brake upgrade - hi spec/ wilwoods

[bmw9818]

Wanted to find out before I spend 5-600 quid if anyones running hi spec or wilwoods, and review?

Heard bad things about wilwoods that they flex etc, hi spec also heard not so great reviews in regards to customer service etc, looking at ap but they only have m3s listed,

First plan was to get wms kit but seems keri has abandoned ship?

On the wiki it says wms has 1.25 specific pistons and.wilwood has larger, don't.want a spongy pedal or long travel and dodgy brake balance, if I get a hi spec kit would I need the pistons to be as close to 1.25 In diameter to avoid problems? also.running the standard brake master

[steve_k]

i've got the hi-spec billet 4 pot 280mm kit on my sport, had it for nearly 10yr's, no complaints so far.

only gripe is the price of new disks (£150++).

pads can be got pretty cheap if you look round (volvo p1800 is what they are based on)

whole set up (disks, pads, braided lines, calipers & adaptors) cost me £550 nearly 10yr's ago.

[bmw9818]

Oh okay, that's the same one I enquired about on Friday, current price is 666 with the vat,

Plan to get either ds2500 or the guy recommended carbon lorraine pads iirc,

But in terms of pedal feel is it a noticeable improvement with the standard brake master or did you upgrade?

[steve_k]

pedal feel seems better than before, firmer for sure, looking at getting a large M/C in the near future as an upgrade.

as for pads i used the redstuff ones that came in the kit till they needed to be replaced, thats when i found out about the other pads, feels the same as the red stuff without the extra dust.

[bmw9818]

Just went down 2015 price is nearing £700, with lines and pads!

20mm clearance issue as well, are you obviously running spacers up front? Any arch rolling etc, got a 7j bbs Rim up front,

[JF008]

I bought the e30 billet 4 kit 2 years ago, all good so far but the disks were drilled to fit two different bolt patterns although I bought the 325i specific kit and waited for it to be made... Stops the m50 with clio servo pretty good.

edit: talking about the hi spec kit

[Lurch320i]

A bit off topic to what everyone has been saying but I've got e34 540i Calipers front and rear, e32 servo and 25mm MC
Audi 312mm discs up front and bmw 294mm discs at the rear

Pedal feel is nice and standard because of the double chambered servo but they work very well when you stamp your foot on the pedal

[steve_k]

Just went down 2015 price is nearing £700, with lines and pads!

20mm clearance issue as well, are you obviously running spacers up front? Any arch rolling etc, got a 7j bbs Rim up front,

£700? not to big a hike in nearly 10yr's lol.

arch rolling? nope, spacers yes as although i'm running compo cxn 17x8.5 they came in vw golf mk2 fitment & i had to use spacers so they would clear.

like i said before i've had no problems with then since i fitted them.

[allanallen]

I bought the e30 billet 4 kit 2 years ago, all good so far but the disks were drilled to fit two different bolt patterns although I bought the 325i specific kit and waited for it to be made... Stops the m50 with clio servo pretty good.

edit: talking about the hi spec kit

A lot of hi-spec kits are like this, they'll be off the shelf discs for another car re drilled and possibly have the centre bore altered to suit your car. They charge daft money for the discs, if you can find out what the discs originally came off you can have them re-drilled yourself and save some cash

I've got hi-spec R114s on a circuit car and they flex, they wedge the pads so I often swap the pads around so they wear evenly.

[ajay]

I used these on my S54 E30 in conjunction with a 25mm master cylinder, they performed without fault in any situation!

I would add that big fronts & nothing at the rear does not make for the best setup, a smaller matched set of fronts & rears would ultimatly out perform big fronts only, IMO!

[Demlotcrew]

How is everyone quantifying their cars stopping performance - 'stops very well' compared to what?

[bmw9818]

Why do you want to 'upgrade' your standard system?

If you do some minor exchanges to the OEM system i.e. braided lines, new fluid, decent pads, and make sure the linkages are all tight, your OEM system will easily cope with even 'spirited' road use and some track time.

As Lurch320i above, I have fitted the complete braking system from a 740i (including the 4 channel ABS), but only because it also has the 740i motor fitted (it stops VERY well with this system!). My M52B28 e30 has the standard e30 system, but with braided lines, good pads etc and it copes more than adequately.

IMO, you only need 4pots etc if you have a dedicated track slag, anything else only needs a well-maintained OEM system with a few tweaks.

The m20 is due to come out over winter and a m60 to sit in its place, planning ahead, plus I could do with the bit extra on nurburg, dont want brake fade!

in terms of lines all ready have braided all round, rears have new brembo discs, calipers and ebc green stuff,

tbh at £700+ im thinking to get grooved discs and ds2500 pads for the time being, and take the hit another time possibly,

[ajay]

An M60 conversion would justify a decent upgrade, forgive me if i'm wrong but a standard set up ( no matter how well its maintained) will not be up to track work, and i've heard not so great things about DS2500's on track, not sure about their capabilities on just a road turd.

[reggid]

i'm contemplating a BBK, not for reduced stopping distances the tyres are the limit on that nor for reduced fade on the street (i dont drive crazy), but for better brake feel something confidence inspiring and nice and progressive linear feel. The e30 brakes are hopeless in this regard no matter what fluid and pads i use.

[JF008]

How is everyone quantifying their cars stopping performance - 'stops very well' compared to what?

Good one! My hi spec front brakes with oe rear disks stops the m50 e30 better than the 318i front brakes were stopping the m40 e30 with oe drums at the rear

[Demlotcrew]

How did you measure this?

[JF008]

The intensity of the fear factor when braking hard to avoid crashing. One could go the scientific method to find quantifiable yet similar results.

[DanThe]

How is everyone quantifying their cars stopping performance - 'stops very well' compared to what?

Compared to before they changed the brakes I suspect.

Not everybody gets a hard on for accelerometers and data loggers

[reggid]

i guess its more of a qualitative assessment, i also approve of the fear factor method. mine sometimes are a little too scary....

[Andyboy]

I've just acquired a pair of E38 728i Brembo calipers that I may use on my 318iS track slag or sell on. They should fit under 16 inch wheels.

[Demlotcrew]

I had the whole big brake kit on my car almost ten years ago.

http://www.300mm.de/fahrzeuge/0003/0003.htm

Don't get me wrong the OE hardware is good, but its nothing compared to whats available and I would never recommend OE as the best you will ever need..........

[Andyboy]

You can never have brakes that are too good!

[allanallen]

What do those things weigh though?!

[Demlotcrew]

What do those things weigh though?!

This is one of the issues, even some good multi piston OE high performance callipers are just too heavy.

To give an idea, the 540i parts come to around 14.9kg for each front corner. My AP's are 7.6kg each corner, thats less than the stock E30 hardware (9.17kg).

[bmw9818]

Well four pots it is, after 5 minutes on nurburg my brembo rear discs, ebc greens up back and yellow stuff up front, with braided lines and refurbished calipers and 5.1 fluid, we're basically gone!

The oem system will last about 5 minutes if your actually planning on pushing your car, then be prepared for brake fade and oh shit moments!