Installing new BBK

[Brasilcat]

Hi everyone,
I decided to try out the Brembo Asian made BBK.
It's a GT6 front brake set and a GT4 rear brake kit.

BBK for M3 by Paulo Oliveira, on Flickr

BBK for M3 by Paulo Oliveira, on Flickr

Everything looks good however, they need the measurement for the rear bracket.
They call it Rear Knuckle Axle. Does anyone know what the right size for a 2011 M3 E93 is? The choice is 82.5mm or 86.5mm

BBK for M3 by Paulo Oliveira, on Flickr


I have attached some pictures in case it helps.

Thank you.

[Redd]

You do know that's a knockoff right?

[Fooksdaddy]

Are you asking for help/comments/praise???

It's confusing why you created a post?

[Brasilcat]

Originally Posted by Redd

You do know that's a knockoff right?

The calipers pads even the rubber seals have the company name. it's made in the same factory that makes the actual OEM brakes.

I'm just trying to find out if anyone knows the measurements for the rear knuckle axle for the brackets that hold the rear calipers.
That information does not come up with the VIN.

[Brasilcat]

Originally Posted by Fooksdaddy

Are you asking for help/comments/praise???

It's confusing why you created a post?

I have the question about the Rear knuckle axle measurement.
But, I'm also sharing my experience with buying, installing and seeing how they'll perform in the real world

[Ervin87]

Brakes are a very important part to your safety and those around you. Not sure I would be willing to risk it for a Brembo replica caliper not designed for this car.

[pbonsalb]

Often people in these Chinese factories for international companies steal the blueprints and make knockoffs, some of which are decent quality.

[Brasilcat]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Often people in these Chinese factories for international companies steal the blueprints and make knockoffs, some of which are decent quality.

Yes, I have been reading a lot of reports about that.

The interesting part in my opinion is the debate about trade piracy. I remember in the 80's and 90's the research and technology gap between the West(mostly the US and Germany) and the rest of the world was clear. Then the japanese proved everyone wrong by competing on price and realizing better products in many industries, especially the Automotive industry.

Now we have seen what the Chinese are doing. Yes, we all hate that they cheat and steal technology(at least they did for a long time). But, that reality is becoming old news. Most insiders agree that for the average automotive and technology areas the Chinese have met the technology gap.

The big question is, large Western corporations have their products made in Chinese factory with suspect work conditions. They turn around and sell their products to the world with exorbitant margins.
The same factories that manufacture those 'western" products manage to have contract agreements that allow them to sell the same products with their private labels at a fraction of the price to Asian and mostly the world.

Why should we the consumer have to pay more for the same product, so some corporation can pay their executives 2000x the compensation then to local westerner workers?

Should we be subsidizing large corporation CEOs crazy pay and destroy the middle class in the West, instead of paying the same as everyone else in the world?

I believe it's a fair question and the answer is not a good one.

In the end, I did my research and decided to try out my theory. I purchased the same GT6 and GT4 Brembo brakes made in the same factory the Western company makes them in China. The difference may be the warranty and the price.

The proof will be in the pudin, hopefully for my wallet

[Redd]

I live in Asia and don't care about western IP. I've seen the rapid rise of China manufacturers and their quality. Tbh in many areas - especially tech and devices - China has far surpassed the west.

I've also visited some of these automotive manufacturers and if you look around enough you will find dozens of suppliers all claiming to be OEM manufacturers for some big brand. I've been to these brake suppliers in Guangzhou and seen legit AP Racing Radi-Cal calipers with QR codes sitting next to China branded knockoff Brembo GT kits.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that yes there is great value to be found on AliExpress and Taobao/T-Mall, but not everything with a Brembo logo is from a Brembo OEM factory. And for some something safety related like brakes, it's not something I am willing to risk.

Just my opinion of course.

[DRLane]

Foolishly, I keep coming back to this thread. I know you're installing these, but seems like a really really bad idea. Are you planning on tracking the car, if so where?

Yes, western IP and respective margins are frustrating but stealing IP is pure and simple incompetence. Of course it's unlikely to ever be discovered, but if these were the cause of an accident. Let alone feeling like shit, I'd imagine knowingly installing counterfeit safety item would open a whole can of liability.

[Gossypiboma]

Playing games with a safety item, good luck. I would personally say its a red flag that they don't have the bracket, but have the rest of the kit.

