[psmitty95]

If someone were to make something that allowed us to do a BBK conversion for under 1.5k you could count me in also.

[vwetish]

Originally Posted by HouseN54

Why the F is there weights on the caliper?

Poor caliper design. If you want calipers from CTS-V you need these:

[vwetish]

Originally Posted by Cloud9blue

interesting... The weak point in OE sliding caliper design is the tiny pad-to-rotor contact area and the rubber guide bushings (uneven pad wear). The rotor size for 335i is actually decent. Sure two piece rotors would be nicer, but whatever... Wondering what are the specs on these calipers and pad selection.

Sorry but I have to say not necessarily true!
Uneven pad wear, inside pad vs outside and tapper pads is only due to the sliding caliper design. The guide/slide pins are flexing and the brakes operate by push and pull forces.
This is ALL sliding calipers not only BMW e90
Additionally, the pad to rotor contact area increase will bring insignificant benefit.
Larger diameter rotor will always yield better results even with a smaller pad.
This is due to simple physics, larger rotor does less rotations than smaller one.
Also, the pad to rotor area doesn't increase proportionally with the increase of the rotor diameter especially in true 2 piece BBK.
Here is why: the rotor sweep area becomes narrow for less rotational mass and the pads must stay relatively small so the brakes reaction/response will be fast on fast off.
Just compare the 335i pads with the m3, physically the same, different compound.
the rotors, well, m3 is larger.
Look at the photos bellow.

[vwetish]

Originally Posted by psmitty95

If someone were to make something that allowed us to do a BBK conversion for under 1.5k you could count me in also.

$1.5k is a lot for just front BBK if you ask me. However, people had paid a lot more.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by vwetish

$1.5k is a lot for just front BBK if you ask me. However, people had paid a lot more.

Oh I was talking front and rear hahaha. Basing it off of the price of the calipers on ebay

[vwetish]

Originally Posted by psmitty95

Oh I was talking front and rear hahaha. Basing it off of the price of the calipers on ebay

you must be looking at the 4 pots cts-v then which perform worse than some brembos from the previous century

the new 6 pot cts-v are way better hence the price of close to $800 not loaded.
add pads, rotors and custom bracket and you will see $1.5k easy

if I'm to go custom route like this I'll go with Porsche Brembo calipers for 3 main reasons:

1.designed by them (not generic like these)
2. already radial (don't have to be altered which affects structural rigidity)
3. better pad selection

[psmitty95]

Hmm fair enough. Honestly i haven't read to deep into it but a cheaper bbk solution would be great and i'd be in. Like everyone else i'd love to go bbk but not for 4k+

[SUHleen]

I've asked the Rally Road people about a possible group buy for their kit and also some more information on what caliper they use. Seems like its the F30 Brembo's

[StealYourFace]

Great thread.

It's interesting because in my opinion, the 335i already has a bbk, 13.7" rotors are pretty damn big! I got a set for my car (the rears are the same from 330i to 335i) with 335is rotors as a cheap effective upgrade. With track pads, I never had any fade on the track with the old brakes, but I was warping front rotors. With the 335is brakes, I experience no fade, warpage or any other issues. Nice feel, release, ext.

I understand a 335i *should* see higher speeds on the straights therefor putting more stress on the brakes. Is that the reason you guys are looking to do different setup?

[Red_Bean_Bun]

Subscribed ......

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by StealYourFace

Great thread.

It's interesting because in my opinion, the 335i already has a bbk, 13.7" rotors are pretty damn big! I got a set for my car (the rears are the same from 330i to 335i) with 335is rotors as a cheap effective upgrade. With track pads, I never had any fade on the track with the old brakes, but I was warping front rotors. With the 335is brakes, I experience no fade, warpage or any other issues. Nice feel, release, ext.

I understand a 335i *should* see higher speeds on the straights therefor putting more stress on the brakes. Is that the reason you guys are looking to do different setup?

