Brake Retrofit

[Navshah10]

Hi guys! I've look throughout here and can't really seem to find the answer (or I'm blind) but has anyone looked into some retrofits for the calipers? I know there's a lot out there for massively expense kits but just wondering what else can be swapped onto our cars being BMW based. Going off my old mk4 I did the SRT8 cherokee brake retrofit and it was a massive difference with 6pot fronts and 4 pot rears for around $1500 (although I'm sure prices have changed since i did it a few years ago).


thanks!

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[METAL]

I have not seen any either and I've done some substantial research on available brake kits for our cars. Currently the cheapest option is P2uned or R1 Concepts for BBK.

 

[digicidal]

I have not seen any either and I've done some substantial research on available brake kits for our cars. Currently the cheapest option is P2uned or R1 Concepts for BBK.

... and either one requires a hefty retrofit to my definition of "affordable".

 

[METAL]

... and either one requires a hefty retrofit to my definition of "affordable".

Shoot I was considering getting ENDLESS at one point and almost pulled the trigger on a $10k kit. Now looking at Brembo GT kits.

 

[MisterSkiz]

I have been looking into this too, seeing that many of the parts on this car are from other BMW Models. I have not found anything yet.

 

[VA90]

Hi guys! I've look throughout here and can't really seem to find the answer (or I'm blind) but has anyone looked into some retrofits for the calipers? I know there's a lot out there for massively expense kits but just wondering what else can be swapped onto our cars being BMW based. Going off my old mk4 I did the SRT8 cherokee brake retrofit and it was a massive difference with 6pot fronts and 4 pot rears for around $1500 (although I'm sure prices have changed since i did it a few years ago).


thanks!

I don't think anyone here has attempted anything like that. I do know that 340 guys can easily swap to M performance calipers/rotors, but that wouldn't be an improvement for the A90. A reputable independent BMW shop would be able to tell you what is doable. I'm curious about this as well.

 

[RichSC]

Why though?

 

[MisterSkiz]

Why though?

He might be tracking the car and wants something that can hold more heat with less fade than the OEM ones.

 

[RichSC]

He might be tracking the car and wants something that can hold more heat with less fade than the OEM ones.

The OEM ones are fine. Better pad and fluid and you're good.

 

[METAL]

Yeah I feel anything outside of fluid, pads, and lines is mostly for aesthetics. For dedicated track use only is when you start considering the BBK and only the racing purpose versions such as Brembo GT-S or GT-R, ENDLESS racing mono6 or mono6 rally, AP Racing competition etc. The faster you are and more demanding you become of brakes is what can determine the Level of BBK and pads.

 

[tjyyzacc]

The stock brakes on this car are a major disappointment. I track my car pretty regularly and even with G-Loc R16s the brakes were not nearly as impressive as they should be. AP Racing (who has a great reputation) does make a BBK for this car, but it’s very expensive and I just couldn’t justify spending 15% of the value of the car on new front brakes. I know Stoptech has one in the pipeline as well, but not sure when it’s getting released.

Ultimately I went with new front calipers from Neo Motorsport. They are a company outside of Toronto that sells coilovers (which I’d be cautious about buying) and brake kits from China. I had actually gotten their name from none other than Jackie Ding, who was using them on his A90 at the time, although I think he’s moved in to something else, likely a lot pricier. The price of these was less than half the AP Racing kit and that’s why I rolled the dice in the first place. It’s a two-piece caliper (not ideal) and the pads I got from them with the kit were horrendous bordering on dangerous, but the braking power using the same G-Loc compound is a massive improvement and when I’ve had issues I can honestly say the customer service has been excellent. Of course, they are about twenty minutes from my house so your mileage may vary. I would recommend them with small reservations about quality, but it’s a very good value proposition in my opinion.

 

[RichSC]

The stock brakes on this car are a major disappointment. I track my car pretty regularly and even with G-Loc R16s the brakes were not nearly as impressive as they should be. AP Racing (who has a great reputation) does make a BBK for this car, but it’s very expensive and I just couldn’t justify spending 15% of the value of the car on new front brakes. I know Stoptech has one in the pipeline as well, but not sure when it’s getting released.

Interesting. In stock form I thought they were disappointing. Switched to GLoc R12s and Motul fluid, better, but still not great by any means. Now went on to CSG pads and SRF, 100x better and had plenty of confidence stopping the car later and later at COTA for SLB. No fade and stopping power was abundant, as well as being able to modulate it to slow more/less for trailing or to rotate the car as I wanted.

 

[tjyyzacc]

Interesting. In stock form I thought they were disappointing. Switched to GLoc R12s and Motul fluid, better, but still not great by any means. Now went on to CSG pads and SRF, 100x better and had plenty of confidence stopping the car later and later at COTA for SLB. No fade and stopping power was abundant, as well as being able to modulate it to slow more/less for trailing or to rotate the car as I wanted.

I also upgraded the fluid and anyone tracking their car should. I’ve used Motul, Castrol and now Endless fluid, but if there’s a difference I can’t tell.

I’ve used R10/R12 on the rear brakes, but I’ve been using the R16 for my last few cars that I’ve tracked (C7 Vette and Giulia Quad, as well as the A90) and I think they are excellent pads for the money. I’ve tried a couple of others (Pagid and Carbotech) in the hope of getting similar braking power with less noise, but in my experience at least, you just can’t get one without the other. I would like to try the CSG pads now that you mention it though, so I might place an order today and report back.

On another brake note, I bought the Verus master cylinder brake brace because I thought the stock pedal was too soft with a variety of fluids and pads and it was a really terrific upgrade. Maybe the performance won’t change, but the pedal just inspires far more confidence now. It’s the best $120 I’ve ever spent on a car and if you want to start off cheap before going to the nuclear option I’d start there.

 

[ADracing]

Agree with the comments above.

I guess it depends what you use it for. Are you just street driving and want to be able to stop super quick once in awhile and want something that looks better than stock? Or are you running the car in 30 minute track sessions with constant braking and needing to manage heat and brake fade?

Just a general comment from my high horse...

For those looking for an affordable solution by retrofitting something from another car, (and if you track the car) please be weary of changing the brake balance in a significant way from oem as it may change the characteristics of the car under heavy breaking. Other cars have different weights, and weight distribution. If you throw on a set that is heavily front biased you may start locking the fronts constantly, whereas a set that is rear biased you may lock the rears and spin the car.

Obviously this is an over simplified explanation....but the point is, the manufacturers and aftermarket bbk companies are usually better engineers than we are. Just because it has better stopping power on paper doesn't mean it's going to make you faster.

For those street driving its likely not much of a worry, but if you are only street driving you probably won't be looking at this option anyways. Fluid and pads make a big difference for keeping temps down.

Also, we live in the same city...

 

[Navshah10]

Was more curious if anything, just been around alot of older jdm stuff where swapping parts was super easy, this is my newest car. Also looking into the future as I would like to track the car and just seeing what options were out there! Thanks for all the input guys!

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