E30 Zone

I'm in the early stages of swapping an M52B28 into my 318IS, just looking for advice on what the best options are for upgrading the brakes.

Firstly is it necessary? the wiki says the standard brakes are up to scratch for most swaps.

My next option is probably 5 stud as I've still got the brakes and suspension from the 328i e36 I used as a donor. (280mm front discs)

Or big brake kit, which I guess is the most expensive option.

Discuss...

What's the car to be used for? Road, track, mixture of both?

The standard brakes (disc all round) will be fine for road use, but any spirited driving will soon take its toll.
The 280mm 4pot WMS kit is a good option for an upgrade and you even get to keep the 15" BBS wheels.
There is a 312mm (or there abouts) option using Audi discs and 540i calipers with a custom bracket, but you would also need bigger wheels.

E36 5 stud causes its own issues with geometry (have a search, all the info is on here) and you can't use the 328i stuff, which means using M3 Evo bits, so is only really worth it if you're fitting huge brakes.

The car will be a road car so nothing huge required really.

How much would the 280mm wms kit set me back?

If I was to go with 5 stud it would be using a spindle adapter and calliper braket which allows you to fit e36 hubs and callipers, ive seen this in the US and is quite popular even with people using their cars for track use. Then I would use Z3 hubs on the rear.

My 318is is standard and doing the NÃarburgring this summer highlighted the need for better brakes, as a priority over more power. However for the road the standard set up has never been found wanting

What I'm worried about is that having extra power will highlight the need for better brakes, even just for spirited road use.

davelarge wrote:How much would the 280mm wms kit set me back?

There's a heap of info in the link in my sig just below.

davelarge wrote:What I'm worried about is that having extra power will highlight the need for better brakes, even just for spirited road use.

I ran my S50 conversion with standard 325i brakes (for a short time) and they were fine for normal road use. It was the extra weight of the S50 that killed them when 'making progress' on spirited drives.
I upgraded to E30 M3 brakes (280x25mm) with OEM discs and uprated pads and they were great even when pushed.

As the M52 is lighter than an M20, I think the standard 325i brakes (in good working order) will be fine but, decent brakes are a much better upgrade than more power... Personally I prefer to keep the standard 15" BBS, so I'd be saving for the 280mm WMS kit.

davelarge wrote:The car will be a road car so nothing huge required really.

How much would the 280mm wms kit set me back?

If I was to go with 5 stud it would be using a spindle adapter and calliper braket which allows you to fit e36 hubs and callipers, ive seen this in the US and is quite popular even with people using their cars for track use. Then I would use Z3 hubs on the rear.

This is exactly what I am doing with mine at the moment.

Z3 rear in e30 arms, z3 rear brakes, E36/46 front bearings with sleeves, custom locknuts, disc spacers, e46 328 discs and calliper brackets.

Its actually all a bit of a mission.

I've actually got a larger-than-280mm 15" BBS fitting disc on my desk at the moment, that's also a bit of a mission but I'm having another go at it!!!!

keri-WMS wrote:I've actually got a larger-than-280mm 15" BBS fitting disc on my desk at the moment, that's also a bit of a mission but I'm having another go at it!!!!

Definitely keep us updated

jmc330i wrote:

keri-WMS wrote:I've actually got a larger-than-280mm 15" BBS fitting disc on my desk at the moment, that's also a bit of a mission but I'm having another go at it!!!!

Definitely keep us updated

Will do! I've been trying to get it sorted for ages but now seems like a good time to try and finish the prototype.