StopTeck/Brembo/Wheels?? Help!?!?

[BimmerRob08]

Fella's,

I need some help making the best choice here. I can't go all out because of $$$$ but would like to upgrade fo performance because there is a bit of $ I can fork. So what I'm contemplating;

First, is there a StopTeck or Brembo Front/Rear kit (Discs/Calipers/Pads) that will fit the stock 18" Wheels?

Will those brake kits work well for street/track use?

Should I go with 19" wheels, suspension and maybe just yellow or green stuff pads with stock rotors instead?

Main purpose is stronger brake power, light track use, and handling.

Because going with 19" wheels/suspension/brake kits, is gonna be about $8,000+. I'd rather get the most bang for my buck at about half that.

I'm real curious about better brakes because I've tracked 5 time so far between Snetterton, Brands Hatch (UK) and Nurburgring, Geramany and already have some vibrations up front when braking and the M3 has a total of less than 16,000 miles total. So it's obvious stock brakes are a bit weak for such activities.

What do you all suggest? Thanks for all your inputs.

Rob

[Simon@RENNSpec]

Big Brake kits are designed to increase Heat Capacity and Reduce Compliance, Shorter Stopping Distances; Better Brake Modulation; Firmer Brake Pedal; Less Brake Fade. With that amount of track days and miles, BBK is definitely a perfect upgrade for you.


In response to whether the Brembo kits clears OEM 18" wheels:

We have had fitted the Brembo (365mm/345mm) combination behind the OEM 18". The spokes of the wheels clear the calipers with no problem. There's plenty of room left; however, the brake lines on the calipers are very close to the balancing weights on the stock wheels (see below pictures).

We recommend going with a minimum of 5mm spacers if you wish to keep the original balancing weights; otherwise the front wheels will need to be re-balanced with low profile balancing weights.

The rears will have zero issues.


Here are some photos of the fitting:

[rzm3]

Question is, how experienced of a track driver are you?

Many advanced drivers here have no issues with stock calipers and rotors with some slight upgrades.

The vibration is probably from the uneven deposit of OE pads onto your rotor. The OE pads start to melt when tracked hard.

If you want to save money, my rec is:

1) Get more heat resistant pads. BMW actually makes "sport pads" for the M3. Or go aftermarket. I would recommend StopTech's Street Sport pads, which is perfect for street and track.

2) Upgrade your fluid and brake lines. Get higher boiling point fluid reduces chances of boiling, and get stainless steel braided lines for more consistent pedal feel.

These two combined will run just a few hundred US$. If this is not enough, at that point you can consider a BBK.

[JAJ]

Originally Posted by rldzhao

Question is, how experienced of a track driver are you?

Many advanced drivers here have no issues with stock calipers and rotors with some slight upgrades.

The vibration is probably from the uneven deposit of OE pads onto your rotor. The OE pads start to melt when tracked hard.

If you want to save money, my rec is:

1) Get more heat resistant pads. BMW actually makes "sport pads" for the M3. Or go aftermarket. I would recommend StopTech's Street Sport pads, which is perfect for street and track.

2) Upgrade your fluid and brake lines. Get higher boiling point fluid reduces chances of boiling, and get stainless steel braided lines for more consistent pedal feel.

These two combined will run just a few hundred US$. If this is not enough, at that point you can consider a BBK.

I agree with rldzhao, you don't need to spend a lot to solve the one problem you described specifically, which is that you have pulsing brakes after a couple of times at the track. A set of race pads (BMW Sport Pads or Pagid Yellows) or even a set of club sport pads (Ferodo DS2500) would probably give you everything you need.

I get the sense you want more than that, though - you mentioned suspension and larger rims. If you have other goals, could you expand on them a bit for us?

[sparkyg]

The Brembo 365/345 have no problem with stock 18's if you get low profile wheel weights.

Lots of clearance then.

GL

[BimmerRob08]

Thanks for your inputs fella's.

Well after some hard desition making (do I really need to blow $5,000? on brakes) kinda thinking. And also found out that if I were to go with BBK's then I loose the brake wear sensor. Not a big deal if I was able to track weekly or something. But I don't live near a track to do that often enough.

So best choice as one of you indicated is to go with Steel lines/Motul or equivalent fluid & and some good brake pads.

I actually like my 18" wheels and will probebly go in the direction of a Dinan Stage 1 or 2 suspension system.

I'm unsure of spacers, maybe only 10mm to widen the stance but I read often about problems that can arise from spacers.

So two big questions;

1. What street/track pads to go with on stock OEM. There's alot so I'd like more detailed reasoning behind the choices.

2. Is the Dinan Stage 1 or 2 suspension worth the money? Should I go with RD front/rear anti-roll bars or just the Dinan front Roll bar?

Reasons: Better handling at speeds, occasional track use. I'm no F1 driver but I can cook the brakes in a few laps if I don't hold back a bit.

So where do I start??

Cheers!

[JAJ]

Originally Posted by BimmerRob08

Thanks for your inputs fella's.

