Atacama Yellow 35is build thread

[B21]

My original purchase TTE500 turbos that blew have been returned…

They’ve given them a new identity with fresh serial numbers ..not kept the old ones…

So I now have a pair of turbos on hot stand by…along with a HPFP, plugs and cam box ..amongst others..

 

[B21]

The ID4Motion instrument cluster just keeps on giving…

https://youtu.be/D6FQ4zB71xw?si=C7eH3tb4qwZ0dUWR

Wonder which calendar event will appear next?

 

[Reamesy]

 

[B21]

To close out on the failed turbo..I never got an answer…

I did think, after the event, that I did drive the car with a boost leak for over a 1,000 miles..maybe as a result I overspead the turbo?

Anyway £2,750 later for labour on that, gaskets etc and a new DCT sump n filter it’s been going splendidly…3 consecutive weekends away saw over 2,000 miles accumulated…no issues and plentiful amounts of power..

 

[Reamesy]

Great news mate. Finally some stability

 

[B21]

The general feedback from most folks is that the stock brakes on the E89 are 'adequate'..that is no one complains about the brakes, certainly for everyday use..

However they are not the prettiest and if you start to push things harder then some of the limitations of the stock systems appear.

Of course twiddling with pads does have some effects, but there's no free lunch..pad design is a trade off between cost, wear rates, performance envelope and wear and tear on the discs.

One option for the 18i,20i and 23i is to swap the front discs and calipers from 300 x 24 mm to 330 mm x 20..rears are 300 mm by 20 mm for all non 35i/35is E89s.

You can even go to the 35is (35i in some markets) 348 mm x 30 front and 324 x20 mm rear as all brakes are fully interchange-able on the E89 range.

All these brakes are single sliding calipers...effective but not exactly sexy.

The E89 shares more or less the same front suspension as E90s..

A simple and cost effective brake kit is BMW's own 'Performance Brake' option, this is two 6 pot Brembos in a fetching gold colour with 338 by 26 mm discs ..retails in the UK for around £1,200..and its almost pure plug n play bar a brake pad sensor change..

https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-e90/ ... 9133826BBK

This has been used by a few E89s owners with no reported issues.

In my case I went with a 330 mm BMW 28i/30i caliper / discs upgrade to my 20i following its jump to 300 BHP and then used the Performance Brake...

I later transferred this same brake system to my 35i after I started tuning it.

Although everything works fine I had this nagging issue as I approached 550 BHP about maybe revisiting this issue.

To get one thing out of the way, its close to impossible to upgrade the rear brake beyond the 324 mm x 20 mm rear from a 35is (Euro 35i)..only one recorded attempt was made and it was a major effort.

The electronic parking brake is the issue..very difficult to retain that function and upgrade the calipers /discs..

The only known solution is to usw PB company in Taiwan which starts at £2,400 plus VAT and import duties.

https://www.pbbrakes.com/bmw-z4-e89-09- ... JOU8Hoxn3E

So having covered the basics and groundwork attention then moves to other options.

There are no shortage of BBK kits for the E89 from various suppliers, prices start at around £2,000 for something that may be an improvement over BMW's own Performance Brake kit..and quickly gets into the £3k area.

With the F series BMW started offfering as both standard fit and as an option a range of brake options based on the Brembo/BMW 4 pot design that addorns many F and G series cars.

Normally blue colour with a distinct 2 obvious externally facing pistons and mounted vertically.

The key point is that these calipers can bolt on to E89 and E90s pretty easily as well as their sister brake rotors.

What’s not so clear is there are two versions of this caliper (excluding colour choices) and 3 sizes of disks..

So that’s a 340 mm caliper , a 370/380 mm caliper and 340mm/370/380 mm discs..

By default on F series its a 340mm caliper with 340 mm by 30 disc or a 370/380 caliper with a 370 mm by 30 mm disc.

If you have an M series car you would have the 370/380 caliper with a 380 mm by 30 mm disc (different offset from 370 mm disc)

If you have the M series you can have a carbon ceramic disc n pads instead of steel..but since the pads and discs retail for around £10k we will skip that one.

In addition various third parties have made adapter brackets to allow various options..

I have the much cheaper 340mm caliper (which is identical to the 370/380 caliper apart from mounting location) and some adapter plates that allow the M4 380 mm discs to be bolted on an E89…

I sourced the calipers from Autodoc..I used ABS whose business is refurbed parts and used Zimmerman 380 mm by 30mm two piece rotors with stock Textar pads.

The calipers came in bare metal as do BMW's OE parts as an option..so I've used a rattle can and sprayed them phoenix gold to match the rears..and the outgoing Performance Brake.

The economic case is interesting..

340mm calipers are cheaper AND you can buy non OE alternatives new at lower costs..

Second hand 370/380mm calipers go for £500-£800 in average condition..new ones are around £1,600 a pair (they are handed)

Two new 340 mm calipers from ABS were £270

370 mm discs (Zimmerman, drilled and vented, two piece) are £360

380 discs are £500

You can't make a 340 mm to 370 mm adapter for space reasons..but for around £120 you can easily do a 340 mm to 380 mm M disc adapter..

