AP Front Brake kit... M3CS
Discussion
Morning all....
I'm looking into some stronger fronts for some further track days.. the O/E fronts to the Job but get too hot and shake the steering wheel when you really have to stand on them, which is not what you need going into Stowe braking from 125mph...!
Demon Tweeks have quoted me £1800 + VAT... which seems a bit stiff..?
Anyone found and cheaper retailers, or perhaps got a secondhand set they are looking to move on..?
RatBoyM3CS
I'm looking into some stronger fronts for some further track days.. the O/E fronts to the Job but get too hot and shake the steering wheel when you really have to stand on them, which is not what you need going into Stowe braking from 125mph...!
Demon Tweeks have quoted me £1800 + VAT... which seems a bit stiff..?
Anyone found and cheaper retailers, or perhaps got a secondhand set they are looking to move on..?
RatBoyM3CS
I got my AP's for my M5 from:
http://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/
At the time the only company that actually carried APracing stock for BMWs, rather than giving a £quote and then saying it'll be a few months before APracing make another batch for my car type. They'll also give you advice on which rear pads to swap to.
http://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/
At the time the only company that actually carried APracing stock for BMWs, rather than giving a £quote and then saying it'll be a few months before APracing make another batch for my car type. They'll also give you advice on which rear pads to swap to.
A much better option is to look at www.movit.de . Top brake kits often superior to AP, less cash and easy to have fitted.
RatBoyM3CS
[/quote]
Have you looked at your front wishbone bushes first?
[/quote]
The car has done 12k miles, i understand that M cars have very stiff bushes to start with not polyeurathane but close to it.
The brakes are fine on most corners, and progressive, its only when you hit them really hard for say 4-5 seconds that they heat up and seem to distort, then vibrate through the steering, if the bushes were knackered it would vibrate every time you hit the brakes..?
do you agree..? before i source a big brake kit..
RatBoyM3CS....
[/quote]
Have you looked at your front wishbone bushes first?
[/quote]
The car has done 12k miles, i understand that M cars have very stiff bushes to start with not polyeurathane but close to it.
The brakes are fine on most corners, and progressive, its only when you hit them really hard for say 4-5 seconds that they heat up and seem to distort, then vibrate through the steering, if the bushes were knackered it would vibrate every time you hit the brakes..?
do you agree..? before i source a big brake kit..
RatBoyM3CS....
Pads are at present OEM ones... i understand its the calipers that are rubbish, the actual stopping power isnt too bad, as you can get the ABS to work in the dry, so they are not short of retardation force.. its just the vibration through the steering that is un-nerving when they get too hot... and late braking is much more fun..!
RatboyM3CS..
RatboyM3CS..
belleair302 said:
A much better option is to look at www.movit.de . Top brake kits often superior to AP, less cash and easy to have fitted.
Please qualify this statement with some rationale?... I see you have previously stated 'better than AP's', why??stuthemong said:
1st port of call
braided hoses
dot 5.1 fluid
uprated pads rs421 or so.
If that doesn't work, go AP.
Stu
Or RS 29 pads.braided hoses
dot 5.1 fluid
uprated pads rs421 or so.
If that doesn't work, go AP.
Stu
Or...... Forget the fance name calipers on 355mm rotors and get some 380mm rotors and have some new caliper brackets fabricated and use the existing M3 calipers on the 380 rotors. They work at least as well as 6 pot APs.
RatBoy M3CS said:
Pads are at present OEM ones... i understand its the calipers that are rubbish, the actual stopping power isnt too bad, as you can get the ABS to work in the dry, so they are not short of retardation force.. its just the vibration through the steering that is un-nerving when they get too hot... and late braking is much more fun..!
RatboyM3CS..
As has been mentioned above, just try changing the pads to start with. OEM pads are meant for everyday road use so they have a design bias towards cooler running unlike fast road/trackday pads.RatboyM3CS..
The vibration you are getting is more than likely due to the OEM pad material getting very hot and not being able to cope. If you change to trackday/fast road spec pads you will notice a big difference, I never track a car without upgrading the pads as a minimum requirement (plus decent, fresh brake fluid).
Consider Ferrodo DS2500 or the Pagids as mentioned above, all good pads for the track and still useable everyday on the road.
As for fluid you don't have to go for DOT5.1, there are DOT4 fluids out there that have better performance specs than DOT5.1 (they just don't meet DOT5.1 viscosity specs, not important unless your car specifically mentions it needs a DOT5.1 spec fluid).
I use Motul RBF600, good price and good spec. Also consider ATE Super Blue and if money is not a problem then the best fluid you can get is Castrol SRF, all of these are classified as DOT4 spec.
Braided hoses are a worthwhile, cheapish upgrade but not essential. Decent pads and fluids are if you want to enjoy your track time to the full.
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