3.0i Brake Upgrades

[Diego]

Been to see my local BMW chap and explained that the Z4 is a little poor on breaking performance and he offered that I upgrade to the following:

EBC Drilled and grooved Disks with Mintex Race pads.

The four corners should cost no more than £400.00 fitted and I was wondering if any one else has upgraded their brakes and what options have people gone for?

 

[mmm-five]

There's lots of posts on here about this - a quick search for 'brake upgrades' will find you most of them, but I think the consensus was to put the bigger brakes from a 3.0si or 330 or such.

 

[EdButler]

Brembo Discs and EBC Redstuffs are a pretty decent combo and dont fade nearly as much as OEM Initial bite could be better though but i personally like a more 'progressive' brake pedal! A full set can be had around £250 provided you fit yourself!

Also make sure your brake fluid is changed every 2 years and perhaps consider braided hoses for a better pedal feel...

 

[Mr Whippy]

I think for road work the standard stuff is really good.

I've never had to brake so much that I thought they were an issue anyway

Imho, the best upgrade is 330Ci/3.0Si brakes... there is/was a set on eBay for £400, with decent OEM discs/pads.

Sell the old kit for maybe £200, and that is a good £200 upgrade

Dave

 

[peddy]

Imho, the best upgrade is 330Ci/3.0Si brakes... there is/was a set on eBay for £400, with decent OEM discs/pads.

Sell the old kit for maybe £200, and that is a good £200 upgrade

Dave

And if you're luck like I was you'll be able to get it much cheaper than that.

 

[mmm-five]

And before you go looking at Z4Ms being broken for parts, the Z4M brakes do not fit without LOTS of work & other parts.

 

[peddy]

And before you go looking at Z4Ms being broken for parts, the Z4M brakes do not fit without LOTS of work & other parts.

I so badly wanted to do this mod!

 

[Ben.]

I have just got EBC Ultimax Brake Discs and Green Stuff Pads - will be fitting them next week

 

[a11y]

I think for road work the standard stuff is really good.

I've never had to brake so much that I thought they were an issue anyway

Me too. I find the standard 3.0i brakes more than up to the job for road use. Although I'm kind of stuck with the stock front 300mm disc option anyway to fit inside my winter wheels anyway :roll:

 

[cj10jeeper]

Diego

Being a 3.0 owner I had the OEM brakes and frankly their is nothing wrong with them. I'm also a fan of EBC and their matching greenstuff pads and frankly I don't think you'll find any noticable change Vs OEM disks. I would not suggest Mintex race pads unless you're a track driver.

I did the upgrade to the larger rotors from and E46 330 sport with OEM calipers and carriers, EBC Ultimax and Greenstuff and that does offer a significant improvement in performance due in large to the increased disk size and increased pad size (simple leverage mechanics) with reduced dust. Also with 108's the wheel is much better filled by the larger disk

Hope this helps.

 

[a11y]

Also with 108's the wheel is much better filled by the larger disk

After seeing pics of your upgraded brakes I was very tempted to upgrade mine because it is a great improvement on the open wheel design of the 108s. But then I changed wheels to Ellipsoids and the rotors are largely hidden anyway.


Extra braking power is always a nice thing to have though, even if the OEM set up is more than adequate - might mean the difference between stopping in time or hitting something/someone in an emergency.

 

[AlanJ]

Also with 108's the wheel is much better filled by the larger disk

Extra braking power is always a nice thing to have though, even if the OEM set up is more than adequate - might mean the difference between stopping in time or hitting something/someone in an emergency.

Sorry I cant agree with that - if you cant stop in a distance you can see to be clear you are obviously going to fast for the prevailing conditions (visibility, road structure, taffic flow etc) often the cause of many road collisions.

 

[PawnSacrifice]

Also with 108's the wheel is much better filled by the larger disk

Extra braking power is always a nice thing to have though, even if the OEM set up is more than adequate - might mean the difference between stopping in time or hitting something/someone in an emergency.

Sorry I cant agree with that - if you cant stop in a distance you can see to be clear you are obviously going to fast for the prevailing conditions (visibility, road structure, taffic flow etc) often the cause of many road collisions.

That's normal driving. However, if some idiot decides to pull out of a junction, an animal runs into the road, a child runs across the road, that's an emergency!

But yeah, A11y may be a tailgater

 

[gannet]

Extra braking power is always a nice thing to have though, even if the OEM set up is more than adequate - might mean the difference between stopping in time or hitting something/someone in an emergency.

Sorry I cant agree with that - if you cant stop in a distance you can see to be clear you are obviously going to fast for the prevailing conditions (visibility, road structure, taffic flow etc) often the cause of many road collisions.

That's normal driving. However, if some idiot decides to pull out of a junction, an animal runs into the road, a child runs across the road, that's an emergency!

But yeah, A11y may be a tailgater

Anticipation is everything

 

[AlanJ]

Extra braking power is always a nice thing to have though, even if the OEM set up is more than adequate - might mean the difference between stopping in time or hitting something/someone in an emergency.[/quote]


Sorry I cant agree with that - if you cant stop in a distance you can see to be clear you are obviously going to fast for the prevailing conditions (visibility, road structure, taffic flow etc) often the cause of many road collisions. [/quote]

That's normal driving. However, if some idiot decides to pull out of a junction, an animal runs into the road, a child runs across the road, that's an emergency!

But yeah, A11y may be a tailgater [/quote]

Thats why you drive at an appropriate speed for the prevailing conditions..... slow down as you approach a blind junction, reduced speed in built up residential areas, not too difficult really. Unfortunately too many drivers see speed limits not as the maximum but a challenge to be achieved regardless of the conditions.

 

[a11y]

Wow, some thread divergence

Let me state, I'm saying hypothetically. I'm an IAM-qualified driver and know full well about appropriate speed, measuring speed for conditions, etc so I don't need the lecture. All I was saying was that more powerful brakes are NEVER a bad idea for road use, regardless of how good a OEM set up is.

 

[a11y]

But yeah, A11y may be a tailgater

Cheeky bugger!

 

[Aebous]

Wow, some thread divergence

Let me state, I'm saying hypothetically. I'm an IAM-qualified driver and know full well about appropriate speed, measuring speed for conditions, etc so I don't need the lecture. All I was saying was that more powerful brakes are NEVER a bad idea for road use, regardless of how good a OEM set up is.

My 2 cents, more powerful brakes are NEVER a bad idea for road use, unless a person tailgaiting (or following behind) does not have powerful brakes! Or a quick enough reaction
Which I'll add is why it's nice to be alert as to what's on your sides so hopefully we can just maneuver out of the way with our nimble cars and let the guy behind worry about stopping :evil:

 

[cj10jeeper]

wow - I'm with a11y on this one about some serious thread divergence

Still I can't see any possible situation where having better brakes does not have advantages, especially when driving a powerful car that needs stopping. If that wasn't the case I guess it would make sense if we all continued to use rod operated drum brakes on the rear wheels only. Moving to hydraulic drums on all 4 wheels was clearly a dangerous step :wink:

 

[Mr Whippy]

Bigger brakes might not always be better.

If you need bigger wheels, that adds weight, and worse ride.

If they are heavier it's more mass to slow down too, and less good wheel control due to more unsprung mass.


Personally I think the ones on the 3.0i are pretty good. I've never come close to wanting more yet. I guess if you are really heating them up then bigger ones will make sense (because in this case the upgrade is small impact on weight etc)... but purely in an emergency stop situation, the tyres are the limiting factor from most normal road speeds! (when the setup is already very good, which it is)

Dave