Damo's E86 for road and track - New upgrades incoming!
- Thread starter damocell
- Start date
I've been looking at those recently. Upgrade over poly? I've heard they do add to NVH but I'm not sure how much.
You know what they say, cheap brakes make the best brakes....
Bear with me on this one, but I think my brake setup is (hopefully) finally finished. I'm sure some of you will think I'm a bit nuts for this one. But I decided to go ahead in the interest of science, and I'm more than prepared to lose the money I spent on these if they are a pile of s**t.
Fitted my BBK a couple of weeks ago and have been running it to see how well it works. So far so good. It's a replica of the current AP CP9200 caliper which I've christened the AB caliper (due to where I bought them from
)
It's a 4-pot calliper with 345x28 2 piece discs.
When I say replica, they are the EXACT same dimensions and spookily the EXACT same weight that AP quotes. They can also use the same pads, seals, pistons and bleed nipples as the genuine APs.
The kit was a full BBK, bells, brackets, calipers, discs, lines and pads. Fitting was straightforward once I'd trimmed the backing plate and taken a small protrusion off the hub.
But, they leaked from the threads of all four bleed nipples. Turns out that whilst they are a replica AP, the manufacturer didn't supply the correct AP style bleed nipples with O rings. Once I'd sourced some of those from Frentech they no longer leak.
After I discovered they leaked, I disassembled both calipers, checked everything and rebuilt them just so I was happy they were ok to put on the car.
In terms of weight, the whole setup is 4kg lighter per side than the stock setup and a lot larger, obviously.
Now they are fitted the pedal is super firm, although I will be changing the pads for peace of mind. So far I'm pleased. They look great, function as they should and hopefully won't be putting me through a wall anytime soon.
They need a full outing on track and I'll update on that as soon as I can.
So the fronts are 4 pot 345mm and the rears are 345mm 2 pots. Should be more than enough stopping power now......so long as they work. Can't see why they won't, but I'll be keeping a VERY close eye on them.
In other news, the China parts keep coming.... new WedsSport replica wheels 18x8.5 et35 wrapped in the brand new Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo tyres 255 all round are now on the car. These weighed in at 8.6kg per wheel and are flow-formed for a little added strength. In the interest of science, I'll be smashing kerbs to see if they stand up to some abuse
Bear with me on this one, but I think my brake setup is (hopefully) finally finished. I'm sure some of you will think I'm a bit nuts for this one. But I decided to go ahead in the interest of science, and I'm more than prepared to lose the money I spent on these if they are a pile of s**t.
Fitted my BBK a couple of weeks ago and have been running it to see how well it works. So far so good. It's a replica of the current AP CP9200 caliper which I've christened the AB caliper (due to where I bought them from
It's a 4-pot calliper with 345x28 2 piece discs.
When I say replica, they are the EXACT same dimensions and spookily the EXACT same weight that AP quotes. They can also use the same pads, seals, pistons and bleed nipples as the genuine APs.
The kit was a full BBK, bells, brackets, calipers, discs, lines and pads. Fitting was straightforward once I'd trimmed the backing plate and taken a small protrusion off the hub.
But, they leaked from the threads of all four bleed nipples. Turns out that whilst they are a replica AP, the manufacturer didn't supply the correct AP style bleed nipples with O rings. Once I'd sourced some of those from Frentech they no longer leak.
After I discovered they leaked, I disassembled both calipers, checked everything and rebuilt them just so I was happy they were ok to put on the car.
In terms of weight, the whole setup is 4kg lighter per side than the stock setup and a lot larger, obviously.
Now they are fitted the pedal is super firm, although I will be changing the pads for peace of mind. So far I'm pleased. They look great, function as they should and hopefully won't be putting me through a wall anytime soon.
They need a full outing on track and I'll update on that as soon as I can.
So the fronts are 4 pot 345mm and the rears are 345mm 2 pots. Should be more than enough stopping power now......so long as they work. Can't see why they won't, but I'll be keeping a VERY close eye on them.
