What have you done to your car today?

[3002 tii]

The factory M badges has seen better days, tri-colors were really faded. Was going back and forth on replacing vs debadging but decided to go gloss black using the ‘competition’ style badges. Only issue is they don’t offer the size badges in correct size so for those I had to go aftermarket.

My red E46 M3 Brembo 4 pot big brake kit calipers will come in next Monday from FreakyParts. It comes with caliper brake hoses that have been on backorder for months. Stewart said he had 20 kits that had been waiting on the brake hoses, finally received them or at least mine came in.

Don't forget to specify Z4M caliper brake hoses so they are long enough to reach on a Z4M.

If these are the 996 Brembos, great upgrade. Did the same last year, tons of pad options and changes are so quick.

 

[patriot66]

Wheels back on after a referb & new disks and pads, little splash of two tone. 8633D745-81C1-4681-86AE-D97CA529AA7C.jpeg777ABCD5-6BE1-43E6-B36F-B4992689F093.jpeg

They look spot-on ! You've got the grey and silver shades just right IMHO. Very nice indeed

 

[TOMGREEN413]

Great photo

 

[3gGT01]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

From what I can tell they are the 996 calipers. Here's a pic of them at FreakyParts. Also looked at other images of 996's, which looked the same to me.

 

[3002 tii]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

From what I can tell they are the 996 calipers. Here's a pic of them at FreakyParts. Also looked at other images of 996's, which looked the same to me.
IMG_1493.jpeg

That looks right given how they machined the calipers. You may already know things but I’ll throw out couple tips re install:

1. For the rears, the caliper sits in front of the rotor on a Porsche whereas on BMW it sits behind. This means you’ll need to swap sides and reverse the hard bridge line with the bleeder values, i.e. bleeder valves face up.

2. Even though the rear 996 caliper is same as the Boxster S, you’re actually better off running a front NON-S pad in the rear. This will avoid any rust ring from unswept areas.

3. I did not run any pad dampers. If you install the rear correctly (per #1 above), you shouldn’t have any noise or squeal, and thus the damper is unnecessary. But if you include the damper, you won’t be able to easily swap out pads on the fly without taking the caliper off, which negates a huge benefit to this upgrade.

4. I don’t know which wheels you’re running but you should have spacers on hand for the front just in case. I run wider wheels in the front so was non-issue for me but YMMV.

 

[3gGT01]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

Wow, I certainly appreciate the info Dubbedown, as it would look killer with the 996 red calipers on the rear too!

Ok, I need to check for understanding.

1. So will the 996 calipers I ordered for the front fit the rear?
2. Will the brackets that come with my front kit fit the rear or do I need to order different brackets?
3. The dampers you are referring to, are they the small little circular dampers that fit on the pistons?
4. A rear non-S Porsche front pad will fit these same front caliper, but should be used on the rear based on caliper orientation.

 

[3002 tii]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

Wow, I certainly appreciate the info Dubbedown, as it would look killer with the 996 red calipers on the rear too!

Ok, I need to check for understanding.

1. So will the 996 calipers I ordered for the front fit the rear?
2. Will the brackets that come with my front kit fit the rear or do I need to order different brackets?
3. The dampers you are referring to, are they the small little circular dampers that fit on the pistons?
4. A rear non-S Porsche front pad will fit these same front caliper, but should be used on the rear based on caliper orientation.

I assumed you purchased a 4 corner kit. I didn’t realize you bought fronts only.

But to answer your question, the 996 brembo upgrade is compatible for all 4 corners on the M, provided that you have brackets and lines. But the rear calipers are not the same as the front. You just need to source the Porsche rears.

Yes on the dampers. No, you need a front non-S pad for the rear caliper (as opposed to a S rear pad for the rear). Here’s a good DIY write up on the 4 corner install.

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/main-forum/e46-2001-2006/6402-porsche-996-brembo-bbk-conversion-install

FYI purchased my brackets and lines from Rally Road. Their brackets are very light and high quality.

Obligatory picture drop… I went with yellow

 

[TheDan]

I'd be interested to see what happens when you also fit a set of Brembo 4 pots to the rear. I wanted to do this, but after multiple track sessions I was quite happy with the brake balance with the Brembo 4 pot front and stock rear calipers. I think that if I were to add Brembo 4 pots to the rear, it would end up getting quite squirmy during hard braking.

