SPBR Coding for Big Brake Kit

Redd · 06-02-2023, 04:30 AM

So I was today years old when I found out that installing a big brake kit required coding. Apparently, BMW offered a Performance Brakes upgrade for E9x 325i/328i cars which was a front only gold 6-pot caliper with 338mm rotors.

If you optioned this Performance Brakes from factory, your Vehicle Order (VO) came with SPBR - Retrofit Sports Brakes enabled. If you installed it later, the Performance Brakes installation requires you to code SPBR as part of the installation process (see image below).

However, I found no reference of any E9x M3 coding SPBR after installing a BBK other than F80_Katz (which is how I found out about this).

I have Protools and went ahead and enabled SPBR for my M3 with Brembo GT front/rear and I felt like there is more brake pressure. Maybe +20-30% harder braking with the same pedal travel. More initial brake bite. But it also makes the brake pedal a bit more on/off (but not too bad).

My questions are:
1. Why aren't more people coding SPBR after a BBK install?
2. What does it do exactly? (I googled and could not find any conclusive info)
3. Are there any downsides?
4. Does the M3 GTS (which comes with Brembo BBK from factory) have SPBR enabled?
.

F80_Katz · 06-02-2023, 08:57 AM

I’m also very curious if anyone has more information👍🏻

Rochen_00 · 06-02-2023, 12:33 PM

Very interesting! I didn't know anything about that

nickauger · 06-02-2023, 07:44 PM

will try this soon thanks

Pheonix · 06-02-2023, 09:25 PM

Very interesting! Just swapped in the Brembo GT fronts and rears. Will check to see if anyone from my area could code it for me.

Redd · 06-02-2023, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pheonix

Very interesting! Just swapped in the Brembo GT fronts and rears. Will check to see if anyone from my area could code it for me.

Please let us know what method and steps you used to code it. Right now I am only aware of Protools.

Redd · 06-03-2023, 10:29 PM

Did SPBR coding for two fiends' M3s today. Both reported the same thing - firmer pedal, better bite, less pedal travel than before. But they haven't done hard braking yet.

I did some straight line hard braking and noticed that ABS also feels a bit different. Before the coding I could lock up the fronts quite easily (I'm using brake residual pressure valves) and don't really feel ABS kick in before they lock/chirp. After SPBR coding, I feel the ABS kick in first. I can still lock up the fronts but it takes more effort. I will need to do more hard driving to test this.

I also do feel some loss in pedal feel - like the pedal feels a bit more wooden, just a wee bit. But not sure if that's just cos I'm not used to it yet. Will test more and report back.

GORDON.M3 · 06-03-2023, 11:09 PM

The GTS M3 if spec'd from factory does not have the SPBR option code in the offical build list but I would need to have a scan of the actual car's VO to see if SPBR is added at the dealership level through ISTA. But I doubt that the SPBR option is something that was meant to be added to the M3 as the M3's brake servo and master cylinder unit is not the same as the one on a non-M.

The SPBR coding retrofit specifically specifies that it's supposed to be applied on a non-M car retrofitted with the BMW Performance Brakes which are different calipers from the Brembo GT ones we have.

I assume when Brembo offered the kit for the E9x it was designed off a regular E9x M3's stock specification and not a GTS car.

Redd · 06-04-2023, 10:41 PM

Managed to do a lot of back road driving today to test the SPBR coding. The route is about 70kms of back roads, some pretty high speed sections, and I was pushing the brakes hard. I did the first leg with SPBR enabled, and the return leg with SPBR disabled to get a back-to-back comparison. My car has Brembo GT front rear, Pmu HC+ pads, Endless RF650 fluid, steel lines and AD08R tires. I'm also running brake residual pressure valves (RPV) which is important to mention.

SPBR Enabled
With SPBR enabled, there is more initial bite. Brake pressure is increased as less travel is needed to achieve the same level of braking. There is also more resistance felt in the brake pedal, ie a firmer brake pedal. Brake travel to get maximum braking seems to be a bit shorter. SPBR braking force feels stronger on the initial press but does not feel as linear as you increase pedal travel. Basically, it feels like SPBR increases braking assistance. It feels a bit more like a modern car in the sense that it feels a bit more over assisted, but not overly so.

