Meds 3.0si Coupe - Rear brake upgrade in progress.

4play · May 5, 2026

I won't make suggestions on destinations in Wales, I doubt you'd be dissapointed no matter where you went, but if you are coming in via M54, A5 I would reccomend taking the B4396, off the A5, to Knockin then head over to Lake Bala, the A5 now has average speed camera's for miles and sure its a great road but traffic and the speed limits, ruin it.
At Bala go straight over at the staggard cross road then like this post when you reach the end.

Meds · May 5, 2026

4play said:
I won't make suggestions on destinations in Wales, I doubt you'd be dissapointed no matter where you went, but if you are coming in via M54, A5 I would reccomend taking the B4396, off the A5, to Knockin then head over to Lake Bala, the A5 now has average speed camera's for miles and sure its a great road but traffic and the speed limits, ruin it.
At Bala go straight over at the staggard cross road then like this post when you reach the end.

Yes, we did exactly that, in both directions.
The road between Pen-Y-Bont-Fawr and Bala was excellent and we had a great run with a Cayman S and M Roadster on the way back.

4play · May 6, 2026

Meds said:
Yes, we did exactly that, in both directions.
The road between Pen-Y-Bont-Fawr and Bala was excellent and we had a great run with a Cayman S and M Roadster on the way back.

Next time over I want to go via Hereford, Abergavenny then head West on the A40 before going North on the A483, I've done some of this, but on a motorcycle, fantastic roads although in the Z you'd need to get lucky with the traffic.

The A498 Tremadog/Bedgellert/Nantgwynant is bonkers did a breakfast run through there on my ZRX1200, you wouldn't have wanted to be a pasenger, scared me a few times.

Seems to me the more often you go the better runs you find. Was having a rollup looking over lake Llyn Clywedog when this little old local man pulled up, he said he'd lived there all his life and didn't realise there was a road passing the reservior, another great little road (B4518) takes you up to Machynlleth, well sort of.

I could go on. I love Scotland but it's so far, Wales can be easily done in a day if you set off early, and for me Wales maybe has better roads, just not the scenery.

Z44Jon · May 6, 2026

What’s the condition of your front struts?

I fitted and removed Eibachs as I felt it was too low. I have since learned that tired shocks and top mounts also affect ride height. I have proven this to myself twice now. Maybe I would have liked the Eibachs if I had my current shocks fitted but I live in a speed bump area and M Sport is a good compromise.

Love the bumper, pre facelift rear lights would look great too but obviously much more work than just lamps.

Meds · May 6, 2026

4play said:
another great little road (B4518) takes you up to Machynlleth

That was one of our favourites.

Z44Jon said:
What’s the condition of your front struts?

Love the bumper, pre facelift rear lights would look great too but obviously much more work than just lamps.

The struts are Koni Sport Yellow, I dont have any reason to doubt them but it's an area for consideration when I start the investigations, again.
Top mounts look fine from the top and when I swapped the spring pads, they seemed fine.
I can see myself going for a height adjustable setup in the near future, then I'm done with it. But I really rate the Koni, the car feels excellent on them.

Thanks for the compliments of the bumper. I've never really seen the love for the pre-FL rear lights, they're nice but missing the FL LED light bars which I really like.
Speaking of rear lights, I now have a brake light bulb out after the trip.

R17SKO · May 13, 2026

It was an amazing trip and one I’ll remember for a long time. I’m already looking forward to next year!

The standard brakes definitely aren’t up to the job, so that’s one thing I’ll be sorting out, along with a new set of rear tyres.

Meds · May 25, 2026

The rear brake upgrade to match the 6pot fronts has finally started.

I spent too many hours researching options, each solution resulted in far too much effort and money to justify even my own OCD, so I kind of gave up.
Our man @damocell worked a solution using the 40mm piston version of the early m135i rear caliper and rotor.
Everything works with the wheel offsets and stock 160mm handbrake.
He documented the upgrade on his thread, also on a YT upload which details everything very well.
Using the spreadsheet of geekyness from @B21 they worked out the upgrade path to achieve the correct braking forces. The much more common 44mm version could be an option if you run larger than 345mm front rotors.

They share the same part number as the 44mm calipers.
The only way to tell is to locate a stamped number on the inside between the mount holes, this is usually caked in brake dust so hard to see. P2.40 vs P2.44.

Painted BMW 445 Phoenix Yellow to match the fronts. I'm 90% happy with the DIY job.
Primer and paint is much thinner than I thought, it didn't fully fill the chips on the previous factory blue paint I was expecting it too, I should have flattened them down more.
I flattened some more and they're better but not perfect, they'll look absolutely fine when installed and inside the wheel, though.
Maybe I'll revisit the refurb one day.

I had some genuine stickers left over from the front project, nice.

Part numbers:

m*35i rear 345x24mm rotors: 34206797605

m*35i rear calipers (40mm): 34216860737, 34216860738 (P2.40)

Bolts and washers: https://ebay.us/m/9Wsdyf

m*35i rear pads: 34216887576

New bleed screws

Hoses from BTR: https://www.brtmotorsport.co.uk/

Braided Brake Hose 720mm x2

M10x1 Male Swivel Nut 90 bend x2

M10x1 Square Swivel x2

Type 6 Hose Locator x2

Brake Hose Retaining Clip x2

I'm waiting on the bolts to arrive, then it's install time.!