Let me know if you go for it as I would be interested in doing the rears also.

EDIT: [ref]Dubbedown[/ref], I didn't realise you had the Brembo 4 pots on all 4 corners. Do you find thats its too rear biased or does it work quite well?

 

[3002 tii]

I'd be interested to see what happens when you also fit a set of Brembo 4 pots to the rear. I wanted to do this, but after multiple track sessions I was quite happy with the brake balance with the Brembo 4 pot front and stock rear calipers. I think that if I were to add Brembo 4 pots to the rear, it would end up getting quite squirmy during hard braking.

Let me know if you go for it as I would be interested in doing the rears also.

Not sure if this was directed to me or 3gT01 but I was very satisfied with the 4 corner kit on track. Brake balance felt good overall and definitely met the goals of of fade resistance vs stock.

 

[3gGT01]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

Too bad FreakyParts didn't have a 4 corner kit. I did see some brackets to make the Porsche 996 rear calipers fit the Z4M. If I buy the Porsche calipers then I would need to remove that Porsche name and put on perhaps a Brembo label, to match the front. Not sure if that label is just a sticker and can be pulled off or if it's clear coated on. If I had to repaint them, then I would have to see about matching up that particular red color to the front. Maybe if the Brembo label can be removed from the new front kit, I could put a heat resistant M label on them as well as the rear. Actually I'm not planning to track this car, so getting track hot should not be an issue. Any of my cars I track get pits in the paint and windshield and I sort of bought this car for my wife...she doesn't even like me to drive it!

I guess if I really felt I needed to, I could repaint front and rear with the G2 paint system. They have a spray system I see, but also saw a guy on Youtube buy a single use spray system and mixed half the G2 paint can with half the catalyst to do just one set of calipers.

I have 19" CSL rims and I'm pretty certain there is a spacer on the fronts. Will double check...

 

[3gGT01]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

Ok, I see that the rear 4 pots are physically smaller than the fronts.

Did you have to have the rear calipers machined on your M or is machining only required for non M's?

Did yours come painted yellow or did you refinish them yourself or have someplace refinish them or maybe they are brand new?

Thanks!

 

[3002 tii]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

Ok, I see that the rear 4 pots are physically smaller than the fronts.

Did you have to have the rear calipers machined on your M or is machining only required for non M's?

Did yours come painted yellow or did you refinish them yourself or have someplace refinish them or maybe they are brand new?

Thanks!

Rears do not need to be machined.

I bought lines and brackets from RR and I sourced the used calipers separately. It was much cheaper going this route. I then prepped the calipers for powder coating, slapped on my own Brembo decal, and then rebuilt with new seals, bleeders, etc. I didn’t want to chance ruining the new hardware during the power coat process so I intentionally waited till the end. But after all said and done they were good as new.

Prices for powder coat can vary. I got lucky and found someone very reasonable. This is actually my second time doing this mod. But on my prior set, I actually stripped the original finish and painted them myself using high temp spray (and threw into cheap oven). The finish actually came out quite good.

 

[3gGT01]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

Ok, I see that the rear 4 pots are physically smaller than the fronts.

...

Rears do not need to be machined.

I bought lines and brackets from RR and I sourced the used calipers separately. It was much cheaper going this route. I then prepped the calipers for powder coating, slapped on my own Brembo decal, and then rebuilt with new seals, bleeders, etc. I didn’t want to chance ruining the new hardware during the power coat process so I intentionally waited till the end. But after all said and done they were good as new.

Prices for powder coat can vary. I got lucky and found someone very reasonable. This is actually my second time doing this mod. But on my prior set, I actually stripped the original finish and painted them myself using high temp spray (and threw into cheap oven). The finish actually came out quite good.

I've gotten car parts powder coated, but the place I use can't do powder coating for high temp applications. Were yours powder coated for high temp? If not, did they hold up on the track? Any clear coat over your Brembo decals? I see they have heat resistant Brembo decals, clear coating is probably not needed then. Regarding prep, did you prime your calipers with a high temp primer or just clean them up real well?

