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Thread: Best Brake Setup (M Contour Style 23)

  1. #1
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    Best Brake Setup (M Contour Style 23)

    Hi Guys,

    I'm trying to get the absolute best brake setup for my 99 M3. It is getting a stage III supercharger from AA, I will need the stopping power while maintaining the factory look. The car is 100% for street use and I don't believe any of the big brake options will work. Thanks for any advice.

    Dario

  2. #2
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    Well if BBK's aren't an option than I don't really understand what you're asking. You'd be keeping the stock brakes. Stock/street pads will give you all the stopping power and bite you need, and going to drilled/slotted rotors isn't really going to buy you anything meaningful.

    That said, I think you can fit certain BBK's under the stock wheels, though you'll likely need some amount of spacer to give you clearance from the wheel to the caliper. This really isn't an issue in front because there's plenty of room to the fender with the stock wheels. If you wanted to put a BBK in the rear as well, and you don't necessarily need to, then that could be a little trickier to get clearance for both the caliper and the fender.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by TostitoBandito View Post
    Well if BBK's aren't an option than I don't really understand what you're asking. You'd be keeping the stock brakes. Stock/street pads will give you all the stopping power and bite you need, and going to drilled/slotted rotors isn't really going to buy you anything meaningful.

    That said, I think you can fit certain BBK's under the stock wheels, though you'll likely need some amount of spacer to give you clearance from the wheel to the caliper. This really isn't an issue in front because there's plenty of room to the fender with the stock wheels. If you wanted to put a BBK in the rear as well, and you don't necessarily need to, then that could be a little trickier to get clearance for both the caliper and the fender.
    Yes I was thinking drilled/slotted but if it’s not going to be meaningful there’s no point. Do you think spacers will affect the ride quality or cause any vibration at high speed? Yes I want to only do the fronts.
    1988 - E30 M3 - Zinno/Black (45k)
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  4. #4
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    No, the amount of spacer you will likely need (somewhere between 10-20mm) won't impact ride or anything. As long as you get quality spacers and not junk you shouldn't notice them. Search around for threads here and elsewhere about BBK fitment under the stock front wheels, as I'm sure it's been done a number of times before. That will give you an idea of which BBK's to look at and how much spacer you might need.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  5. #5
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    For street driving, stock brakes in good condition are fine. I used them with a supercharger for over 10 years and with a turbo for years. Supercharger made over 450 rwhp and turbo over 650 rwhp. I did use SS lines, changed fluid regularly, and used various stock and aftermarket pads. You would have to drive in unpopulated canyons or mountains to fade stock brakes. Track driving is another matter but stock brakes with higher temp pads do fine while trading away some of the cold bite that you want on the street.

    I always wanted a fancy BBK so I bought Stoptech 4 piston front and rear on sale a year ago. They don’t stop any better than stock in street driving. If I drove like an idiot and did 10 runs to 150 braking hard to 50 and back to 150, I would probably notice a difference before I got arrested. But on just the one stop from 150 to 50 there won’t be much difference.

    They do look cool, though. And I might start tracking the car. I have done a bunch of drag racing with it. I trap between 130 and 135 so it’s a hard stop to 10 mph at the end of the run but even hotlapping on a low attendance day would give me 2 minutes to cool down so I had no issue with stock brakes.

    I will add that with my Apex ARC8 ET41 17x9 and 12mm spacer I have no issues with the Stoptech up front. When I run my 17x7.5 Contour snow wheels, I have to run 25mm spacers up front. 17x8.5 Contours might be better but I have not tried them.
    Last edited by pbonsalb; 11-02-2018 at 11:02 PM.

  6. #6
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    You'd be surprised at how much of an effect fresh, upgraded fluid and good pads can do. I run Ferodo DS2500 and the stopping power is great. Dust is shit though.

    - 98 m3, techno/anthrazit cloth, 124k and officially worthless - 89 m3, alpine/black 143k and officially old - 2000 323it, tiag/grey, 169k and officially boring

  7. #7
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    Personally I run the stock calipers (rebuilt recently), though I splurged and got the PFC V3 2 piece front rotors which cool very well and save a bit of weight vs. stock. I run PFC pads as well, z-rated at the moment though I may start swapping out to some race compounds for track days as I get faster. Steel lines, solid/bronze guide pin bushings, and Castrol SRF fluid. Pedal is solid with great feel and the pads I use are much less grabby and more linear than stock, which takes some getting used to on the street but is outstanding on the track. The car is still mostly a street car, and this setup is still fine there.
    Last edited by TostitoBandito; 11-03-2018 at 02:25 AM.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  8. #8
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    What you want for the track may be different than what you want for a street car, even a high powered one, that typically might do just one hard stop in the equivalent of one lap and is also expected to have great manners in daily driving with low brake temps. You can fit a fancy kit like I did and street drive it if you want — just get a kit with dust boots and use street pads and fluid that can tolerate longer change intervals. But honestly, it won’t stop any better in street driving than a very lightly upgraded stock system in good condition.