SPBR enabled also introduces a bit of vagueness in the pedal, the feel is not as transparent as without SPBR. The only analogy I can give is like driving on track with MDM vs TC full off. TC off provides more feel. Because the pedal is both firmer, shorter and sightly less feelsome, the brake pedal feels a bit more on/off. It's a bit less easy to modulate braking with SPBR on. But again, it's a small difference, not night and day, and something you can probably get used to after a while.

SPBR Disabled
Brake feel is better, more transparent, like you know exactly what the caliper is doing. Braking force feels more linear with pedal travel. You can still hit maximum brake force but it requires more pedal and doesn't come on as strongly/suddenly as when SPBR is enabled. Having more travel with linear brake force gives u more granularity to modulate the brakes better.

ABS Activation
This is the biggest difference I felt with SPBR enabled. It's important to mention the RPVs here because ever since I installed the RPV, I have been able to lock up the tires at about 70% pedal travel in a straight line on the street. Most Brembo GT owners are not able to lock up their tires so they may not experience this.

With SPBR disabled, I can lock up the tires and ABS does NOT kick in. It just let's me lock and chirp the front tires and I need to release brake pressure or it will stay locked. If I have steering angle when this happens, the rear will feel like it wants to step out. I've always just driven around it and I find it quite easy to threshold brake because I have a nice brake pedal with a lot of feel and I know when it's about to lock up.

With SPBR enabled, ABS now kicks in when I do maximum braking. I can feel the tires lock up and ABS pulsing. Rear stays more planted as ABS is doing its job. However, there is less feel when ABS is going to kick in. I switched back and forth between SPBR on and off a few times just to confirm this ABS behaviour.

So SPBR definitely changes the ABS settings also. I don't know why ABS doesn't kick in when SPBR is off but does when it's on. My guess is that ABS requires multiple inputs before it triggers. If you have a bbk but SPBR off, maybe one of those input criteria isnt met and ABS doesn't kick in. I've only tested this in the dry so I can't say if it will be the same in the wet. I hope others can do some testing and tell me what they feel also.

In summary, I will be keeping SPBR on mainly for the added safety margin of ABS. If your car is mainly street driven, I would recommend enabling SPBR. If you're a pure track car and are good at threshold braking you may not want to enable SPBR. If you're running AP Racing CP96xx/94xx calipers I would definitely keep SPBR disabled as those calipers are already very bitey and on/off.

derbo · 06-06-2023, 08:22 AM

If I have time, I'll dig into what that VO does.

Typically a VO just codes a specific set of parameters as "default". It most likely changes a few items in DSC module.

F80_Katz · 06-08-2023, 07:54 AM

So I’ve tracked my car twice now with brembo kit and SPBR not coded. Hitting Thunderbolt Tuesday and looking forward to seeing how much better the brakes feel with SPBR coded in now. Will report back

sergbaja5t · 06-09-2023, 07:59 AM

I just want camo headlights!

Cool find, I will be added Brembo's next week and will switch on the SPBR. I to notice the threshold lock up on the rear at times. So according to those whom tested, turning this feature. reduces that tendency.

Redd · 06-09-2023, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sergbaja5t

I just want camo headlights!

Cool find, I will be added Brembo's next week and will switch on the SPBR. I to notice the threshold lock up on the rear at times. So according to those whom tested, turning this feature. reduces that tendency.

Yes please test and report back.

sergbaja5t · 06-12-2023, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redd

Yes please test and report back.

Most definitely will.

omhl · 06-13-2023, 01:35 PM

any updates on this? I hate VO coding cuz I already have some changes.
If anybody knows which parameters mimics the VO...

Redd · 06-13-2023, 07:11 PM

VO coding with Protools is literally a 1 minute job. Just click on SPBR and save.

amg6975 · 06-16-2023, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redd

VO coding with Protools is literally a 1 minute job. Just click on SPBR and save.

Doesn't do anything if you don't default code a module to apply the changes. The VO is just a look up table that the modules use when default coding. Doing this will overwrite any previously changed coding.

Redd · 06-16-2023, 07:12 PM

The way Protools works (I think) is that it reads the current VO from CAS/FRM. So your previous VO coding should be picked up. Then you enable SPBR and write the new VO back to CAS+FRM. The next time I rescan VO, it picked up that SPBR was enabled.