[Brasilcat]

Originally Posted by DRLane

Foolishly, I keep coming back to this thread. I know you're installing these, but seems like a really really bad idea. Are you planning on tracking the car, if so where?

Yes, western IP and respective margins are frustrating but stealing IP is pure and simple incompetence. Of course it's unlikely to ever be discovered, but if these were the cause of an accident. Let alone feeling like shit, I'd imagine knowingly installing counterfeit safety item would open a whole can of liability.

No, I'm not tracking the car since it's an E93, convertible.
The idea is to have a bigger, better proven design brake.

[Brasilcat]

Originally Posted by Gossypiboma

Playing games with a safety item, good luck. I would personally say its a red flag that they don't have the bracket, but have the rest of the kit.

They do have the bracket, they gave me option of two sizes.
My understanding is they don't sell too many for the specific M3 E93 and needed to confirm the size.

They wanted to make sure they sent me the correct bracket. I was a little surprised that they did not have that information in their system. i actually understand the question, since the information was not available anywhere.
I actually had to remove the wheel, calipers and rotors and measure it myself.

BTW the rear axle knuckle for the E92/93 M3 is 86.5mm.

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by Brasilcat

They do have the bracket, they gave me option of two sizes.
My understanding is they don't sell too many for the specific M3 E93 and needed to confirm the size.

They wanted to make sure they sent me the correct bracket. I was a little surprised that they did not have that information in their system. i actually understand the question, since the information was not available anywhere.
I actually had to remove the wheel, calipers and rotors and measure it myself.

BTW the rear axle knuckle for the E92/93 M3 is 86.5mm.

Those are not the Brembo brackets, and there is no variance in sizing for the e93. If they were the real production line for Brembo GT kits they'd have those measurements.

The rotor hats, hardware, and rings don't look authentic either. You're buying junk worse yet crossing your fingers on something responsible for slowing a 4000lb 400hp car. Your OEM brakes are undoubtedly more capable than these.

Given you've posted in the spirit of sharing with the community how much did you pay for these?

[Ervin87]

This is a good read:


https://www.brembo.com/en/company/ne...ognizing-fakes

[Redd]

Originally Posted by DRLane

The rotor hats, hardware, and rings don't look authentic either. You're buying junk worse yet crossing your fingers on something responsible for slowing a 4000lb 400hp car. Your OEM brakes are undoubtedly more capable than these.

The rotors and hats are definitely not original Brembo. This is common practice with these China shops - they claim to package original Brembo (or AP, etc) calipers with their own aftermarket rotors and that's where they help the buyer save cost. They will claim the rotors come from the same factory as original Brembo/AP factory but without the branding, but I have pics and they are definitely not the same quality. One look at the vane casting and you can see the difference.

[Brasilcat]

Originally Posted by DRLane

Those are not the Brembo brackets, and there is no variance in sizing for the e93. If they were the real production line for Brembo GT kits they'd have those measurements.

The rotor hats, hardware, and rings don't look authentic either. You're buying junk worse yet crossing your fingers on something responsible for slowing a 4000lb 400hp car. Your OEM brakes are undoubtedly more capable than these.

Given you've posted in the spirit of sharing with the community how much did you pay for these?

The set delivered is just under $2k, $1850 plus bank fees probably $1950

[BayE30]

when i was traveling around Thailand, i saw "Brembo" BBK EVERYWHERE being sold in small roadside garages. Like dozens of multicolor sets on display hung from the ceilings. so my guess is there are tens of thousands of these knockoff brake kits being used all over the world, mostly as a cosmetic modification.

[pbonsalb]

Originally Posted by Brasilcat

The set delivered is just under $2k, $1850 plus bank fees probably $1950

Cheap for a front and rear set. Hopefully they work fine and replacement parts are available if you ever need them. If they really did come off the same assembly line, they should be fine.

[6ixSpd]

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1582953

[Brasilcat]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Cheap for a front and rear set. Hopefully they work fine and replacement parts are available if you ever need them. If they really did come off the same assembly line, they should be fine.

I spoke with someone else here that has a thread about BBKs, who purchased from one of the Alibaba pages and he's had no issues and is happy with his purchase.
Hopefully, I'll be so lucky and have a positive experience as well.
I'll make sure to update everyone.

[Brasilcat]

Update:
Paid initial deposit last week.
BBK kit was shipped from HK yesterday and arrived today in Memphis today.
package is in route.