240km/h

[@shabix8725]

you totally right haha

[@schniggolp2795]

those are R rated tires which means 170km/h max. He exceeded that by quite a bit smh

[@kubastachu9860]

Shit I just realised I was doing 260 and never checked my tyres ratings... Although since they come with the car, I suppose they do the job the car is intended to.

[@kubastachu9860]

@@schniggolp2795 R19 means radial tyre for 19" rim

[@makantahi3731]

i have winter tyres H(210) and regularly hit 250km/h for few seconds, btw tyres are inflated 0.2 bars more than recommended

[@BoostedFB6]

The problem is everyday break pads that are nowhere near made for going 250-0, if you get high performance pads with a much higher operating temp then they will be better, but will perform less in normal driving situations

[@ediz1797]

he is testing with m sport calipers. I think the problem is not with the caliper. The disk is cheap i think

[@Errost5]

@@ediz1797 Nah it isnt.

[@cc-omerynrbzkrt2173]

Ne diyo firat turkce anlat😅

[@oyku.akbulut]

Disk alev almaz fren balatasının tozu birikip alev alıyordur. Bu arada o hızlarda karbon seramikli M modellerin frenleri nasıl olur da normal 540i ile 440i'den hem daha yavaş hem de daha tutarsız frenler anlamadım.

[@hephaistosthesmith2069]

those are carbon ceramics my guy they cost 1.5 k

[@derwolf200]

May I tell you that it is extremely stupid and dangerous to stop in the left lane of the Autobahn just for "testing" the brakes? And it is no problem that they are glowing, as long as they don't fade...

[@lucadreier22]

Just in general, an "Auto Magazine" doing brake tests on a public road? These fuckers are unimaginable.

[@j.orzech1109]

usually fire means fade, the brakes get so hot, that the brake fluid starts boiling, altough i dont know what kind of fluid they use

[@DerBurner1709]

you are just another pussy moral apostle who over dramatized this situation. empty autobahn with no vehicles, when there was one he passed by with 250kmh and I bet he didnt do this right after an overtake. after that he accelerated within few seconds on normal speed.

[@ToastedBread12]

And never go to 0 km/h

[@alexanderwilliams2470]

@Jasper c 2:25 I see he never stops entirely yes

[@hardtake.e39]

This is actually video about how awesome BMW brakes are

[@maginaop2564]

Actually every circuirt drivers are saying the opposite

[@maxgg8415]

@@TheBli7krieg not true. where do you take that information from?

[@kulter20]

@@maxgg8415 from this video. braking perfomance was bad

[@squirrelhallowino29]

Awesome? Did u see that M4 counter steer? OR THE SUV BRAKES LITERALLY ON FIRE?!

[@hardtake.e39]

You expect no fire when two metal plates rub against each other at high speeds? Car stops,brakes work,they didnt fell apart.

[@ismoyont]

Bravo for the camera men who running while filming the tire

[@millinag3817]

2:51 look how the glowing part is reversed on second test. First test glowing in the middle part of the disc, and second test exterior part of the disc is glowing. I think, it's time to change some parts...

[@ahmedsobhy6174]

A: dude youre tires are on fire B: ik yeah theyre bmw's A: no i really mean theyre on fire B: oh ... lemme floor the gas

[@xiolage]

That's actually pretty cool, thanks for the video!

[@dynamiteesports3835]

Emergency stop was called Emergency cause that what u need in Emergency,those breaks save ur life u dont care about a destruction at this time....

[@SickPrid3]

car catching fire in emergency situation is just another deadly hazard it should not be happening the brake pads are not suitable for this car, they can't handle the heat the reason they went for those is to look better on paper than competition - lower braking distance at speeds below 50kmh

[@Kayshots]

2:33 damg he almost lost control

[@TGLasers]

Thats not allmost lost control. Jesus man you shoulnt never have the drivers licence i you think thats on the edge off loosing control

[@Awesome321goo]

Very gut work

[@boostedone1367]

Wtf do you expect that happens if you do a hard stop to 0 when going 220+ or 250+ also very good way to warp your rotors

[@dokterkarel]

so when you're on track, or have to make an emergency stop at very high speeds, you better don't brake because you might warp your rotors? If your car is capable of going 250+ km/h, I would expect it to be able to brake from 250 km/h aswell. Not trolling or trying to be a wise-ass.

[@boostedone1367]

@@dokterkarel i mean doing it time after time in a short period of time

[@mehmetkara2752]

@@boostedone1367 you mean like, on a track? All those cars have big calipers and thick rotors to disipate heat.