I think that's how it works. I'm by no means an expert at this stuff.

derbo · 06-17-2023, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redd

The way Protools works (I think) is that it reads the current VO from CAS/FRM. So your previous VO coding should be picked up. Then you enable SPBR and write the new VO back to CAS+FRM. The next time I rescan VO, it picked up that SPBR was enabled.

I think that's how it works. I'm by no means an expert at this stuff.

Yes that is correct, however, if you have done any non-default coding that arent' tied to VOs you will lose those codings.

The best method to identify what this does is to run a NCSexpert code reading of the module before and after the VO is applied to see the changes.

I haven't had time to do this yet, but I may try this next time I work on the car.

Redd · 06-17-2023, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by derbo

Yes that is correct, however, if you have done any non-default coding that arent' tied to VOs you will lose those codings.

Thanks for the explanation. Can you provide some examples what those non-default codings might be? Just curious.

spammysammich · 06-17-2023, 05:19 PM

So for instance if I have FTM or LED tails coded in because I’m nonLCI and change the VO, I will lose that coding?

F80_Katz · 06-18-2023, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spammysammich

So for instance if I have FTM or LED tails coded in because I’m nonLCI and change the VO, I will lose that coding?

I don’t think so, I have LCI tail conversation and recaro seats coded in. I simply added this to VO and didn’t change anything else.