So a 380 mm kit based on new ABS calipers and adapter brackets and 380 mm x 30 mm discs works out at around £1,000 with all the faff and paint..

A used 370mm caliper kit will cost about the same.

You can get an adapter to allow the 370 caliper to use 380 mm M disks for around £100..

Either way for £1,000 big stopping power...

A few pictures to break this post up!

Pic is of rear 35is brake pad vs new F series front pad..

 

[B21]

Pic of F series 340mm caliper vs 370/380mm caliper ..as stated mechanically identical bar extended casting for bigger spacing on 370/380 caliper..

 

[B21]

380 MM bad boy M4 discs arrived..Zimmerman's finest 2 piece..trial fit of caliper..

The caliper in isolation looked big..more of a pimple on that boy!

 

[mike07s]

Interesting to hear there is an adapter to allow the 380mm disc with the 370/380 caliper. Do you happen to have a link?

The complications of the rear calipers are really frustrating. I’ve read through the thread on spoolstreet a few times and while it’s doable it just doesn’t seem worth the effort. I started thinking about a dual caliper setup similar to the R8 and others but that would be even more complicated, if even possible.

 

[B21]

Interesting to hear there is an adapter to allow the 380mm disc with the 370/380 caliper. Do you happen to have a link?

The complications of the rear calipers are really frustrating. I’ve read through the thread on spoolstreet a few times and while it’s doable it just doesn’t seem worth the effort. I started thinking about a dual caliper setup similar to the R8 and others but that would be even more complicated, if even possible.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276582230855?gad_source=1&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338723872&toolid=20006&customid=C_Db6MohAAAAtXFu9lrPgXr2McJTAAAAAA

https://www.seemslegitgarage.com/product-page/m3-m4-big-brake-kit?srsltid=AfmBOoqctyZHbV-nLwxxQbfixF1dq-BJ5naKtMEBJl130JXbOEVKZcsy

Yup rear calipers are a no for mods..only the PB version that I know..

Down to pads/discs/brake lines to get what you can...

 

[mike07s]

Interesting to hear there is an adapter to allow the 380mm disc with the 370/380 caliper. Do you happen to have a link?

The complications of the rear calipers are really frustrating. I’ve read through the thread on spoolstreet a few times and while it’s doable it just doesn’t seem worth the effort. I started thinking about a dual caliper setup similar to the R8 and others but that would be even more complicated, if even possible.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276582230855?gad_source=1&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338723872&toolid=20006&customid=C_Db6MohAAAAtXFu9lrPgXr2McJTAAAAAA

https://www.seemslegitgarage.com/product-page/m3-m4-big-brake-kit?srsltid=AfmBOoqctyZHbV-nLwxxQbfixF1dq-BJ5naKtMEBJl130JXbOEVKZcsy

Yup rear calipers are a no for mods..only the PB version that I know..

Down to pads/discs/brake lines to get what you can...

Perfect thank you!

 

[Reamesy]

380 MM bad boy M4 discs arrived..Zimmerman's finest 2 piece..trial fit of caliper..

The caliper in isolation looked big..more of a pimple on that boy!

If they don’t stop you nothing will

 

[B21]

380 MM bad boy M4 discs arrived..Zimmerman's finest 2 piece..trial fit of caliper..

The caliper in isolation looked big..more of a pimple on that boy!

If they don’t stop you nothing will

Well there is an 8 pot system

430x36mm from PB but I'll pass!

 

[B21]

Continue to behave like a demented squirrel…I bought some 20k mile used index 12 injectors from a guy I knew on a tuning forum..he was moving onto port injection hence those becoming available…

I paid a 1,000 USD and had them shipped direct to IQRaceworks who has a cleaning , calibration and analysis capability …for less than 200 USD he runs them, then cleans them with ultrasonic including back washing them..if they survive all that then they are good to go…he ships them out with fresh seals and decouplers..


Pick of his test rig here…

https://youtu.be/fFvl7sf5Uo4?si=Fp4HJvvvwS3TvCLg


So I’ve added to that my pile of goodies.new HPFP, cam box, injectors, turbos etc .

 

[1536Z4]

Its addictive isn`t it .

 

[B21]

I always wondered how you could accurately torque up a nut that you couldn’t get a socket on…

Result..

 

[Reamesy]

They will come in very handy too, for hard to reach nuts and bolts

 

[enuff_zed]

I always wondered how you could accurately torque up a nut that you couldn’t get a socket on…

Result..

Because I'm a pedant; you are extending the length of the lever slightly by using those.
Plius of course, the effective length will vary depending on the angle you connect the head to the wrench.
No doubt you'll come up with a clever calculation to adjust the torque setting slightly. :wink:

 

[Christopher72]

Crowfoots rock, especially in not slipping off the bolt/nut. I can see how it would be valuable when extending.

 

[BMWZ4MC]

When you use these with a ratchet handle or breaker bar, isn’t the centre of rotation at the centre of the square drive couple, and so offset from the nut by the length of the crow drive? Doesn’t the square drive couple orbit the nut effectively make this a crank?