Front Brake Upgrade

[Boltz]

I have a mapped 2013 18 and want to just finish things off by upgrading the front brakes to 28 spec, has anyone done this and what were the costs? I was parked up next to a 28 today and the front brakes seem far more substantial than fitted to my 18

[Pbondar]

The 18i /20i has 300mm discs the 28i has 330mm discs..

I did this you need the discs and the calipers AUTODOC does them all at reasonable prices...straight bolt on..plus new disc backing plates

Have to say at subsonic speeds didn’t feel any difference but heh, looks better with thin spoke wheels

[Boltz]

Thanks, I will take a look....to be honest I don’t drive my cars hard and have no aspirations of doing any track day events but the massive performance difference due to the remap make me think I should bring the brakes up to spec

[Pbondar]

Yes same thoughts crossed my mind, another E89 28i Forum chap has swapped his discs n calipers for 6 potters so I had his..the calipers were all corroded so did a trade in with autodoc to get refurb units..

Anyway as I said can’t really tell the difference afaik no one has complained on the N20 variants about bring under braked anyway...the chap said his 6 pot replacements were not obviously better, but he does track day his car..

The 330mm discs n calipers won’t allow some 17 bmw wheels to fit..103s don’t ....I found out the hard way..

[Boltz]

I have got some aftermarket 19s fitted and I will upgrade the brakes to reassure myself that my Zed has the stopping capability it should have for the performance it now has

[mcbutler]

Just fit these pads Ferodo ds2500
Guy at my local Indy races BMW, i was asking about calipers/discs/slotted/drilled blah blah blah.
He said for road use all you will ever need is the Ferodo pads.
Have had this advice echoed by several in the industry so when mine wear down I will be popping a set in

[Boltz]

Right then I will start getting a shopping list together and add some Ferodo to it

[mikedelta]

Has anyone used Mintex 1144s or 1155s?

[Player 1]

Have you thought about putting four pot calipers and 370mm discs from a 340/440i on it? The calipers are on 40i models as well as M3/M4's and were a substantial upgrade over the standard discs on my Z4 35i. Should be a big improvement for a 18i and will bolt right on.
May want to consider upgrading the rear discs to those from a 35i/is though as there might be a big bias difference otherwise.

[Ed Doe]

Has anyone used Mintex 1144s or 1155s?

1144s are a good fast road pad. 1155s are not as good for the road - they're wooden from cold which isn't ideal at all!

[Boltz]

Player 1 those brakes look awesome and may I say expensive too so I will just up the brakes to fit in with the 28 spec to which my 18 has now a similar performance

[Player 1]

Player 1 those brakes look awesome and may I say expensive too so I will just up the brakes to fit in with the 28 spec to which my 18 has now a similar performance

I don't know how much it costs to go the the 28i brakes but for those you'd be looking at roughly £800-£1100 for discs, pads, calipers and small bits such as wear sensor.
Calipers will vary the cost though, There's a good supply available so would depend on whether you want a fully refurbished set that are good as new (£550ish) or something in reasonable working condition (£300ish).

Another option, I do still have the original calipers/discs from my 35i. Would still be a fair upgrade for you, no idea what they're worth though!

[Pbondar]

If I may interject at the risk of yet another flame war...

Around £200 gets you all parts for the 28i except pads and if you want to spend £100 ish on Ferodos.. source autodoc

The 20i/28i seem more than adequately braked with the 330mm discs

Like 19 wheels over similar 18 or 17 wheels adding much heavier rotors and calipers adds unnecessarily to unsprung weight...

The 18i is 100kg lighter than a 35i so again less mass

As I said, anecdotally, a chap swapped his 28i brakes for a 6 pot BBK and his perception as a fairly hard charging person was that there was little improvement in his experience..

Of course no one can deny that these BBK look pretty so if that’s what floats your boat it’s fine..

[BeemerGuy]

When I look on autodoc there is quite a selection, from Viaco @ 32.75 to Bosch @ 131.35. There are Zimmerman Sport ones that are carbon coated and perforated @ 86.84....is there advice as to which ones to go for? Presuming also then it would be sensible to stick to the same brand for all parts except the pads? The zimmerman ones look quite grey as opposed to the shiny ones currently I have...will they turn shiny or would they always look different...any experience much appreciated!

Thanks.

[Pbondar]

That's the issue with Autodoc, choice is often the major issue..looking at the options, personally I would (now) go with the Ferodo discs, several forum members suggest if you are a more spirited driver that there fast street pads are used, McButler amongst others is a protagonist for these, I'm running the OEM discs with Brembo pads and TRW calipers

Slotted and or drilled are flattery type cosmetic for street use and remove mass and weaken the structure compared to the same size disc whole IMHO.

Unlike the E85s where some seemed to be underbraked I've not experienced that wiltimg/saging feeling, well at least not on the brakes!