F10 Brake Retrofit from ECS Tuning

[Amirsm3]

So, this has been delayed about a week due to some holiday mishaps with FedEx and then living out in the boonies, lol. I ordered this retrofit kit as my brakes were about due (both rotors and pads, go figure).

Initial impressions once I unboxed the calipers was....WOW. These things are light! The odd upside down ///M logo doesn't do it for me, though. ECS said BMW did this for some reason that didn't really make sense to me, but oh well.

(not the caliper I'm talking about. You can see the upside down logo on their website, though)

Once the rotors arrived, my jaw dropped. Never dealt with rotors larger than what came on the M3. 22mm difference doesn't sound like much, but side by side....it's obvious...

On to the actual install...It seems pretty straight forward. I did a Brembo retrofit for my 350Z, so I figured I could tackle this as well. The rusted hub was a pain to get the rotors off, but otherwise, I carried through the install as planned.


And after


I got pretty lazy as it was getting late into the night. I'll clean the hub next time I replace the rotors.

The space is REALLY tight between the caliper and the wheel. It moves freely, but I don't trust it. I'm gonna stick my 10mm spacers back on to give the calipers a little more breathing room. For any of you that want to do this and have ZCP wheels on the car, here's your disclaimer. The inside barrel has less clearance than the style 220M wheels (didn't realize that).

I'll have some "glamour" shots once I detail the car and get some free time. I haven't driven the car for very long just yet, but initial city braking is nice and tight.

10/10 would absolutely recommend for folks who want a Brembo 382mm 6 piston BBK for several hundred cheaper than the GT kit.

[Alex07M3]

Originally Posted by Amirsm3

So, this has been delayed about a week due to some holiday mishaps with FedEx and then living out in the boonies, lol. I ordered this retrofit kit as my brakes were about due (both rotors and pads, go figure).

Initial impressions once I unboxed the calipers was....WOW. These things are light! The odd upside down ///M logo doesn't do it for me, though. ECS said BMW did this for some reason that didn't really make sense to me, but oh well.

(not the caliper I'm talking about. You can see the upside down logo on their website, though)

Once the rotors arrived, my jaw dropped. Never dealt with rotors larger than what came on the M3. 22mm difference doesn't sound like much, but side by side....it's obvious...

On to the actual install...It seems pretty straight forward. I did a Brembo retrofit for my 350Z, so I figured I could tackle this as well. The rusted hub was a pain to get the rotors off, but otherwise, I carried through the install as planned.


And after


I got pretty lazy as it was getting late into the night. I'll clean the hub next time I replace the rotors.

The space is REALLY tight between the caliper and the wheel. It moves freely, but I don't trust it. I'm gonna stick my 10mm spacers back on to give the calipers a little more breathing room. For any of you that want to do this and have ZCP wheels on the car, here's your disclaimer. The inside barrel has less clearance than the style 220M wheels (didn't realize that).

I'll have some "glamour" shots once I detail the car and get some free time. I haven't driven the car for very long just yet, but initial city braking is nice and tight.

10/10 would absolutely recommend for folks who want a Brembo 382mm 6 piston BBK for several hundred cheaper than the GT kit.

Good job OP, can't wait for glamour shots!!

Also, do you have an idea of what you will do with the rear?

[C-M2]

Hows the pedal feel?

[Amirsm3]

Originally Posted by Alex07M3

Good job OP, can't wait for glamour shots!!

Also, do you have an idea of what you will do with the rear?

I have matching ECS rotors on the way. Otherwise, I may just leave the calipers black or upgrade to a brembo GT kit whenever I'm ready to dump that kind of cash.

I'm kind of sketch on painting steel calipers, lol.

[Amirsm3]

Originally Posted by C-M2

Hows the pedal feel?

It feels more linear than the OEM set up. I'm assuming is the steel lines?

Feel free to correct me. Braking dynamics are well above my head for the most part.

[Alex07M3]

Originally Posted by Amirsm3

I have matching ECS rotors on the way. Otherwise, I may just leave the calipers black or upgrade to a brembo GT kit whenever I'm ready to dump that kind of cash.