06-02-2023, 04:30 AM	#1
Redd Brigadier General 3897 Rep 4,162 Posts Drives: 2010 BMW E92 M3 Dakar Edition Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Malaysia iTrader: (0)	SPBR Coding for Big Brake Kit So I was today years old when I found out that installing a big brake kit required coding. Apparently, BMW offered a Performance Brakes upgrade for E9x 325i/328i cars which was a front only gold 6-pot caliper with 338mm rotors. If you optioned this Performance Brakes from factory, your Vehicle Order (VO) came with SPBR - Retrofit Sports Brakes enabled. If you installed it later, the Performance Brakes installation requires you to code SPBR as part of the installation process (see image below). However, I found no reference of any E9x M3 coding SPBR after installing a BBK other than F80_Katz (which is how I found out about this). I have Protools and went ahead and enabled SPBR for my M3 with Brembo GT front/rear and I felt like there is more brake pressure. Maybe +20-30% harder braking with the same pedal travel. More initial brake bite. But it also makes the brake pedal a bit more on/off (but not too bad). My questions are: 1. Why aren't more people coding SPBR after a BBK install? 2. What does it do exactly? (I googled and could not find any conclusive info) 3. Are there any downsides? 4. Does the M3 GTS (which comes with Brembo BBK from factory) have SPBR enabled? . Attached Images
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06-02-2023, 08:57 AM	#2
F80_Katz F80_Katz 764 Rep 440 Posts Drives: 2020 M2 Competition Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: New Jersey iTrader: (2) Garage List 2008 Bmw E90 M3 [0.00]	I’m also very curious if anyone has more information👍🏻
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06-02-2023, 12:33 PM	#3
Rochen_00 Second Lieutenant 350 Rep 259 Posts Drives: M3 e92 Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Catalonia iTrader: (0)	Very interesting! I didn't know anything about that __________________ Instagram: @m_rochen Alpinemss Tuned \| Tecnocraft E9X ///M3 Envy™ Intake System \| MS Pulleys \| Akrapovic Evolution Exhaust \| Ohlins Road&track\| BBK Brembo 6p Front & Brembo 4p Rear\| H&R Stabilisator\| Solid subframe bushings\| full spherical bushings\| Recaro pole position
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06-02-2023, 07:44 PM	#4
nickauger Private 36 Rep 82 Posts Drives: m3 e90 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Quebec iTrader: (1)	will try this soon thanks
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06-02-2023, 09:25 PM	#5
Pheonix Major 378 Rep 1,001 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4 M Coupe 2012 e93 M3 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bay Area, CA iTrader: (8) Garage List 2007 BMW/Z4MC [0.00]	Very interesting! Just swapped in the Brembo GT fronts and rears. Will check to see if anyone from my area could code it for me.
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06-03-2023, 10:29 PM	#7
Redd Brigadier General 3897 Rep 4,162 Posts Drives: 2010 BMW E92 M3 Dakar Edition Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Malaysia iTrader: (0)	Did SPBR coding for two fiends' M3s today. Both reported the same thing - firmer pedal, better bite, less pedal travel than before. But they haven't done hard braking yet. I did some straight line hard braking and noticed that ABS also feels a bit different. Before the coding I could lock up the fronts quite easily (I'm using brake residual pressure valves) and don't really feel ABS kick in before they lock/chirp. After SPBR coding, I feel the ABS kick in first. I can still lock up the fronts but it takes more effort. I will need to do more hard driving to test this. I also do feel some loss in pedal feel - like the pedal feels a bit more wooden, just a wee bit. But not sure if that's just cos I'm not used to it yet. Will test more and report back.
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06-03-2023, 11:09 PM	#8
GORDON.M3 Brigadier General 1423 Rep 3,001 Posts Drives: E92 M3 • F25 X3 M-Sport Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: LAX/YYZ/NRT iTrader: (11)	The GTS M3 if spec'd from factory does not have the SPBR option code in the offical build list but I would need to have a scan of the actual car's VO to see if SPBR is added at the dealership level through ISTA. But I doubt that the SPBR option is something that was meant to be added to the M3 as the M3's brake servo and master cylinder unit is not the same as the one on a non-M. The SPBR coding retrofit specifically specifies that it's supposed to be applied on a non-M car retrofitted with the BMW Performance Brakes which are different calipers from the Brembo GT ones we have. I assume when Brembo offered the kit for the E9x it was designed off a regular E9x M3's stock specification and not a GTS car. __________________ INSTAGRAM: GORDON.M3 North American Mr12Volt Carplay/Android Auto Distributor DINAN \| EVOSPORT \| VAC \| ARP \| RD SPORT \| NEEZ \| EIBACH \| CSF \| IND \| BILSTEIN \| KLASSEN \| BREMBO \| ENDLESS \| BBS \| BPM SPORT \| PROJECT MU \| EVENTURI
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06-04-2023, 10:41 PM	#9
Redd Brigadier General 3897 Rep 4,162 Posts Drives: 2010 BMW E92 M3 Dakar Edition Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Malaysia iTrader: (0)	Managed to do a lot of back road driving today to test the SPBR coding. The route is about 70kms of back roads, some pretty high speed sections, and I was pushing the brakes hard. I did the first leg with SPBR enabled, and the return leg with SPBR disabled to get a back-to-back comparison. My car has Brembo GT front rear, Pmu HC+ pads, Endless RF650 fluid, steel lines and AD08R tires. I'm also running brake residual pressure valves (RPV) which is important to mention. SPBR Enabled With SPBR enabled, there is more initial bite. Brake pressure is increased as less travel is needed to achieve the same level of braking. There is also more resistance felt in the brake pedal, ie a firmer brake pedal. Brake travel to get maximum braking seems to be a bit shorter. SPBR braking force feels stronger on the initial press but does not feel as linear as you increase