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07-19-2018, 06:13 PM | #1 |
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SS brake lines e92 M3
I'm looking to install some SS brake lines on my M3. The car is mostly a DD but I do track and autocross the car 5-10 times a year. My last track day the brakes went super mushy and needed to push the brake to the floor to get some brake pressure. If I do a SS kit with just the front and rear lines without the mid will it still firm up the pedal for the track and not cause any issues.
The car has stock rotors, calipers with Hawk HPS pads. I do want to change out the pads as well for EBC yellowstuff. I know some will suggest a true track pad but I'm not serious enough or go enough to be swapping pads in and out. |
07-19-2018, 07:55 PM | #2 |
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Try upgrading your brake fluid first, Castrol SRF seems to be a favorite on this board for performance plus longevity. It was one of the best, inexpensive upgrades I did for my car. Some users have reported ss brake lines are an upgrade for appearance (and perhaps durability), but may not be necessary for actual braking performance. The difficulty is brake fluid is replaced and often upgraded at the time of ss brake line installation, so users who report their upgrade to ss lines resulted in brake pedal firmness improvement may actually be experiencing the benefits of fresh or upgraded brake fluid and may inadvertently giving too much credit to the ss brake lines.
Here is a Castrol SRF discussion link for a few opinions. And here are a few posts from members who reported the ss brake line upgrade may be unnecessary to gain a firm pedal: CanAutM3 GroundPilot admranger |
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07-19-2018, 09:20 PM | #3 |
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Steel hoses have very small impact on pedal firmness. #1 contributor is fluid. Endless RF650 has the best pedal feel in the business. Better than SRF.
https://thebuildjournal.com/tech-gui...view-analysis/ Second is brake pad. Some pad materials are more compressible than others. Best pedal feel pad I've ever tried is Endless CCRg. It's a track pad that's streetable but wears the rotor quickly. I use Project Mu HC+ now. Good pedal feel, kind to rotors. Trackable. Good luck. |
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07-19-2018, 09:27 PM | #4 |
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Thanks for the feedback. Interesting that SS lines may not improve performance. I'll definitely try Castrol SRF and try a more aggressive pad. Wasn't looking forward to attempting those mid lines if it came to that.
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07-20-2018, 08:05 AM | #5 |
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Not that surprising. It’s in the construction of the brake lines itself. OEM lines don’t expand much under pressure as they have a “lining” to them already. SS lines are no different
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07-31-2018, 12:55 PM | #6 |
Track? What Track? I was just riding along . . .
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I don't know whether SS lines help pedal feel or not because I have never installed some without also doing a caliper change. One thing I consider, I went to a lecture once by Mike Sneed of Sneed's Speed Shop. His take was the SS is for abrasion resistance on track cars where his worry is extreme duty. He thought they make it harder to see small leaks in the lines, so he replaces them annually when he uses them. I know I have used OEM rubber on some HPDE cars and it seemed good enough for me, but that's just me. I have cut through an old one a time or two and surprised me how tough it is. They have some kind of super-stiff fibers molded into the rubber, running lengthwise in the direction of the tube from end to end.
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08-29-2018, 07:28 AM | #7 |
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I did the front and rear ss lines and felt an improvement in brake pedal feel. At a much later date I did the mid ss lines and gained a little bit more feel. The greatest improvement in brake pedal feel was when I replaced the stock calipers with a Stoptech bbk front and rear. The OEM sliders are not great for feel. The two STIs and 09 CTS-V I had before my M3 had way better brake pedal feel, stock for stock.
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09-24-2018, 01:21 PM | #8 |
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If you do decide to run SS lines, definitely check out Spiegler. They are they highest quality available, manufactured in the USA, company owned by a German engineer. We use them as standard in all of our Essex Designed AP Racing Brake Kits.
Scroll down on this page to find them. Ours cost a few bucks more, but when you hold them up to anything else, you know where the money went! https://www.essexparts.com/my-vehicl.../BMW/M3/%20E92 |
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10-30-2018, 12:42 AM | #9 |
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I installed SS lines on my car as part of my 10yr/100k general overhaul of everything rubber. While I have no regrets, I would also say the lines made a small impact at most on pedal feel. As with most parts of the M3, the stock lines are pretty good. If you aren't replacing the lines anyway I wouldn't' recommend going out of your way to install SS ones.
If your pedal is going really soft on track, as others have said, more likely you are overheating your fluid or pads.
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