I agree with most of this, as I said above my only complaint is pedal feel. I would do 335is rotors and more aggressive pads before I went with a BBK. Just doing 3rd-4th logs (in mexico of course), and not even getting near redline in 4th, the stock brakes are scary bad hauling down fast from that speed. On the to do list. And my car is not all that modded, FBO + meth on local 91 octane, no better alternatives fuel wise.

However consider some of the single turbo kits coming out, blowing past 800 WHP and beyond, no doubt soon to break 1000, BBK...yeah would want one and like yesterday. Esp folks pushing 200 MPH on airstrip events etc going after twin turbo Gallardo's and Alpha-whatever GTR's.

[vasillalov]

For anyone who is planning to track their car on road courses and they actually wish to stay competitive, I have to recommend a properly designed BBK kit from either Stoptech, Alcon or Wilwood. Brembo will be a bottom choice for me.

Yes, the 335i has big rotors. However, the rotors are WAY too heavy, the calipers are shit and the brake cooling is damn near non-existant.

For track duty, you want light, 2-piece floating slotted rotors, multi-piston progressive calipers that offer numerous brake pad choices and proper brake lines and fluid. A well designed rotor will cool better, will transmit a lot less heat to the hub, the wheel and the wheel bearing. This in turn keeps the tire pressure changes at bay and extends the life of your wheel bearings. Two piece forged calipers will not flex nearly as much as single piece calipers. Finally, a well engineered BBK kit will maintain proper brake balance between the front and the rear and it is also well matched for the master brake cylinder.

Speaking from personal experience..., I've tried a few different rotors and pads for the stock brakes. If I saved the money I foolishly wasted on trying out new rotors, fiddling with pads and brake cooling ducts, I would have had my BBK kit two years ago.

Yes, BBKs are VERY expensive investment. Trust me, I know. But if you are serious about driving your car hard on the track and have fun, there is no substitute. This is one perfect example of the saying" "You get what you pay for.".

[SUHleen]

Originally Posted by StealYourFace

Great thread.

It's interesting because in my opinion, the 335i already has a bbk, 13.7" rotors are pretty damn big! I got a set for my car (the rears are the same from 330i to 335i) with 335is rotors as a cheap effective upgrade. With track pads, I never had any fade on the track with the old brakes, but I was warping front rotors. With the 335is brakes, I experience no fade, warpage or any other issues. Nice feel, release, ext.

I understand a 335i *should* see higher speeds on the straights therefor putting more stress on the brakes. Is that the reason you guys are looking to do different setup?

The 335is has different rotors? I thought they were exactly the same as 335i... I have a 335is and they don't look any different.

[vasillalov]

Originally Posted by SUHleen

The 335is has different rotors? I thought they were exactly the same as 335i... I have a 335is and they don't look any different.

No. He is referring to Z4 i35 S-drive. Their rotors are a direct bolt on for us as they are the same size. However, they are two piece rotors with aluminium hat riveted to the disk:



The only real benefit is that the Z4 rotors are slightly lighter than the 335i ones. They do not offer better stopping or cooling at all.

[SUHleen]

Ok I figured there was some confusion. So the ecs two piece rotor is still the best option outside of ones that come part of a bbk, correct?

[vwetish]

Originally Posted by vasillalov

He is referring to Z4 i35 S-drive. Their rotors are a direct bolt on for us as they are the same size. However, they are two piece rotors with aluminium hat riveted to the disk:
The only real benefit is that the Z4 rotors are slightly lighter than the 335i ones. They do not offer better stopping or cooling at all.
A well designed rotor will cool better, will transmit a lot less heat to the hub, the wheel and the wheel bearing. This in turn keeps the tire pressure changes at bay and extends the life of your wheel bearings.

Stick to your guns Vasil

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by vasillalov

No. He is referring to Z4 i35 S-drive. Their rotors are a direct bolt on for us as they are the same size. However, they are two piece rotors with aluminium hat riveted to the disk:

The only real benefit is that the Z4 rotors are slightly lighter than the 335i ones. They do not offer better stopping or cooling at all.