I'm kind of sketch on painting steel calipers, lol.

I've never painted calipers before but I'm assuming that a company like IND should be able to do a great job on matching your stock rear with the front. I think I'll call them to ask, I'm very curious to know because that's excatly what I would like to do when I'll need new brakes. I always prefer OEM upgrades on my cars, and for once OEM is not the most expensive option!!

[Amirsm3]

Originally Posted by Alex07M3

I've never painted calipers before but I'm assuming that a company like IND should be able to do a great job on matching your stock rear with the front. I think I'll call them to ask, I'm very curious to know because that's excatly what I would like to do when I'll need new brakes. I always prefer OEM upgrades on my cars, and for once OEM is not the most expensive option!!

How ironic, right? I can't believe the BMW option was cheaper than going with brembo stamped calipers, lol

[AlpineE92M3]

Looks nice Amir! Been thinking about doing a brake upgrade for next season. I can put this on my list as an option do help make a decision!

[Alex07M3]

Originally Posted by Amirsm3

How ironic, right? I can't believe the BMW option was cheaper than going with brembo stamped calipers, lol

If I'm not mistaking, those are made by Brembo, right!?

[Amirsm3]

Originally Posted by Alex07M3

If I'm not mistaking, those are made by Brembo, right!?

Yup! They're even stamped on the top

[Alex07M3]

Originally Posted by Amirsm3

Yup! They're even stamped on the top

Nicccccccce!!

[Amirsm3]

Originally Posted by AlpineE92M3

Looks nice Amir! Been thinking about doing a brake upgrade for next season. I can put this on my list as an option do help make a decision!

I'll be updating as I log more mileage - especially highway speed stops and all that. I still need to bed the brakes.

Thanks for the positive feedback!

I will say, though, that the paint on these things are really really "flaky". I snapped the tension clip for the pads and a small, pen tipped sized flake of paint came off the top of the caliper when the clip seated

[ECSTuning]

Glad you're loving your new brakes so far! and thank you for your business!

-James

[C-M2]

Originally Posted by Amirsm3

Yup! They're even stamped on the top

Do they have a part #? Curious to see what technical information I can get to compare these to a GT kit.

[Amirsm3]

Originally Posted by C-M2

Do they have a part #? Curious to see what technical information I can get to compare these to a GT kit.

That's my next project. I'll be taking the wheels off to add my spacers so I'll snap pics of the part number stamped into the metal.

[Amirsm3]

Originally Posted by ECSTuning

Glad you're loving your new brakes so far! and thank you for your business!

-James

James,

Transaction was smooth and easy as usual. Props to Matt and Thomas for all the support before and during the delivery of parts!!

[ECSTuning]

We had a few in stock, and I have my cell phone handy. Not the best pics but I "think" I got all the castings (I just ran in the back rather quickly and snapped these).







-James

[r53s65e90]

Are 30/34/36 piston sizes? If yes, you did a really good job sizing the rotor. A quick calculation shows that break force remains identical to stock, which means great f/r balance!

Originally Posted by ECSTuning

We had a few in stock, and I have my cell phone handy. Not the best pics but I "think" I got all the castings (I just ran in the back rather quickly and snapped these).







-James

[Amirsm3]

Originally Posted by r53s65e90

Are 30/34/36 piston sizes? If yes, you did a really good job sizing the rotor. A quick calculation shows that break force remains identical to stock, which means great f/r balance!

Boom, that's what daddy likes to hear

[MVEED3]

Thanks for sharing your retro. I hope it performs as well as it looks. Sub'd for the track review.

If I went the F80 route, I'd cover up the "M" to mask the upside-down orientation on the passenger side. Otherwise, seems like a solid upgrade.

[Alex07M3]

Originally Posted by Amirsm3

Boom, that's what daddy likes to hear

Very nice to ear indeed!

[W///]

I'd have to get matching rear rotors for sure, otherwise it would look super awkward. Looks great though, maybe something I'll do in the future