In other news, the China parts keep coming.... new WedsSport replica wheels 18x8.5 et35 wrapped in the brand new Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo tyres 255 all round are now on the car. These weighed in at 8.6kg per wheel and are flow-formed for a little added strength. In the interest of science, I'll be smashing kerbs to see if they stand up to some abuse
Attachments
Meant to be much better than poly in terms of the range of movement they allow.
Poly does not seem to be recommended by the E46 guys. They seem to like either the spherical bushes, or standard with rtab limiters.
Long time since I've posted and there have been a few changes to the car.
Did a successful track day at Donington; the new Alibaba brakes worked brilliantly all day! very pleased with them and their performance so far.
Fitted a full KW V3 Coilover setup from an E46 M3 to see how the fitment went; fronts were perfect, rears had quite a bit of droop. From this, I sold the KW and ordered some new coilovers based on the fact that E46 M3 ones do fit, and there is more choice on the market.
Untitled by Damien Bower, on Flickr
Also I fitted my hydraulic steering setup using a E46 purple tag rack and a power steering pump from a Porsche Cup Car (also used in the Vauxhall Zafira!) A couple of teething problems getting the correct fuse, but it works well and is way better than the crappy electric setup. More precise, better feedback and zero wandering, but heavier at lower speed, which I don't mind. I will get round to doing a video on how this was fitted, but it's quite a cheap swap, costing about £350 in total
Untitled by Damien Bower, on Flickr
After some feedback from a pro racing driver, I also decided to rebuild and change the ramp angles in my LSD. I was running a 30:60 degree setup which was locking too aggressively, giving the car too much traction and not enough rotation. After reading up on the process, I decided to tackle it myself. Luckily the pressure plates in my LSD had the required 45:45 ramp angles as well, so I took it all apart (on my really clean driveway
) and rebuilt it. I also reduced the preload to aid rotation. So far so good, and the car definitely rotates better on throttle so it seems to have worked
Untitled by Damien Bower, on Flickr
Untitled by Damien Bower, on Flickr
I also managed a track evening at 3 Sisters too in the pouring rain, which went well
Outside of that, I needed to fit a new passenger front wheel bearing as the Febi one I fitted last year is toast after 8 track days and 9000 miles and I've bought some seats even though I swore I wouldn't make this an uncomfortable track car
On to Croft next week and then prepping for the Ring trip in October
Oh...and I think I've snapped my handbrake cables
Did a successful track day at Donington; the new Alibaba brakes worked brilliantly all day! very pleased with them and their performance so far.
Fitted a full KW V3 Coilover setup from an E46 M3 to see how the fitment went; fronts were perfect, rears had quite a bit of droop. From this, I sold the KW and ordered some new coilovers based on the fact that E46 M3 ones do fit, and there is more choice on the market.
Untitled by Damien Bower, on FlickrAlso I fitted my hydraulic steering setup using a E46 purple tag rack and a power steering pump from a Porsche Cup Car (also used in the Vauxhall Zafira!) A couple of teething problems getting the correct fuse, but it works well and is way better than the crappy electric setup. More precise, better feedback and zero wandering, but heavier at lower speed, which I don't mind. I will get round to doing a video on how this was fitted, but it's quite a cheap swap, costing about £350 in total
Untitled by Damien Bower, on FlickrAfter some feedback from a pro racing driver, I also decided to rebuild and change the ramp angles in my LSD. I was running a 30:60 degree setup which was locking too aggressively, giving the car too much traction and not enough rotation. After reading up on the process, I decided to tackle it myself. Luckily the pressure plates in my LSD had the required 45:45 ramp angles as well, so I took it all apart (on my really clean driveway
) and rebuilt it. I also reduced the preload to aid rotation. So far so good, and the car definitely rotates better on throttle so it seems to have workedUntitled by Damien Bower, on FlickrUntitled by Damien Bower, on FlickrI also managed a track evening at 3 Sisters too in the pouring rain, which went well
Outside of that, I needed to fit a new passenger front wheel bearing as the Febi one I fitted last year is toast after 8 track days and 9000 miles and I've bought some seats even though I swore I wouldn't make this an uncomfortable track car
On to Croft next week and then prepping for the Ring trip in October
Oh...and I think I've snapped my handbrake cables
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