[@boostedone1367]

@@mehmetkara2752 not every car. Track days some people come with bone stock cars

[@dokterkarel]

@@mehmetkara2752 The calipers an rotors used on these stock cars like shown in the video (M4 and stuff) already are huge.

[@_vindicator_]

flames might be caused by contaminants on the disk and edges of the pads. it could also be if they were recently installed and there is exposed residue of lubricants and copper lube on the pads / calipers - they can catch fire too.

[@manw3bttcks]

How much time passed between each of the two braking tests for the cars?

[@ducky5336]

and here is someone that never understood friction

[@2Drezik]

Nice test.

[@ApexAutomagazine]

Thank you!

[@2Drezik]

@@ApexAutomagazine did you finally got any statement from BMW NL or DE ? (Aside 'its your test thats in fault'?) Curious if the same issue is present on the 530 hybrid

[@makantahi3731]

i usually hit brake in controlled conditions and car can make some uneven braking but esp/abs work perfectly and keep car to go where steering wheel is pointed

[@no-damn-alias]

This is still very good. Try an E430 before the Facelift, where still could fit 16inch wheels. Breaking that from 250kmh is an adventure, let's say it like that

[@metin7480]

what do u mean dude??

[@no-damn-alias]

@@metin7480 that this is a very good and sufficient result and just mentioned another car that doesn't perform that well.

[@metin7480]

@@no-damn-alias i understand but what ur saying is a bit weird those cars are like 2016,2017 and the car u say is older and no need to say e430 or e300 the brakes are same

[@no-damn-alias]

@@metin7480 yes I just want to say, that there's no reason to complain. Sidewalls are already small enough on modern cars and there's no reason for an even bigger compromise on this. In my opinion we reached a good point between sidewalls and brake size

[@oil19505]

I think the 330e brake is a bit on smaller or less sporty set up. Hybrid cars expected you to use less physical brake and more regenerative brake, so they give you less physical brake. See F1 rear brake compared to non hybrid F1. (6 Pot vs 4 Pot)

[@volf4o]

That's not true. My Activehybrid has 340 mm discs. Is that insufficient?

[@bradofwar5960]

The 540i discs don't glow even after that test. Looks like the Msport brakes held up well. Glad to see that cause have the same brakes on my M140i.

[@Wasserglas45]

* slams emergency brake from top speed over 200kph * wHat iS wRoNg HerE ?

[@darkevil6733]

СУПЕР тест))

[@volf4o]

The video has taught me that the 4-piston BMW Brembo brakes do not catch fire in emergency stopping from 250 km/h while the 1-piston brakes are catching fire when emergency braking from high speeds.

[@jamesbrown4401]

The fire in the last clip is actually the brake pad catching on fire. All the other clips are just the rotors heating up to their limit. This is always conflicted with the pad type/characteristic and the speed which stopping from. Any race type pad is gonna heat up the rotor immensely. Especially at higher speed. Triple digits. And multiple high speed stops will put so much heat into the rotor if it's not cooled down properly or long enough this is a result. I personally think there test were successful and the cars did well. They all came to complete stop under very hard braking with glowing rotors. Anyone who understands vehicles and has some understanding of basic science will see this as a success. This is why you don't buy cheap pads or rotors.

[@andrerrie]

Great succes, safe cars

[@pb6198]

Pads should not set on fire, period

[@chaoszombie9995]

That 4 series coupe was sparking because lf brake pads... And brakes heat up when they are used obviously hence the discs glowing

[@z_singh]

holy crap the 3 seris catches fire

[@tengoarteteca6510]

hi wich type of brake has 330e in the test ? first equipped disk 312mm or M performance 340mm ? i have 330e and i thik that i have smaller disk , 312mm for my car

[@LVCMTB]

KZbin : Wanna see some vehicle break ? Me : okay.

[@pmbunmahafajarastanaprima5009]

What happen to 330e PHEV? Lower brake pads quality? The brake caliper catches fire immediately after emegrency stop. The others just glowing disc but not catches fire.

[@tarassu]

330e likely has lighter brake discs and is designed for regenerative braking. That doesn't happen at maximum deceleration.

[@mabeast502]

If your brakes are glowing don’t stop because you’ll warp your rotors. Keep that airflow moving if you can.

[@jeromevet007]

very nice video , but what i see with all the brakes is that all of the cars don't use there full surface of the caliper. like when the pads are worm crooked. or the disc it self is warped. the smaller surface of where the brake does grab makes allot of extra heat. i don't know if this is normal. but i thought that there would be a consistend line on the brake pad surface when the discs gets hot enough the radiate light. ( could also be of the ventilation of the disc that you get these 2 glowing rings instead of one ) but for the last test i would think that the thickness of the disc is just barely enough to make that stop safely ( of course an emergency brake at top speed is not very common )

[@juanfelipemontoya5821]

Because the disk needs air refrigeration.

