8 piston Front Brakes for Z4M?

[hopz121]

They are basically the brembo gt3400 kit,which costs round £2,400 in the UK when I priced mine..)

Lol, they are nothing like the brembo GT kit!! Those calipers are a world apart from those used for the bmwp calipers.

I was just thinking the same haha

[craig3.2]

They are basically the brembo gt3400 kit,which costs round £2,400 in the UK when I priced mine..)

Lol, they are nothing like the brembo GT kit!! Those calipers are a world apart from those used for the bmwp calipers.

I was just thinking the same haha

Just going by what info I got from various places and suppliers,that the bmwp calipers are "basically the same" as the brembo gt kit,and they are just rebranded brembo calipers,as BMW don't make brake calipers,etc!
They are obviously not going to be exactly the same,but are based on them apparently....the gt kit cost around £2400 when I got my bmwp ones,a few years back,the bmwp were £900(including new caliper carriers,BMW performance pads,and custom braided stainless steel brake lines)plus £300 for new front discs ,so about £1200 all in,so half the price.....but I wouldn't say they are half the quality,having driven cars with both kits on,not any difference in braking performance,etc,imo.

[TomK]

Lol, they are nothing like the brembo GT kit!! Those calipers are a world apart from those used for the bmwp calipers.

I was just thinking the same haha

Just going by what info I got from various places and suppliers,that the bmwp calipers are "basically the same" as the brembo gt kit,and they are just rebranded brembo calipers,as BMW don't make brake calipers,etc!
They are obviously not going to be exactly the same,but are based on them apparently....the gt kit cost around £2400 when I got my bmwp ones,a few years back,the bmwp were £900(including new caliper carriers,BMW performance pads,and custom braided stainless steel brake lines)plus £300 for new front discs ,so about £1200 all in,so half the price.....but I wouldn't say they are half the quality,having driven cars with both kits on,not any difference in braking performance,etc,imo.

Good salesmen you got there:) The Brembo GT kit I guess you could say is 'basically the same', in that they both provide a retardation function for the car That's about it!
I ran the bmwp calipers for a year or so 5 years ago. Even with RS-29 pads trust me they are not remotely on a level of a pukka AP or Brembo GT kit. I'd accept that it requires some serious work though to see the difference, but when you do it's plain, if you're never going to push them that hard I wouldn't worry about it. There's a reason why the bmwp calipers are less than £500, and that's not BMW selling you a brembo bargain.

[craig3.2]

I was just thinking the same haha

Just going by what info I got from various places and suppliers,that the bmwp calipers are "basically the same" as the brembo gt kit,and they are just rebranded brembo calipers,as BMW don't make brake calipers,etc!
They are obviously not going to be exactly the same,but are based on them apparently....the gt kit cost around £2400 when I got my bmwp ones,a few years back,the bmwp were £900(including new caliper carriers,BMW performance pads,and custom braided stainless steel brake lines)plus £300 for new front discs ,so about £1200 all in,so half the price.....but I wouldn't say they are half the quality,having driven cars with both kits on,not any difference in braking performance,etc,imo.

Good salesmen you got there:) The Brembo GT kit I guess you could say is 'basically the same', in that they both provide a retardation function for the car That's about it!
I ran the bmwp calipers for a year or so 5 years ago. Even with RS-29 pads trust me they are not remotely on a level of a pukka AP or Brembo GT kit. I'd accept that it requires some serious work though to see the difference, but when you do it's plain, if you're never going to push them that hard I wouldn't worry about it. There's a reason why the bmwp calipers are less than £500, and that's not BMW selling you a brembo bargain.

No salesman,as I chose the kit I put only car myself,and the Calipers were circa £600/650,with discount,,and all in,with pads,etc are around £1200, including new discs.
Nobody gave me a sales pitch.

I guess I just never drive my car quick enough to have to give my brakes "some serious work",as you say,to tell the difference between the two then ,Tom

[FD3S]

Stock brakes in your case OP sound like they are more than adequate with a fluid and pad change, and braided lines if you choose too.

This, as Bee said, the Stock OEM claws are actually pretty darn good, and pretty darn effective with the right pads and fluids. Loved mine before upgrading.

So true. I never race the car, so the brakes almost never heat up so much or don't have enough power to stop the car. They stock brakes are very good for me, up to the moment. The only reason I am thinking of it since I need to upgrade the discs, and the same time I am saving so I can go with the SC way. Beedub do you believe someone with SC needs, brake upgrade with SC?