Yeah I meant the Z4 rotors. I think the Z4 rotors are 2 lb lighter each. ECS also sells custom 2 piece rotors in the stock size that are 4.5 lbs lighter, which is pretty significant. A little more expensive. You can bundle in a kit with hawk pads, rear perf. rotors etc. for under 1k:

http://www.ecstuning.com/ES2717944/

FWIW braking performance & feel seemed to improve on my other car when I went from stock e36 M3 rotors to euro 2 piece similar floating alum hat construction to the Z4 ones. But I switched pads at that time too.

Basically my point was stock-sized lighter/better rotors, more aggressive pads, maybe SS Lines is all I'd want to do for my particular street-only car. If that wasn't enough is when I'd worry about upgrading calipers and so forth.

[Torgus]

Interesting...

[vwetish]

Originally Posted by SUHleen

I've asked the Rally Road people about a possible group buy for their kit and also some more information on what caliper they use. Seems like its the F30 Brembo's

You don't need Rally Road for F30 upgrade
If you are mechanically inclined enough to install a spare wheel you can do it yourself.
I'm referring for the front brakes only. Rear is a different story.
If you want a kit from Rally Road go with one that uses Porsche calipers, similar to the one for the e36/46 m3 with m3 euro CLS rotors which are 345mm just like the 335i just 2 piece, lighter and directional.

[wshgrntd]

has anyone bought the rally road setup?

[ajsalida]

Some interesting comments here on both the f30 brembo caliper-only swap and a 1-off CTS-V e90 kit by rally road folks. No affiliation, just reading.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...&highlight=f30

Also a lot of people have complained about poor pedal feel with the f30 upgrade, even front only. Folks were also working on adapting the OEM f30 performance brake upgrade kit to the e9x, but that was abandoned due to complications. I beleive the guys at HP Autowerks did that and then discarded it as not desirable or cost effective. Long thread on that somewhere here. Quite a lot of discussion on this topic, just search titles for "f30" in this section.

[SUHleen]

Originally Posted by vwetish

You don't need Rally Road for F30 upgrade
If you are mechanically inclined enough to install a spare wheel you can do it yourself.
I'm referring for the front brakes only. Rear is a different story.
If you want a kit from Rally Road go with one that uses Porsche calipers, similar to the one for the e36/46 m3 with m3 euro CLS rotors which are 345mm just like the 335i just 2 piece, lighter and directional.

I know, the F30 calipers bolt right on to the e9x except for maybe some minimal caliper shaving depending on what type of rim you are on and size. But, are you 100% sure that is the F30 Brembo caliper? That is one of the questions I asked them in the email but I still not have received a response from them on any of my questions.

So the e46 M3 CSL rotors will fit on the 335i? Do you have a weight? And what is the thickness on the CSL rotor?

Originally Posted by ajsalida

Some interesting comments here on both the f30 brembo caliper-only swap and a 1-off CTS-V e90 kit by rally road folks. No affiliation, just reading.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...&highlight=f30

Also a lot of people have complained about poor pedal feel with the f30 upgrade, even front only. Folks were also working on adapting the OEM f30 performance brake upgrade kit to the e9x, but that was abandoned due to complications. I beleive the guys at HP Autowerks did that and then discarded it as not desirable or cost effective. Long thread on that somewhere here. Quite a lot of discussion on this topic, just search titles for "f30" in this section.

Until I do it myself, I'm not believing this poor pedal feel with the F30 brembo's. I swapped 135i 6 piston brembo's on my old e46 and had a significant IMPROVEMENT in brake feel. I still think maybe the bleeding process was not done right or maybe a thick enough rotor was not used? I'm not sure. My knowledge on braking systems is in between beginner and pro lol

The F30 "Performance" brake upgrade is the same as the regular F30 unpainted Brembo's just with different rotors and powdercoated in one of the colors they offer. Otherwise, absolutely no difference in caliper between the "performance" package and the cast Brembo caliper.