Big Break Kits

Big Break Kits

Author
Discussion

Mirinjawbro

Original Poster:

768 posts

71 months

Wednesday 30th October
quotequote all
Hello

Big Break Kits

are they worth it other than track use?

are we talking a huge difference in stopping distance on road use?

seeing if to justify a £2k ish spend

thanks

Arlen

174 posts

174 months

Wednesday 30th October
quotequote all
No, big break kits will only smash into a million pieces and not work to help the car slow down.

Big brake kits however for road use I would say are pointless. Spend the cash on general service work etc. You would also have to declare the modification to the brakes to the insurance company.

sortedcossie

714 posts

135 months

Wednesday 30th October
quotequote all
Do you mean aftermarket from the likes of AP Racing, or just an upgrade using larger BMW calipers and disks?

danb79

9,666 posts

79 months

Wednesday 30th October
quotequote all
Mirinjawbro said:
Hello

Big Break Kits

are they worth it other than track use?

are we talking a huge difference in stopping distance on road use?

seeing if to justify a £2k ish spend

thanks
Apart from looks, no...

Unless, as you said you're going to do a few track days and you drive it hard on the road.

Decent discs, pads, braided lines and fluid makes a lot of difference to standard brakes and very much worth it IMO

rottenegg

801 posts

70 months

Wednesday 30th October
quotequote all
Mirinjawbro said:
are we talking a huge difference in stopping distance on road use?
With wider, stickier tyres and better suspension - potentially.

With no other changes other than bigger brakes, nope, not at all.

bigdom

2,117 posts

152 months

Thursday 31st October
quotequote all
Mirinjawbro said:
Hello

Big Break Kits

are they worth it other than track use?

are we talking a huge difference in stopping distance on road use?

seeing if to justify a £2k ish spend

thanks
I've had AP/Wilwood on fast road/track cars. PFM on motorbikes; they also look damn good!

As others have mentioned, new calipers/discs alone won't help that much. If you want to be the last of the late brakers, other modifications will be required.



Jimjimhim

1,529 posts

7 months

Thursday 31st October
quotequote all
Mirinjawbro said:
Hello

Big Break Kits

are they worth it other than track use?

are we talking a huge difference in stopping distance on road use?

seeing if to justify a £2k ish spend

thanks
Probably less than £2k



Pachydermus

1,008 posts

119 months

Thursday 31st October
quotequote all
rottenegg said:
Mirinjawbro said:
are we talking a huge difference in stopping distance on road use?
With wider, stickier tyres and better suspension - potentially.

With no other changes other than bigger brakes, nope, not at all.
possibly worse if you don't run them with road pads.

Easternlight

3,506 posts

151 months

Thursday 31st October
quotequote all

snigger

darreni

3,997 posts

277 months

Friday 1st November
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I’m a fan:


Joe M

733 posts

252 months

Friday 1st November
quotequote all
For those that spout the theory of there is no point for road cars, I wonder if you have tried them yourself.... It's not that simple, and there are many variables.

As well as stopping power, which won't really change on the first press, it's also about feel and response.

It also depends on the car, something like an E46 m3 benefits massively from a brake upgrade, and yes, that's from personal experience having refreshed the standard brakes, not being satisfied so upgraded to Brembo.

A more modern bmw with multi pot calipers, the improvements will be much more marginal.

danb79

9,666 posts

79 months

Friday 1st November
quotequote all
Joe M said:
For those that spout the theory of there is no point for road cars, I wonder if you have tried them yourself.... It's not that simple, and there are many variables.

As well as stopping power, which won't really change on the first press, it's also about feel and response.

It also depends on the car, something like an E46 m3 benefits massively from a brake upgrade, and yes, that's from personal experience having refreshed the standard brakes, not being satisfied so upgraded to Brembo.

A more modern bmw with multi pot calipers, the improvements will be much more marginal.
For me personally I've had both BBKs and standard calipers but with uprated discs & pads and never found the latter wanting, at all...

I had BBks on my EK9 and DC5 and absolutely superb; but also massive overkill, IMO, for road use. I've got the blue Brembo 370/345mm set up on our F31 with OEM BMW M Performance discs & pads and they're very good indeed. They suit the cars size and weight etc

I'm running OEM calipers with OEM BMW discs & pads on my 130i and I have tested them a bit and they've not had any issues at all; that's still on standard lines and BMW brake fluid. They'll be a better feel once I've fitted HEL braided lines and refreshed the fluid etc

For the road; they're more than adequate. For track; they'd soon get found out... That's where a BBK comes into its own

It's down to personal preference and experiences really... Not many cars are underbraked; a lot of that is down to the driver and their responses

rottenegg

801 posts

70 months

Friday 1st November
quotequote all
Joe M said:
As well as stopping power, which won't really change on the first press, it's also about feel and response.
Well yes, but those aren't stopping distance reducing are they, which is what the OP asked about specifically.

Feel and response are important to enthusiasts, but they don't bring the car to a dead stop any quicker than standard brakes.

On a track, absolutely......fit the biggest brakes in the world where it's actually of benefit.

Pica-Pica

14,468 posts

91 months

Friday 1st November
quotequote all
Stopping distance won’t improve with bigger brakes.

Dissipation of heat with repeated braking will improve with bigger brake surface area.

Simple physics.

popeyewhite

21,365 posts

127 months

Friday 1st November
quotequote all
Mirinjawbro said:
are we talking a huge difference in stopping distance on road use?
No, but you will be more confident as there will be less fade and more heat dissipation. Late braking when you're out having fun becomes a thing and you will enjoy the interaction between throttle/gears/brakes and grip much more. I say go ahead and do it, you won't regret it.

Gone fishing

7,469 posts

131 months

Wednesday 6th November
quotequote all
The big brakes on the 840d I owned liked to squeal and limited the min wheel size. Small bits of dirt/stone would also get caught between the inner rim and caliper creating a score line on the black finish of the wheels. If you ever see an 8 series with them, have a look, I bet it’s an issue on all of them. I wouldn’t go for them again.

Terminator X

16,327 posts

211 months

Wednesday 6th November
quotequote all
On my old RS3.



TX.

gavsdavs

1,210 posts

133 months

Wednesday 6th November
quotequote all
Unless the car frequently goes on a track, no they're not worth the spend. Spend it instead on servicing and maintenance of the car/brakes in general.
If the car is otherwise in tip top shape and you're doing it for the looks, why not.

popeyewhite

21,365 posts

127 months

Wednesday 6th November
quotequote all
rottenegg said:
Joe M said:
As well as stopping power, which won't really change on the first press, it's also about feel and response.
Well yes, but those aren't stopping distance reducing are they, which is what the OP asked about specifically.
And he asked generally

"Are they worth it?"

And the answer considering the overall impact (ie not just to braking) is 'yes'.