[FD3S]

I’m in the middle of fitting BMW 6 piston calipers on my M. They are a performance calipers for a 135i or 3 series i believe and is a fairly easy conversion. You have to get a custom carrier and longer brake hoses but they use the standard Z4 M disc

Those BMW performance seem really good. Let me know please when you fit them, your comments. Thank you.

I have had the BMW performance calipers fitted for 3 years or so now,and find them a very good improvement over the standard M brakes.
They stop better and resist fade alot better than the standard ones,and I got mine at a very good discounted price from a bmw dealer called Sopers,along with the performance brake pads to go with them.
They are basically the brembo gt2400 kit,which costs round £2,400 in the UK when I priced mine....I got the bmwp Calipers ,bmwp pads and new z4m discs as well as custom CNC machined caliper carriers,and custom braided stainless steel hel brake hoses,for under £900 in total,plus fitting
The only thing is you need to fit (hubcentric)12mm Spacers ,so they clear the Calipers,as they don't clear the standard z4m alloys otherwise
Big improvement on Standard,imo

Thank you Craig for you review.Price has a big difference compare it with Brembo indeed.

[Beedub]

Stock brakes in your case OP sound like they are more than adequate with a fluid and pad change, and braided lines if you choose too.

This, as Bee said, the Stock OEM claws are actually pretty darn good, and pretty darn effective with the right pads and fluids. Loved mine before upgrading.

So true. I never race the car, so the brakes almost never heat up so much or don't have enough power to stop the car. They stock brakes are very good for me, up to the moment. The only reason I am thinking of it since I need to upgrade the discs, and the same time I am saving so I can go with the SC way. Beedub do you believe someone with SC needs, brake upgrade with SC?

ideally yes..... but again depends on how you plan to use them.... ive still managed to see the front rotors glow red hot with the added firepower of the blower., Then again i remember the stock brakes just about managing with the stage 1 kit and smart braking when on it. The stock brakes on this car were excellent as i remember them.

[craig3.2]

Those BMW performance seem really good. Let me know please when you fit them, your comments. Thank you.

I have had the BMW performance calipers fitted for 3 years or so now,and find them a very good improvement over the standard M brakes.
They stop better and resist fade alot better than the standard ones,and I got mine at a very good discounted price from a bmw dealer called Sopers,along with the performance brake pads to go with them.
They are basically the brembo gt2400 kit,which costs round £2,400 in the UK when I priced mine....I got the bmwp Calipers ,bmwp pads and new z4m discs as well as custom CNC machined caliper carriers,and custom braided stainless steel hel brake hoses,for under £900 in total,plus fitting
The only thing is you need to fit (hubcentric)12mm Spacers ,so they clear the Calipers,as they don't clear the standard z4m alloys otherwise
Big improvement on Standard,imo

Thank you Craig for you review.Price has a big difference compare it with Brembo indeed.

Cheers
I don't do track days in my car either,but just wanted a better biting brake set up and one that didn't fade as easy as I felt the standards brakes did.
I do go on some spirited runs,where the brakes do get a bit of a workout,way more than in normal/daily driving.
I like the bmwp kit,just changing my pads and discs shortly,after over 3 and a bit years and circa 16,000 miles.
Not alot of lifespan compared to some,but as said,they do get regular workouts,lol

P.s,Look on m3cutters for a thread about this bmwp brake setup for E46 m3's.....he does the brackets for Caliper carriers, CNC machined from billet aluminium,by an engineering company,and does the braided stainless steel hoses custom made (longer) all in one package.
Can't remember his name,but will try and find out.
They fit teh z4 well,given it uses the CSL M3 brakes
Hope this helps,if you decide to go down this route,op

[GuidoK]

Lol, they are nothing like the brembo GT kit!! Those calipers are a world apart from those used for the bmwp calipers.

What is so different about them?
Both are single block cast with integrated stiffinging bridge (which gives more stiffness than a caliper made up from 2 halves that is bolted together), 6 piston with increasing bore size to reduce padwear and equipped with dustboots. There is a difference in padsizes, but the bmw performance pads are stil way bigger than the ones in a Stoptech or AP BBK.

I've had the BMW/Brembo performance calipers on my car (both front and rear ones) for over 6 years, and they are excellent.
In Germany this is also a very popular mod. I was at the german international meet in Nürnberg a month ago and I probably counted 20 sets or so.