    If you want to have some fun with granny brakes, try a set of Hawk HP+ or similar sutocross pads. GForce and another company make similar pads. They will probably dust and squeal but you will think they are stopping you hard. They are fine on the street but actually are not good track pads because their temperature range does not go as highs track drivers experience — they will cook and fail. Still higher than stock pads, though. Lot of fun.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by TostitoBandito View Post
    Personally I run the stock calipers (rebuilt recently), though I splurged and got the PFC V3 2 piece front rotors which cool very well and save a bit of weight vs. stock. I run PFC pads as well, z-rated at the moment though I may start swapping out to some race compounds for track days as I get faster. Steel lines, solid/bronze guide pin bushings, and Castrol SRF fluid. Pedal is solid with great feel and the pads I use are much less grabby and more linear than stock, which takes some getting used to on the street but is outstanding on the track. The car is still mostly a street car, and this setup is still fine there.
    I have PFC Z pads and stock rotors. I have used this setup on the track and street and love it. I've been eyeing those PFC rotors... Are they worth the price over stock rotors in your opinion...? I do about 2 track events a year.

  10. #10
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    The rotors are really sexy, and definitely stay cooler than stock on the track. I didn't really notice any meaningful fade with them and the z rated pads. You also save some weight. Not sure if they're worth the $800, but they're undoubtedly better than stock (or the OEM euro rotors) and still less than half the price of any sort of BBK with lower consumable costs.

    Unless you see yourself doing enough track days to burn through a set of rotors every year, in which case I'd recommend staying on stock rotors for lower costs.
    Last edited by TostitoBandito; 11-14-2018 at 12:09 PM.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by MPOWER1 View Post
    I have PFC Z pads and stock rotors. I have used this setup on the track and street and love it. I've been eyeing those PFC rotors... Are they worth the price over stock rotors in your opinion...? I do about 2 track events a year.
    Stock rotors are perfectly fine for 2 track days a year. I used stock rotors and calipers on my track car for years, with many events per year. Special rotors aren't required at all. The most important things are good pads and decent fluid (with a good bleed). Z-Rated pads are ok starting out. However as you do more events and get faster you'll find that they aren't up to the task for true hard track duty.
    Last edited by NoLastName; 11-14-2018 at 12:08 PM.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by NoLastName View Post
    Stock rotors are perfectly fine for 2 track days a year. I used stock rotors and calipers on my track car for years, with many events per year. Special rotors aren't required at all. The most important things are good pads and decent fluid (with a good bleed). Z-Rated pads are ok starting out. However as you do more events and get faster you'll find that they aren't up to the task for true hard track duty.
    Quote Originally Posted by TostitoBandito View Post
    The rotors are really sexy, and definitely stay cooler than stock on the track. I didn't really notice any meaningful fade with them and the z rated pads. You also save some weight. Not sure if they're worth the $800, but they're undoubtedly better than stock (or the OEM euro rotors) and still less than half the price of any sort of BBK with lower consumable costs.

    Unless you see yourself doing enough track days to burn through a set of rotors every year, in which case I'd recommend staying on stock rotors for lower costs.
    I think stock rotors are just fine for what i'm doing for now... LOL $800 is pretty steep for 2 events a year. At least until I get a lot better. Thanks for the feedback.

  13. #13
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    Brake flush with ate typ200 fluid and good blank rotors/pads is a good place to start. As previously mentioned, unless you're tracking the car I don't think a bbk is necessary. Still on stock brakes on my turbo street car. It does fine.

  14. #14
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    I'm supercharged too... I just did euro floating rotors (O.E. BMW, not Zimmerman) and HAWK HPS 5.0. I'll let you know how they are in about 2-3 weeks.

    Regards,

    Omair
    95 Cosmos

  15. #15
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    "Best" is subjective. But as far as larger brakes go, and it's been a while since I looked at this, I think e31 front calipers bolt up directly. They are 4 pot Brembos sold as Genuine BMW.

    E31's came with 16" wheels, so you shouldn't have an issue under 17" contours. The e31 rotors, though, are 324mm x 30mm, compared to e36's 315mm x 28mm. You might need to try a few rotors to see what works.

    Calipers are available new for about $600 a piece, so total cost would be around what you could get a Stoptech kit for, but with e31 you'll have the OEM+ wow factor. Of course you could save by finding a used set and sending them out to be rebuilt and re-coated.

    The only thing I want to caution about is researching the brake bias.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by TwinTurbo View Post
    Hi Guys,

    I'm trying to get the absolute best brake setup for my 99 M3. It is getting a stage III supercharger from AA, I will need the stopping power while maintaining the factory look. The car is 100% for street use and I don't believe any of the big brake options will work. Thanks for any advice.

    Dario
    I swapped my stock front calipers and rotors with E46 330i stock brakes. it's plug and play and clears my m contour wheels. the stopping power us a world of difference

  17. #17
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    I don’t think 330i brakes are plug and play on an M3 due to differences in front spindles. They are also about equal to M3 brakes—maybe a few mm bigger diameter but also a few mm thinner so the heat sink/dissipation is about the same. Great choice for a 338i, though.

  18. #18
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    This thread looks a little old, but in case you haven't purchased yet, whatever you do please do not buy drilled rotors. They offer no benefits whatsoever and will only speed up pad wear and greatly increase the possibility of severe rotor damage/cracks.

    For a 100% street car, good tires, fresh Dot 4 brake fluid, some Hawk HPS pads (or similar street performance pad) and blank rotors would be plenty for the job.
    Past: '99 Hellrot/Dove M3 | '97 S14 1JZ | '06 Triumph Daytona 675 | '01 330I M-Tech I | '99 Silvia S15 | Current: '96 Estoril/Black M3

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