[Space Fox]

Forgot to post about the new brake kit! Duh!

Well. It's been just over a year since I signed up for the BBK group buy that ultimately ended up falling through. In that time I did a good bit of research into what the best OEM+ retrofit kit would be. I knew I did not want to shell out for a full Brembo BBK. I also knew I wanted to utilize FCP Euro's lifetime replacement warranty on rotors to help save on running costs long-term. Initially I was pretty set on the full F8x M4 retrofit but after doing some homework decided I didn't love the idea of having to replace the front spindles (increasing ride height). I knew the M4 rear rotors/calipers were a direct bolt on so really the front brakes became the focus. I dug into the BBK retrofit thread on here and saw some had good luck with the Alfa Giulia 6 piston front calipers. The only issue was a poor pad sweep. I tried sourcing these myself without much luck. I then stumbled upon MLT Engineering on Instagram and saw their fleet of M3s running the C63 AMG front calipers (w204). These are beefy as hell and I believe piston size increases by roughly 7%. The pad sweep was better than the Alfa's and they were readily available. I commissioned MLT to source the full set of calipers, rebuild, and refinish with custom painting to my liking. This ended up working beautifully as I was able to go with what I believe is the perfect OEM+ finish for this car - Brembo silver w red lettering. I had already previously decided that yellow was too loud and too 'Porsche', red too common, and while I liked the BMW blue it clashes with the Fox Red interior. Hence my decision on this color profile.
Thrilled with how they came out. I went ahead and sourced OEM F8x M rotors for all four corners from FCP Euro, pads, and caliper hardware. I think this set up will really set the car apart and fix what I believe is one of the only factory shortcomings of this platform.
I toyed with the idea of installing myself as none of it seems all that difficult outside of likely seized rotor bolts and pain in the ass brake bleeding. Ultimately I was convinced that this is the one mod that has a direct correlation to saving my life every time I drive the car and it is worth the $800 to leave the install to the professionals. Therefore I have install scheduled for next Thursday at my go-to local shop. Cannot wait to see how it all comes together and report back on stopping power, brake feel, etc.