[ga41]

I would also skip buying the R8 callipers too mate. I've also not seen anyone use E9x M3 front discs on our cars either but then again it doesn't mean it didn't happen. Are the bell size and shape, ring offset etc OK? Mechanics say a lot of things...

At least the BMW Performance option is tried and tested by many people but as we already discussed my preferred way would be to save up more and get a proper kit if you want a BBK.

If you need new discs but are saving up for a BBK later on then I wouldn't worry as I think you would be able to sell your OEM discs very easily online!

[craig3.2]

Lol, they are nothing like the brembo GT kit!! Those calipers are a world apart from those used for the bmwp calipers.

What is so different about them?
Both are single block cast with integrated stiffinging bridge (which gives more stiffness than a caliper made up from 2 halves that is bolted together), 6 piston with increasing bore size to reduce padwear and equipped with dustboots. There is a difference in padsizes, but the bmw performance pads are stil way bigger than the ones in a Stoptech or AP BBK.

I've had the BMW/Brembo performance calipers on my car (both front and rear ones) for over 6 years, and they are excellent.
In Germany this is also a very popular mod. I was at the german international meet in Nürnberg a month ago and I probably counted 20 sets or so.

Well said,GuidoK

[TomK]

Lol, they are nothing like the brembo GT kit!! Those calipers are a world apart from those used for the bmwp calipers.

What is so different about them?
Both are single block cast with integrated stiffinging bridge (which gives more stiffness than a caliper made up from 2 halves that is bolted together), 6 piston with increasing bore size to reduce padwear and equipped with dustboots. There is a difference in padsizes, but the bmw performance pads are stil way bigger than the ones in a Stoptech or AP BBK.

I've had the BMW/Brembo performance calipers on my car (both front and rear ones) for over 6 years, and they are excellent.
In Germany this is also a very popular mod. I was at the german international meet in Nürnberg a month ago and I probably counted 20 sets or so.

Where to start? The weight is 5.1 kg for the bmp calipers which is pretty much as heavy as the stock item I think? The AP 5575 caliper I use weighs 2.7kg, I believe the GT is slightly more.
The caliper definitely has problems with dispersing heat, under very hard use (lines, fluid and pads all the same in both of my kits) the difference in feel between the bmwp and ap kit is very noticeable. After some hard lapping the pedal loses feel and it is not hard to make them fade, on the north loop I expect they'd be ok, on the gp circuit not so much.
I haven't driven a brembo Gt equipped car to be fair, but I suspect the differences will be similar to what I experienced moving to AP. In concept I think you're right in that the bridge should make them stiffer, in practice it felt anything but to me compared to the AP.
To change the pads on the bmwp calipers is a ball ache, caliper off, whereas with AP or the GT kit (I think) it's a matter of minutes.
The caliper is bulkier than most BBKs and consequently often spacers are required depending on your wheels of course.
The pistons that are supplied with the caliper (admittedly this is fairly easy to upgrade) are not great, known to crack, and the seals after a session on track will be ruined, in my experience. I also found pad wear across the front to back to be quite uneven pointing towards poor pressure distribution by the pistons.
Perhaps most importantly you are limited to the 28mm disc width (and to a lesser extent the 345mm diameter).
All that said, they are designed as a road car caliper for a 135i and they do a pretty fantastic job at that for sure, it's when they are put under serious use that the difference between this kind of budget caliper and the ones that cost 4 times as much become apparent, but that is only to be expected surely.
I would agree that they are a big improvement over stock on the road, lovely feel, but if you're going to spend all that money... buy cheap, buy twice... All depends on what you want to do with the car though I guess

[TomK]

I've also not seen anyone use E9x M3 front discs on our cars either but then again it doesn't mean it didn't happen.

It has been done, albeit on e46m3.
Some people use the m performance M135i calipers with them, I believe the 360 mm disc needs to be turned down to 357mm, not hard for a shop to do.
I would think it is all possible with the R8 caliper, but it's worth pointing out to the shop that the Z4M/E46m3 fitment is very slightly different (2mm or so on the offset of the disc or something like that).

[Bodyboarder]

So who on here does run the Bmw performance calipers with the standard discs? Would like some first hand experience and pics if possible ? I’d love to get a set for my road going M and from all of the above seems they would fit the bill nicely

[TomK]

So who on here does run the Bmw performance calipers with the standard discs? Would like some first hand experience and pics if possible ? I’d love to get a set for my road going M and from all of the above seems they would fit the bill nicely

You can only run them with the standard disk afaik

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