[@Leomessi99xd]

I love glowing break discs waaayy to much

[@bardanke]

Whats the background song?

[@piotrw1051]

One thing is wrong here is surface color diffrence bracking bricks are from my perspective not regular that making heating in certain places on top on bottom but not in center

[@varun1036]

For BMW M4 CS, at 2:56...look at the area of disc thats turned red in the 1st test at 3:16...now look at the area of disc thats turned red in the 2nd test. Intelligent stuff. Different areas on brake discs on operation on different occasions. Helps in managing brake temps better! WOW BMW

[@alexwithanx]

Thats because most of the brake pad faded away. This is a brake failure its NOT good nor some sort of technology lmao... What you should be seeing is the entire disc glowing not just parts of it. A good example of that can be seen in the Bugatti Chiron Titanium Caliper brake test video.

[@junaidgt90]

Thats BRAKE HORSE POWER on fire 🔥

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

Maybe go for the carbon ceramic brakes rather than standard steel brakes, of that is an option? It might help, if you do track days, etc.

Were this dude recording this on a highway? Looks like it is

[@kotsios1234567]

In case cabin lighter doesnt work. BMW has your back ;)

[@LEVUCARCHANNEL]

Cảm ơn bạn chia sẻ ,tốc độ và phanh

[@klyddmeisters]

Make this test again but with 3 brands. Bmw 5 series, audi A6 and mercedes e-class. Similar specs. 3.0L diesel with 250hp. Maybe som other brands too.

[@davizitoxz]

only I noticed that the camera is very static, even at 300kmh?

[@Reculse]

HM have anyone tried puting thermal paste between the break disk and the rim? Because that is going to be a great way to transfer quickly a lot of heat away from the break disk.

[@QiuyuanChenRyan916]

Ceramic brake rotor has a nature of burning but still retain brake force.

[@thiercastro8243]

Dude! That's how Brakes work. By braking, you generate friction, and friction generates heat. The brake discs when are glowing red, are over 500*. The fire is caused by the material in the brake pads that is on fire.

[@turbisios]

nothing wrong. just go to sleep and do not drive, you know nothing is simple.

[@garagedisimo]

Or respect the speed limit

[@janpostl7695]

You need to keep carbon breaks clean. My friend tracks his F80 M3 and he has a procedure before every track event. Every breaks will catch fire if driven hard enought, but the fire with 330e was suprising becouse of all the sparks comming from break pads. That really looks like inproper breakpad material.

[@TheGhostOfDefi]

The Lubrication grease gets ignited by those Temps.. not great not terrible

[@edgravity]

As far as I know its a characteristic of Titanium brakes, similar to Buggati Chiron

[@serbayberat]

Güzel video :D

[@lexithelexus7377]

whoa ! YIKES !!!

[@yarou26thewise_yt82]

3:54 roses are red violet are blue the time stamp u were looking for is 5:00

[@twola9027]

Breaks have to bake during hard breaking...its normal...in fact with carbon ceramics,the hotter the disc,the firmer it holds

[@joerisimmanuel9156]

that just for brake with race material, normal brake will lose its performance when reach about 200-300 degree

[@ShiftZoX]

I have the m6 grand coupe its an exotic

[@alexanderwilliams2470]

Bro you are like fucking 11 you may have a bike if you're lucky

[@Max-cg5fp]

The brake components on the 330e were most certainly not stock, either the rotors or the pads (or both) have been replaced with low-quality parts. It's quite a shame that these were apparently cars from BMW's own fleet which means they're very likely to be used in other tests (car magazines etc.) as well. Probably not the best way of advertising your products :D

[@Windows98R]

Difference between classic style breaks and carbon ceramic I guess... :P

[@ahoo2215]

260 to 0 brake mean fire

[@samuray281]

weight ?

[@Spontan-it3nz]

Wondering there's a huge truck behind this car while he doing this.

[@OlavAlexanderMjelde]

Nothing to see here, this is just some premium flames.

[@thaninjaaaa8970]

We learn out of this that the 330e (last car) has to small brakes for the weight it carryes. It need much bigger brakes so they dont heat up tjat much to light the brake pads on fire !!

[@jasonspink1981]

I have the 330e. Changed the rotors out, rebuilt the calipers and upgraded pads after a few trips. The originals always drag the rotors, cause insane amounts of dust, and feel spongy at high speeds. After upgrades, 100% difference. I wonder what the rotor temps were before braking.