pedal travel. Basically, it feels like SPBR increases braking assistance. It feels a bit more like a modern car in the sense that it feels a bit more over assisted, but not overly so. SPBR enabled also introduces a bit of vagueness in the pedal, the feel is not as transparent as without SPBR. The only analogy I can give is like driving on track with MDM vs TC full off. TC off provides more feel. Because the pedal is both firmer, shorter and sightly less feelsome, the brake pedal feels a bit more on/off. It's a bit less easy to modulate braking with SPBR on. But again, it's a small difference, not night and day, and something you can probably get used to after a while. SPBR Disabled Brake feel is better, more transparent, like you know exactly what the caliper is doing. Braking force feels more linear with pedal travel. You can still hit maximum brake force but it requires more pedal and doesn't come on as strongly/suddenly as when SPBR is enabled. Having more travel with linear brake force gives u more granularity to modulate the brakes better. ABS Activation This is the biggest difference I felt with SPBR enabled. It's important to mention the RPVs here because ever since I installed the RPV, I have been able to lock up the tires at about 70% pedal travel in a straight line on the street. Most Brembo GT owners are not able to lock up their tires so they may not experience this. With SPBR disabled, I can lock up the tires and ABS does NOT kick in. It just let's me lock and chirp the front tires and I need to release brake pressure or it will stay locked. If I have steering angle when this happens, the rear will feel like it wants to step out. I've always just driven around it and I find it quite easy to threshold brake because I have a nice brake pedal with a lot of feel and I know when it's about to lock up. With SPBR enabled, ABS now kicks in when I do maximum braking. I can feel the tires lock up and ABS pulsing. Rear stays more planted as ABS is doing its job. However, there is less feel when ABS is going to kick in. I switched back and forth between SPBR on and off a few times just to confirm this ABS behaviour. So SPBR definitely changes the ABS settings also. I don't know why ABS doesn't kick in when SPBR is off but does when it's on. My guess is that ABS requires multiple inputs before it triggers. If you have a bbk but SPBR off, maybe one of those input criteria isnt met and ABS doesn't kick in. I've only tested this in the dry so I can't say if it will be the same in the wet. I hope others can do some testing and tell me what they feel also. In summary, I will be keeping SPBR on mainly for the added safety margin of ABS. If your car is mainly street driven, I would recommend enabling SPBR. If you're a pure track car and are good at threshold braking you may not want to enable SPBR. If you're running AP Racing CP96xx/94xx calipers I would definitely keep SPBR disabled as those calipers are already very bitey and on/off. Last edited by Redd; 06-05-2023 at 07:20 AM..
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06-06-2023, 08:22 AM	#10
derbo Derbo Tuning 3609 Rep 3,022 Posts Drives: BMW M3 Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Bay Area, CA iTrader: (2)	If I have time, I'll dig into what that VO does. Typically a VO just codes a specific set of parameters as "default". It most likely changes a few items in DSC module. __________________ IG:ruhrohz_m3 Journal: Link E9x ZCP Suspension Info: Link Track Chat Discord: https://discord.gg/VsKbTyqBVj SF Bay Area: DM For coding services
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06-08-2023, 07:54 AM	#11
F80_Katz F80_Katz 764 Rep 440 Posts Drives: 2020 M2 Competition Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: New Jersey iTrader: (2) Garage List 2008 Bmw E90 M3 [0.00]	So I’ve tracked my car twice now with brembo kit and SPBR not coded. Hitting Thunderbolt Tuesday and looking forward to seeing how much better the brakes feel with SPBR coded in now. Will report back
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06-09-2023, 07:59 AM	#12
sergbaja5t Private First Class 62 Rep 145 Posts Drives: 2011 E92-M3 Comp Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: United States iTrader: (0)	I just want camo headlights! Cool find, I will be added Brembo's next week and will switch on the SPBR. I to notice the threshold lock up on the rear at times. So according to those whom tested, turning this feature. reduces that tendency.
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06-13-2023, 01:35 PM	#15
omhl Private First Class 35 Rep 175 Posts Drives: Tesla Model S / F82 M4 6MT Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Irvine, CA iTrader: (1)	any updates on this? I hate VO coding cuz I already have some changes. If anybody knows which parameters mimics the VO... __________________ Daily: BMW Alpine WhiteF82///M4 6MT
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06-13-2023, 07:11 PM	#16
Redd Brigadier General 3897 Rep 4,162 Posts Drives: 2010 BMW E92 M3 Dakar Edition Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Malaysia iTrader: (0)	VO coding with Protools is literally a 1 minute job. Just click on SPBR and save.
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06-16-2023, 07:12 PM	#18
Redd Brigadier General 3897 Rep 4,162 Posts Drives: 2010 BMW E92 M3 Dakar Edition Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Malaysia iTrader: (0)	The way Protools works (I think) is that it reads the current VO from CAS/FRM. So your previous VO coding should be picked up. Then you enable SPBR and write the new VO back to CAS+FRM. The next time I rescan VO, it picked up that SPBR was enabled. I think that's how it works. I'm by no means an expert at this stuff.
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06-17-2023, 05:19 PM	#21
spammysammich Major 1582 Rep 1,103 Posts Drives: 2009 E92 M3 Dakar Yellow II Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: Edmonds, WA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2009 BMW M3 [10.00]	So for instance if I have FTM or LED tails coded in because I’m nonLCI and change the VO, I will lose that coding?
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