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Originally Posted by Cali330ti  Thank you. I really think this is closer to my issue. Freshly rebuilt front calipers, solid guides, and stainless lines w/ some high bite auto-x style pads vs. old teeny rotors stock calipers and lines w/ those HP+ pads...the pads would do well if there was more of a braking % done by them. I'd also like to use the same pad all around.
I have a line on some of the Massive rear setup and may pick them up. Getting dia. of the rotors and pistons. Otherwise....your thoughts on using the 328i calipers and details? What's needed to make those work? If I came across a pair...I'd consider them. |
I would also like to have the Massive rear setup, but I need another caliper to maintain bias (virtual piston dia 38mm) when using them with my AP-Racing up front. I think that doing the bias calculation is a good idea to get a picture of how they would affect the bias. The use of a bias valve is not legal in my country.
Regarding the 328i rear caliper, it bolts straight on the stock ti carrier (you have to use the ti carrier). I had Goodridge steel braided hoses, and in order to reuse them, I had to put the left caliper on the right side and the right caliper on the left side. This means that the 328i calipers then are mounted upside down. I used this setup for more than a year, and it worked very well. One downside was when the brakes had to be bleeded, because the calipers had to be losened in order to let the bleed valve point upwards.
To mount the calipers on the side where they belong, i.e. the right 328i caliper on the right side and the left 328i caliper on the left side, you have to get some custom made steel braided hoses with a straight banjo bolt for the connection to the calipers. The origin of the problem with the stock and similar brake lines when using the 328i rear caliper on the ti, is clearance issues. My custom made steel braided hoses were maid by Earls (
http://www.earls.co.uk/).
As previously mentioned, a spacer on the outer pad is needed, since the 328i rear caliper is constructed for 19mm disks and the stock ti disk is 10mm. I simply use an old brake pad (Ferodo DS2500) with removed pad material as "spacer" (which makes my spacer 5.5mm thick). On my track pads, I have made threads in the hole which are on the rear side of the outer pad, and by the use of a small bolt, the spacer is attached to the pad. An issue with the use of a spacer is that there should be no clearance between the pad and the spacer, since clearance would result in increased pedal travel. That's why I would like to test the caliper from the e34 m5 3.6 (up til 10/89), which is made for 10mm solid disks, to see if it makes any differences. If every thing goes as planned, I will know by the comming weekend if they fit.
My philosophy is to find the right brake bias by using proper hardware and using the same pad front and rear. By using the same pad front and rear, the coefficient of friction can be neglected in the bias calculations (at least in theory). Also, the coefficient of friction seems to be a very varying number where the producer gives one number and tests shows other numbers (see e.g. test published on the AP-Racing site and compare the numbers with the numbers given by the producers). To make it even more difficult for those who like to do the math, some producers do not publish the coefficient of friction (e.g. PFC). Further, by using the same pad material front and rear, the search for the perfect track pad has become easier, since one then do not need to take the bias into account. At least, that is my philosophy at my current level of knowledge and experience...
PS: Please have my bad english excused.