Sept 2008. Odometer 273644km. After a couple of years driving on squishy brakes, I decided to do a full brake system overhaul. With my mechanic's guidance, I chose new pads, rotors, and lines.
Project Total: $1088.33
I have only driven about 500 kilometers on my new brake setup, and apparently rotors/pads have a break-in period after which they become more responsive. But my overall impression so far is that the upgrade did not meet my expectations. The new brakes are definitely better than my previous brakes. But they don't give me the "eat-the-dashboard" responsiveness I was hoping for. The pedal is also still quite squishy, and I specifically hoped the steel lines would help stiffen things up. One very positive impression I can give: in the high-speed range (130km/h+), the new brakes really do bring speeds down quickly. At the track I can go from 160km/h to 120km/h quite quickly. But at lower speeds, things aren't very impressive. The night-and-day improvement I was hoping for is definitely missing at lower speeds. Overall, for fun driving and very occasional track days, I'd say the steel lines aren't necessary, but you can't go wrong with the extra durability. Overall, I don't regret this upgrade. Decent pads and rotors are never a bad thing. But I was hoping for more bang for the considerable buck I spent.
I have now driven 10,000km on the brakes, and finally figured out part of what was making them squishy. A few days ago, the pedal got so squishy I could press it almost all the way to the floor. Turns out the brake master cylinder died. I had it replaced and the brakes feel much better all around. Just got back from a track weekend at Mosport, where the brakes performed excellently. I'd go so far as to say you probably don't want to track an E30 without upgraded brakes. Having discovered the cause of the squishiness (master brake cylinder), I'm much happier now with the pads/rotors/lines investment. At speed on a track, I consider every dollar spent on dependable braking worth it. My brakes still aren't incredible, but definitely quite decent now.
I finally found all the braking power I was looking for in a 4-piston-caliper Wilwood front brake setup. If you want "eat-the-dashboard" brakes, take a look...