[@thaninjaaaa8970]

@@jasonspink1981 I asume hotter rotor temps than the other one's for sure ! And if you say that the stock brake system on yours was junk then we know for sure why they caught on fire in this video !!

[@tengoarteteca6510]

hi wich rotors do you use on your 330e?i must change mine standard rotors now

[@skity1233]

Cool

[@stewartgrindlay9760]

What’s with all the heavy sparking when 1st applying brakes?

[@Rosuvlad12]

micro parts from brake paddles. is just normal things. plus probably is normal pads so is not so eficient for braking like that hje need some race padles for that

[@Liroyrally]

premium brand

[@herves7452]

hell no

[@josephcasserly8512]

Will doing an emergency stop on BMW's like these warp their rotors?

[@joebloggs24]

Maybe, it's hard to say... but metal is fairly resilient to heat, as long as there isn't external forces acting on them while they are hot. Cool them off, as safely and slowly as you can which minimises the contracting forces of cooling

[@tannochancc]

hi poster,im bmw dealer from china.I wanna use your brake test video clip to my video,would you mind? waiting for your sincere response~！

[@Vee6watchman]

Got Mercedes Benz 240-0 max. braking test? Let's see how the Star brakes perform...

[@Semo11044]

Like shit

[@ZUL_RBR]

270km/h, full emergency brake and you ask why the brake glows? Idk you tell me. I gues the car is moving very fast.. and then a sudden pressure was put onto the brakes.

[@marcbrann]

Soo where is the problem?

[@peter.joseph]

This behaviour is completely normal, what did you expect to see. In fact all those BMW cars featured in your video performed very well in the emergency braking test. You should try a Toyota Corolla or a Hyundai, you’ll know what poor brakes are really like.

[@tcw9999]

Guys, brakes on fire is only talking about the last video. That 330e, why?

[@nowfketgggg]

WoW

[@hozairwasseli7986]

It’s nice to see you guys think about braking too instead of just flooring it. It’s a shame that BMW Nederland reacts like this (maar niet vergeten t zijn hollanders hè, die mensen zeker van bmw geven geen fk om remmen), but this should be showed/put to light to BMW in general. Perhaps if you guys do that they would try to find a solution to this. And at last thank you for this very informative video! PS If you ever test the braking of a lamborghini, lmk

[@crazygames6965]

Rip calipers.

[@crackechpwq]

1:48 woow this beautifull!

[@abugaming2269]

Whenmthe 330 drove off the air from the wheels speed made the flames go out

[@druganov962]

Verbaast mij echt hoe jullie dit op nederlandse snelwegen hebben gedaan

[@CrispThegamer]

Weird... Almost like friction causes heat or something? Hmmm

[@NinjaPickups]

So what was the point of this video?

[@adityarl6341]

EVERYONE GANGSTAR UNTIL THE FLAMES REACH THE PERTOL TANK

[@_lucano_]

It's not only BMW ^^

[@foxyboots]

Brake pads fault. They just can't stand high temperature. Many fxx series even with sport blue calipers have changed pads to ferodo ds2500. M4 standard pads are ok to 240 motorway but not hard braking and not tracking

[@vanskis7618]

4:33 The brake burns.

[@ginby1732]

End now e36 m3 ,e46 m3 en the makina e39 m5

[@domonkoskiss5952]

M6 has carbon ceramics and thats the way the heat up so thats normal

[@azertyaltin36]

I belive the SLR also had fire problems with its brakes

[@drazman9]

What I'm curious about is, if the PHEV brakes did catch on fire due to a stop, would they cause a fire if the car didn't move immediately, wind extinguishing the fire? I mean Brake lines and DTC lines are covered in plastic, wouldn't they be melting after like a minute?

[@joebloggs24]

Don't drive with components on fire, hoping the air will extinguish the flames 😂 stupidest thing I ever heard.

[@FjordTrotter]

BMW : ignites a fire in your soul KZbin : absolutely

[@gtsprocedure7889]

Alternative tittle: Friction causes heat.

[@S3l3ct1ve]

damn its actually burning.... But it is still unclear if its enough to actually set the tire on fire.... And looking at it it feels like ABS/break pad sensors should be fried and there should be break pads/abs faults seen on your dash screen....

[@astralis3557]

This is no problem , if you want to brake from 270 to 0 like everytime you drive then get a car with good brakes , but if you drive normal like to work and such than you dont need that so the brakes on the cheaper models arent so good but still good enough that if you have an emergency at 270 km/h you will stop safely