Well after some hard desition making (do I really need to blow $5,000? on brakes) kinda thinking. And also found out that if I were to go with BBK's then I loose the brake wear sensor. Not a big deal if I was able to track weekly or something. But I don't live near a track to do that often enough.

So best choice as one of you indicated is to go with Steel lines/Motul or equivalent fluid & and some good brake pads.

I actually like my 18" wheels and will probebly go in the direction of a Dinan Stage 1 or 2 suspension system.

I'm unsure of spacers, maybe only 10mm to widen the stance but I read often about problems that can arise from spacers.

So two big questions;

1. What street/track pads to go with on stock OEM. There's alot so I'd like more detailed reasoning behind the choices.

2. Is the Dinan Stage 1 or 2 suspension worth the money? Should I go with RD front/rear anti-roll bars or just the Dinan front Roll bar?

Reasons: Better handling at speeds, occasional track use. I'm no F1 driver but I can cook the brakes in a few laps if I don't hold back a bit.

So where do I start??

Cheers!

When it comes to slippery slopes, always start at the top! That's what the rest of us did.

I did a lot of shopping for bits for mine before I bought, and in the end I skipped the "I'll just upgrade it a little" items and put on a BBK and a Clubsport suspension. I've got a great daily driver now that sparkles at the track. It cost more on the first round, but the truth is I've spent less than I did on my last car where it took me two or three rounds of upgrading it and and then upgrading it again to get it to where it was bulletproof.

If you're really going to be satisfied with a few mild upgrades, then the Dinan product is excellent (as are many others). Lots of folks on the board have experience with racing pads in stock calipers. I've only ever used Pagid RS19's and they were great at raising the game to the full capability of the OEM caliper/rotor package.

As for spacers, my opinion is that they're more trouble than they're worth unless you need them for clearance. Most of them work fine, but they don't add anything measurable to the handling.

[BimmerRob08]

Originally Posted by JAJ

When it comes to slippery slopes, always start at the top! That's what the rest of us did.

I did a lot of shopping for bits for mine before I bought, and in the end I skipped the "I'll just upgrade it a little" items and put on a BBK and a Clubsport suspension. I've got a great daily driver now that sparkles at the track. It cost more on the first round, but the truth is I've spent less than I did on my last car where it took me two or three rounds of upgrading it and and then upgrading it again to get it to where it was bulletproof.

If you're really going to be satisfied with a few mild upgrades, then the Dinan product is excellent (as are many others). Lots of folks on the board have experience with racing pads in stock calipers. I've only ever used Pagid RS19's and they were great at raising the game to the full capability of the OEM caliper/rotor package.

As for spacers, my opinion is that they're more trouble than they're worth unless you need them for clearance. Most of them work fine, but they don't add anything measurable to the handling.

JAJ,

Good point, I hate spending a little here, then there, then later I spent twice the amount. I'll have to think it through.

the only turn off is that if I went with say KW suspension kit & BBK, which I'd love to do, then I have to get rid of the EDC & Brake sensors.

Now if I lived near a track and tracked allot, I think it would be well worth it all then. But for mainly street use (not that I'm gonna race on the street, don't read into that everyone ) But for that and occasional track use, I don't know if it's worth the $$ to do all that work to it.

So probebly brake pads, wheels, and Dinan suspension will be good enough.

Thanks,

[ModBargains.com]

If you're looking simply to upgrade the pads and lines I would recommend that you check out the StopTech Street Performance Brake Pads. StopTech Street Performance Brake Pads combine the benefits of premium street brake pads with aggressive friction formulas suitable for track day and autocross use. You can also pair them up with the Stainless Steel Brake lines which will reduce the amount of time between application of the brake pedal and actual brake application through a Teflon inner line braided over with a stainless steel woven braid. Feel free to shoot me over a PM if you have any questions at all!

- Alan

[1cleanm6]

I would put only the nicest stuff on my personal m3.

That means if i wanted a nice tracked out m3...

i would go for the brembo 380 kit, kw cs, and my hre c20s(20 lbs)

however its your pocket book, and i recommend doing as you please.

Ive heard awesome things about stoptech so you cant go wrong.

With an 8k budget it might be touch to get a nice track suspension w install/alignment/balancing, wheels +sticky tires, and brakes. As a matter of fact if you dont get everything used it will be like 15k mark.

So hunting down the classifeids, im sure you can find a nice 19" wheel/tire setup for track for 3k, 2k for kws, and another 4k for brakes. Good luck man, take yourtime and do it right

[Gary_C]

Originally Posted by BimmerRob08

Thanks for your inputs fella's.

Well after some hard desition making (do I really need to blow $5,000? on brakes) kinda thinking. And also found out that if I were to go with BBK's then I loose the brake wear sensor. Not a big deal if I was able to track weekly or something. But I don't live near a track to do that often enough.

I just installed a 365mm Brembo kit onto an ///M3 yesterday and I pulled the brake wear sensor right out of the OEM pads, and it plugged right into the new Brembo pads.

The Brembo kit was definitely designed specifically to keep the wear sensors intact!