When you say stainless, do you mean braided covered rubber lines?

What DOT fluid are you using?

Fade comes from boiling fluid or glazed pads.

So you have options:
A) Make it live with the heat, higher DOT fluid and different pad material
B) Stop it getting hot, bigger disks, calipers so same braking working less hard, improve cooling etc.


However if braking from high speed to a stop then cooling hardley helps as all the heat build up is in a few seconds.


Most upgrades comprise an assortment of the above

 

yes that is correct, not cheap :frown

 

Braided over rubber will expand more than rigid lines so if that is what you have long runs of I would expect that to make them less sharp.

 

Sorry i was incorrect in my last post, they are not rubber covered brake hoses. They are stainless braided with a tougned plastic inner iirc, but dont hold me to that. But i know for sure not rubber.

I beilieve car is running dot 3 if that is normal road stuff, however the system will need draining and rebleeding so new fluid can be used, what do you recommend?

The problem with overheating brakes was the rears seemed to almost catch alight? this may be down to sticking calipers though im not sure, however the rear pads and front ones as well have had it really.

Would a e46 330 brake upgrade suffice or is something larger required?

Mnay Thanks:thumbsup

 

It shouldn't be running DOT3, standard was DOT4.

A good racing fluid will be DOT4 too, either ATE super blue or Motul RBF600.
They will be better then most if not all DOT 5.1s
You can mix 5.1 and 4 if needed, but in your case, I'd assume you have regular DOT4 so even less of a problem.

The blue dye in ATE superblue will also let you know when you've bled it through.

The 330 brake conversion should be fine, most 4 pot upgrades are for street bling rather than actual use. I'd class pads as the most important link (provided you have decent fluid) and more important than fancy discs.

The key to good braking is brake hard, fast and quick, you'll be wanting to have either max braking or no braking for most circumstances.

Most overheating of brakes come from smooth street braking into a corner at 50-60% of max for a gentle stop, which means riding the brakes for a while, and just heating them up.

 

Yes i think you are right, its most likely DOt 4 fluid.

I will look into doing the 330 brake conversion asap, and i think red stuff pads will be in order.

The problem with the rear brakes is that under hard braking they were locking on and required the fluid to be let out and the rear brakes blocked of to prevent them setting alight:eek. Is this a sign of kanckered calipers? or soemthing else?

Regarding the suspension, do you have any recomendations? At the minute the car has kw coilovers and rear shocks with some un branded rear springs:shifty:. And standard anti roll bars.

Are eibach anti roll bars a good upgrade to reduc the roll in corners?

Thanks

 

eibach or whiteline should be pretty good, especially if they are the slightly adjustable ones.

max stiff can make the car a bit skittish. You'll need to sort out what's going on with the rears though, check for damaged or crimped pipes. The rears don't do much braking at all compared with the fronts.

Have a good look at the caliper pistons to make sure they are getting corroded but it does seem like a restriction so you can pump extra fluid in under pressure, but it won't relax under it's own steam.

 

Thanks again.

I had read good reviews of both eibach and whitline, so i will be ordering front and rear set of them, and for good measure will replace the link bars as well.

Hopefully this will reduce the roll into corners, as it was causing the car to feel slightly unstable. Will powerflex bushes be a worthwhile upgrade as well, i had a set on my 318is a while back and helped alot but do they hack track abuse?

Are rear coilovers a good upgrade, i was looking at the gaz gold kit. the car has a full weld in cage which goes to the turrets and across them so i think the car can take them, but are they needed?

Thanks

Lloyd

 

If the rear turrets are reinforced, you could use true rear coilovers, but even the BMW race cars used a separate shock and spring.

Don't order any roll bar link rods until you know what comes in the roll bar kit. They often include them, and they can be a different design and size.

 

Thanks, i will look out for some decent quality rear springs to match the kw parts already in use.

With regards to 330 brake upgrade, is it worth doing the rears as well? I have read that there are 3 rear brake upgrades possible for it:

1. E36 'vert rear brakes 276x19 vented.
2. E46 325/328 'vert rear brakes 294x19 vented
3. E46 330i/ci rear brakes 320x20 vented

Will there be noticeable difference with any of the above fitted. When the braided brake lines were installed a brake bias valve was fitted so adjustments can be made to front or rear.

Lloyd

 

Check to see if your rears are vented already.
Swapping to E46 rear brakes means you won't find any handbrake shoes to fit inside

 

Just popped out the garage, they are solid ones:frown.

Will the e36 328i vert calipers and discs go on ok?

 

i've bought the E46 330ci calipers (front and back) but not got them fitted yet, i've heard i'll also need an M3 (E36) master brake cylinder and servo?... or the pedal will travel a long way

 

Yep, the vented 328 cabrio discs will fit, you may need to check part numbers, or infact just grab the lot from a breakers, as in some cases, the caliper is the same, but the braket is different.

M3 master cyl - It's a funny one, it was always theorised that is was a must when changing up in sizes, but some people who haven't changes the MC said they haven't had any problems.

 

Thanks once again for this advice.

So im going to go with 330 front brakes with uprated discs and pads and rear e36 328i vert brakes with uprated discs and pads, but will sort the brake problem first:frown.

Suspension wise i think the eibach anti roll bars and powerflex bushes will be first on that front, and some good rear springs to match.

Does that sound ok for the next track day?

Thanks

 

Yes, that's all fine.
I'd go for eccentric front powerflex bushes, maybe powerflex ARB bushes too, depending on what comes in the ARB kit.

 

Ok will get this lot on order. I cant seem to find any 328i vert rear brake setups but i have found a set from a 3.0 M3? Will these fit the car ok?

Thanks

 

Good advice from Enda :thumbsup

I'd look at your brake bias valve too, sounds like theres too much bias to the rears.

Forget red stuff and go for the blue stuff pad if you can afford them and ATE superblue. Give that a go before forking out for a new brake setup.

 

Nope, M3 rears have bigger handbrakes too, making them M3 only, unless you swap to the M trailing arms.

 

Unfortuantley as per usual i have had to rethink the plans due to budget constraints :frown (tell me something new)......

So im sorting the current brake problem at the minute but on the upgrade front the following has changed:

Rear brake upgrade to 328i vert - Scrapped the idea, cannot find a set up anywhere and tbh, not alot of braking is done at the rear anyway!

Front Upgrade to 330 brakes - Located calipers for a good price however the cost of performance discs and pads (280 and 65 quid respectively), mean this is on the back burner.

ARB upgrade to eibachs - Cannot afford them:frown, however the car was orgianally a 318is before the M50 engine was dropped in, and so still has the 318is anti roll bars.
Is there a oem upgrade that will reduce roll at front and rear? Maybe 325i, 328i? These would have powerflex bushes fitted.

Many Thanks