I had some 4 pot calipers built for my Acura NSX and the finish has held up well to track abuse.

The yellow powder coat looks great!

Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks for all the good info Dubbedown! After getting my front calipers installed, I will look for some used rear calipers.

 

[3002 tii]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

Ok, I see that the rear 4 pots are physically smaller than the fronts.

...

Rears do not need to be machined.

I bought lines and brackets from RR and I sourced the used calipers separately. It was much cheaper going this route. I then prepped the calipers for powder coating, slapped on my own Brembo decal, and then rebuilt with new seals, bleeders, etc. I didn’t want to chance ruining the new hardware during the power coat process so I intentionally waited till the end. But after all said and done they were good as new.

Prices for powder coat can vary. I got lucky and found someone very reasonable. This is actually my second time doing this mod. But on my prior set, I actually stripped the original finish and painted them myself using high temp spray (and threw into cheap oven). The finish actually came out quite good.

I've gotten car parts powder coated, but the place I use can't do powder coating for high temp applications. Were yours powder coated for high temp? If not, did they hold up on the track? Any clear coat over your Brembo decals? I see they have heat resistant Brembo decals, clear coating is probably not needed then. Regarding prep, did you prime your calipers with a high temp primer or just clean them up real well?

I had some 4 pot calipers built for my Acura NSX and the finish has held up well to track abuse.

The yellow powder coat looks great!

Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks for all the good info Dubbedown! After getting my front calipers installed, I will look for some used rear calipers.

No worries on the questions.

Short answer is my calipers held up fine to 2 days at Watkins Glen. I personally think the whole thing about the finish melting is overblown. I bet you’ll find more images online of painted calipers ruined vs powder coated ones. In fact I once painted my stock 3.0si calipers with silver G2 and after one track day, the color turned bronze. It had a weird glaze from the heat. Powder coat seems more durable than G2.

My Brembo logos are decals. I bought hi-temp ones (or so the seller claimed) and I hit it with 2 coats of clear, and baked at 200* for few mins. Maybe unnecessary but figured why not.

Since everything’s getting blasted off anyway, all I had to do was mask off certain areas. But if you’re asking about the first time I when I painted, yes throughly cleaned, sanded, degreased, etc. to the point where all you saw was the unfinished gray surface. And for that I intentionally went with gloss black just in case it didn’t come out well as I hoped but it was actually decent for $50 of materials.

Back to the track usage, I will caveat I don’t do enduro sessions. My sessions are limited to 25-40 mins on/off.

 

[3gGT01]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

Lots of good information in that link you provided.

Do you recall what clear coat paint you used? Heat resistant?

Watkins Glen, that would be a fun track! Did 2 days at Cota here, such a nice surface to race on. My favorite haunt was the Texas World Speedway, which they have since closed down to build subdivisions on. Not to be confused with the Texas Motor Speedway. Most of the road course tracks I do are ~3.5 miles long.

 

[3002 tii]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

Lots of good information in that link you provided.

Do you recall what clear coat paint you used? Heat resistant?

Watkins Glen, that would be a fun track! Did 2 days at Cota here, such a nice surface to race on. My favorite haunt was the Texas World Speedway, which they have since closed down to build subdivisions on. Not to be confused with the Texas Motor Speedway. Most of the road course tracks I do are ~3.5 miles long.

VHT Clear Gloss Caliper Paint (SP730)

 

[Mr Tidy]

Got another year's MOT with no advisories.

 

[jock156]

 

[3gGT01]

[ref]Dubbedown[/ref],

Lots of good information in that link you provided.

Do you recall what clear coat paint you used? Heat resistant?

Watkins Glen, that would be a fun track! Did 2 days at Cota here, such a nice surface to race on. My favorite haunt was the Texas World Speedway, which they have since closed down to build subdivisions on. Not to be confused with the Texas Motor Speedway. Most of the road course tracks I do are ~3.5 miles long.

VHT Clear Gloss Caliper Paint (SP730)

Thanks Dubbedown! Sure beats trial and error.

 

[TOMGREEN413]

Got another year's MOT with no advisories.

Well done Sir