How-to: Cheap brake upgrade
- Thread starter ZetaTre
- Start date
You have a 15 year old car and its a mechanical component. Depends on its environment its lived in, for its entire life , which could be wet or near the coast. Its not a biggie, regardless to what people say, a seal and piston kit isnt going to break the bank or be difficult to replace. The pistons normally get corrosion in the chroming and get stuck. The piston doesnt touch the caliper in precision , so there is no machining needed for that. It is sealed by the seal. So, remove the piston , remove the seal. Quick clean out of any crud , then fit the seal and slot the new piston back in. Some places may offer a stainless piston which depending on where you live could be worth fitting. Even a replacement new caliper , if you dont want to do that isnt much more and ten mins to fit. Then you have no frustrations for another 15 years 
Panta Rhei
Member
performance calipers from e82 e87 etc and e90 plug and play with csl rotors front and rears.
Dust brake cover for the rear from M3 e46 plus at the frond little cover bending - slightly.
Then new brake fluid lines ofc and front caliper adapters you can find on the net.
With not-bmw calipers you cannot attack brake pad sensor - here its plug and play.
Dust brake cover for the rear from M3 e46 plus at the frond little cover bending - slightly.
Then new brake fluid lines ofc and front caliper adapters you can find on the net.
With not-bmw calipers you cannot attack brake pad sensor - here its plug and play.
1066 Country
Panta Rhei
Member
To add to my previous post - you also need e46 330i brake shoe kit.
Panta Rhei
Member
Anyone fitted 335 calipers to non-M e85/e86?
Like this guy: https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1345611
Like this guy: https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1345611
Panta Rhei said:
Doing this atm. Five week lock down finished, so moving on. Z4M front discs paired with 335i calipers, for the rear OE race drilled discs but retaining the original calipers and handbrake pads. Using 335i sensors to the front with low dust pads (front and rear). Seeing that M logo has given me more ideas
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And I wouldn't say its exactly a cheap conversion. All the parts sourced out of Germany, off the top of my head, the front 4M discs were 115 euro each, the rear race discs 98 for the pair. The front calipers were about 90 euro for the pair, and the rears were about 50 euro, so about 450 euro. The courier cost to NZ was significant 
Panta Rhei
Member
Amazing!BTZ461 said:
I have 2 questions:
braking lines stay as the are? I have 3.0si 2007
and as you said I also need, apart from M3 CSL discs and 335 calipers, brake pads sensors from 335i?
Panta Rhei
Member
Any news on your brakes swap?
Hello all. As this 11 year old thread is still going I thought if add my 2 pence worth. :!:
I have bought an e46 hub to size up disces for the brembos off an F series bmw. Cailpers bolt up fine of course but finding discs was always the issue.
However i may have come across a cheaper option that the csl discs ( £350 odd, the last time i checked ) by using ones off of a Vauxhall Insignia. They are 30mm thick and 338mm in diameter. That is only 2mm off the discs designed for the calipern on the F Series. 2 things you need to do to get that to work...
1 enlarge the centrebore to 79mm
2 space the caliper out about 2mm with washers.
It does appear that you don't need to cut the pad down but i have not tested this yet.
For rears I'll be looking at the 330 calipers and carriers and either e88/82 135i discs at 324mm which have a height of 77mm or the 320mm ones from the x3 but they have a hight of 79mm which may be too much
The park brake: in another forum I have seen either some kind of lining i side the disc... or... cutting the shoe off and welding a 330i shoe onto the base of the original. This was for an e36 but the principle is the same.
Ill update accordingly
Many thanks
C
Edit: apologies to anyone who read that and could not make any sense from it... Ive now run it thru the spell checker.
I have bought an e46 hub to size up disces for the brembos off an F series bmw. Cailpers bolt up fine of course but finding discs was always the issue.
However i may have come across a cheaper option that the csl discs ( £350 odd, the last time i checked ) by using ones off of a Vauxhall Insignia. They are 30mm thick and 338mm in diameter. That is only 2mm off the discs designed for the calipern on the F Series. 2 things you need to do to get that to work...
1 enlarge the centrebore to 79mm
2 space the caliper out about 2mm with washers.
It does appear that you don't need to cut the pad down but i have not tested this yet.
For rears I'll be looking at the 330 calipers and carriers and either e88/82 135i discs at 324mm which have a height of 77mm or the 320mm ones from the x3 but they have a hight of 79mm which may be too much
The park brake: in another forum I have seen either some kind of lining i side the disc... or... cutting the shoe off and welding a 330i shoe onto the base of the original. This was for an e36 but the principle is the same.
Ill update accordingly
Many thanks
C
Edit: apologies to anyone who read that and could not make any sense from it... Ive now run it thru the spell checker.
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CHUCKNADO said:
My conversion see previous pages has stalled 'cos life in the way. However the chance to purchase front and rear Brembo calipers (Blue) from F30 2013 excite me again, Have CSL Z4M discs 345x28, will this work at the front with the brembo as a straight bolt on kit? and what disc etc do we need to make the brembo caliper work at the back? Aware of the difficulties etc with the handbrake, don't mind reasonable cost to make it work. All advice taken on board, thanks for reading Bill
Panta Rhei
Member
I will stay with 335i calipers + Z4M front rotors. No need for enlarging the centrebore or spacing the caliper out by 2 mm.
Thank you guys. It may be yet another rabbit hole that perhaps is not worth thinking about :lol: Life is already complicated enough. But they are a handsome caliper, and would look good behind the Arc8 rims. Wait, maybe the new koni shocks (also waiting to be fitted) may cause a colourway clash?
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Hi
Been reading this thread very interesting
Just to confirm
I have 2.2
So 286mm vented front
280mm solid rear
For me to upgrade to
300mm vented fronts
294mm vented rear
I would need
Front carriers only
Rear carriers and callipers
That’s the same setup as 2.5si and 3.0
Thanks
Been reading this thread very interesting
Just to confirm
I have 2.2
So 286mm vented front
280mm solid rear
For me to upgrade to
300mm vented fronts
294mm vented rear
I would need
Front carriers only
Rear carriers and callipers
That’s the same setup as 2.5si and 3.0
Thanks
I think so!
Prob a good idea to replace hoses as well? And obviously, you'll need new brake discs :wink: don't forget those
Since you're there, I'd recommend you refurb your calipers, might as well if you're there doing the whole system anyway. Would save you a job, they start to bind around around now anyway... at 15yrs or so old. My OEM N/S front calliper started to bind slightly last year. Think the rears aren't so susceptible.
Prob a good idea to replace hoses as well? And obviously, you'll need new brake discs :wink: don't forget those
Since you're there, I'd recommend you refurb your calipers, might as well if you're there doing the whole system anyway. Would save you a job, they start to bind around around now anyway... at 15yrs or so old. My OEM N/S front calliper started to bind slightly last year. Think the rears aren't so susceptible.