5 stud conversion questions?

[3drmark]

Hi all I'm very sorry if this is a question asked a million times before but .....

I'm currently building a E30 325i sport as a track car, I'm fitting a 2.8 M52, I've had a lot of rust to sort out, and now I'm at the fun stage of beginning to think about what's going back on the shell and as I will be fitting flared arches my plan was to convert to 5 stud to give me better brakes and better wheel options for filling those arches.

My questions are ........

will the earlier E36 M3 3.0 hubs and brakes fit, or will it have to be the Evo model?

and if I fit M3 brakes as suggested will the Clio master cylinder be up to the job of working such big brakes?

I do appreciate any help as I've been reading lots about the conversion and these are issues I cant seem to find a answer
for.

just for anyone interested as the read .....



Thank you in advance for any assistance

Mark

[pianist]

Couple of good links for ya ;) :

http://www.speichers.com/e30s52_5lug_pics.htm

http://clavinzero.com/e30-5-lug/

[motormanmick]

hello 3drmark,

According to the wiki, no, needs to be 95 - 98 m3, I sourced all my bits based on 96 m3, now have 315/294mm vented all round with m3 calipers.

booster/master setup is e32 on mine, I removed the spacer between the booster and firewall for a better fit, all in link below and if it'll pull up a tank like the e32, the little old e30 m50 b28 should be no problem at all. cheers.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=312861

[Motorhole]

Has to be the later Evo stuff (iirc - in the UK at least - all post-'96 M3s are Evos?)

I've done this exact swap myself - M52 engine, 5 stud with E36 M3 brakes. I ended up using a pedal box and ditching the tandem m/s and servo completely. The M3 caliper pistons are so big, pedal effort isn't much of an issue at all, even everyday driving. Provided you have a 6:1 pedal ratio and adequately sized master cylinders.

Note that the 5-stud swap has some other minor issues too - the castor still isn't 100% right (at the lower end of spec for a stock E30, but ideally should be closer to E30 M3 spec). You can get it closer still with adjustable rear control arm bushes but ideally custom or adjustable tubular control arms would be required to get it bang on. They don't come cheap!

[HairyScreech]

60mm pistons on the E36 M3 IIRC.

Huge compared to the 43mm E30 ones.

It has been suggested a couple of times that the E46 bits may actually work better, Gunni tried a set on a while back with stock concentric bushes and the wheel was nearly central in the arch, However noone has actually been able to confirm with careful measurements.

If your in Bristol then you are only half hour from me.

[HairyScreech]

60mm pistons on the E36 M3 IIRC.

Huge compared to the 43mm E30 ones.

It has been suggested a couple of times that the E46 bits may actually work better, Gunni tried a set on a while back with stock concentric bushes and the wheel was nearly central in the arch, However noone has actually been able to confirm with careful measurements.

If your in Bristol then you are only half hour from me if you want to look into it further.
http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread ... 366&page=2

[Motorhole]

60mm pistons on the E36 M3 IIRC.

Huge compared to the 43mm E30 ones.

It has been suggested a couple of times that the E46 bits may actually work better, Gunni tried a set on a while back with stock concentric bushes and the wheel was nearly central in the arch, However noone has actually been able to confirm with careful measurements.

If your in Bristol then you are only half hour from me if you want to look into it further.
http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread ... 366&page=2

It does look that way from the E46 hub/strut assembly.

Although the 330i calipers are the same as E36 M3 ones though, the discs are larger diameter (325 x 25 vs 315 x 28 iirc), necessitating a move to 17" wheels. Also lose out on the benefits of floating discs too. The difference between 1-piece Mintex E36 M3 discs and the OEM floating discs was night and day in my experience.

[HairyScreech]

No reason you can't use E36 discs/callipers on the E30.

I have E30 callipers on E46 328 discs (300mm) and they fit under 16" wheels with loads to spare.

Have you seen the price of the floating discs from BMW now

Try a Pagid disc of the right dimensions (non EVO?) we used them on the S50 compact with no issues after coming from evo discs (M3 front end on it).

[Motorhole]

No reason you can't use E36 discs/callipers on the E30.

I have E30 callipers on E46 328 discs (300mm) and they fit under 16" wheels with loads to spare.

Have you seen the price of the floating discs from BMW now

Try a Pagid disc of the right dimensions (non EVO?) we used them on the S50 compact with no issues after coming from evo discs (M3 front end on it).

Thanks mate, worth considering! I did get my discs from CP4L for about £140 per side iirc...though it seems they don't do them any more $201 per side from Pelican Parts in the US.

[HairyScreech]

We were using pagid discs from ECP (trade account) and EBC yellow stuff or orange stuff.

I always go mintex on ford stuff but they were pretty average on the E30. I think its the BMW hard disc soft pad vs ford medium pad and disc that wear together thing, two different ways of doing the same job.