Brake options for Z4.

Post Reply
brunhuber
Posts: 128
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:24 pm

Brake options for Z4.

Post by brunhuber »

Hi everyone,

My brake light came on my dashboard which the manual says is the warning that they have to be replaced. I find the stock brakes phenomenal, but was wondering what options people would commonly recommend for spirited street driving and the autocross program. Again, I'm pretty happy with the brakes, but was wondering what options I might consider. I'd also need to know where to get them installed.

I actually called the JMK BMW to see if they could just put on M version hardware onto my car (bigger rotors and calipers) but it turns out the knuckle is all different on the M suspension, so it wasn't going to be an easy swap.

--Norbert

BJerolimic
Posts: 747
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:24 pm
Location: Glen Ridge, NJ . . . . . . '98 318ti - '01 M5 - '08 X5

Post by BJerolimic »

Norbert,

Check out what UUC Motorwerks offers for your car, I have their replacement rotors (slotted) + upgraded pads, and I also did steel-braided brake lines and motul fluid... decent upgrade for not a lot of extra $$$

See you at the autoxs!

-Brent
Image

and gone but not forgotten:
'00 323Ci Steel Grey / Black Dinan & UUC & Schnitzer mods
'89 325iX Diamond Black / Black 4dr 5spd Dinan chip, Ireland exhaust, H&R+Koni
'01 525iTa

brunhuber
Posts: 128
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:24 pm

Post by brunhuber »

Thanks Brent! Who did the installation for you?

--Norbert

sab0276
Posts: 291
Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2005 5:44 pm
Location: Whitehouse Station, NJ
Contact:

Post by sab0276 »

Hi Norbert.

Check out my page on Upgrading Brakes.
http://www.scottbarton.net/UpgradingBrakes.html

Instead of spending $$$ on a BBK, which you probably don't need, I'd recommend that you just get a set of high performance street/autox pads, fresh rotors, DOT 4 fluid, and SS lines.

I have Porterfield R4-S pads on my M Roadster. I like them a lot. They dust a lot less than the OEM BMW ones, and they perform better too. They are good for street and autox use, and will hold up to some track work but may not be ideal as track pads. They are about $200 for a full set (front and rear). If you are looking for something a little cheaper, try one of the Axxis pads. Other good options are the Hawk HPS or Hawk HP+ pads.

For brake fluid I would either go with Valvoline Synthetic DOT 4 which is cheap and easy to get at your local autoparts store for like $6/liter, or if you plan on tracking you might want to consider ATE Typ 200 (same as SuperBlue w/o the dye). The ATE is about twice as much as the Valvoline and needs to be ordered. You can see the difference in performances of brake fluids here.

I don't see SS lines for the Z4 on UUC's site, but you might want to give them a call. I have StopTech SS lines from Zeckhausen Racing.

All of this stuff is easy to do by yourself if you are mechanically inclined or have ever done a brake job before.

-Scott
MyTrackSchedule.com
Duct Tape Motorsports
1991 318is LeMons
1974 2002tii
'01 BMW M Roadster
'07 MCS

edw1
Posts: 697
Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2004 10:59 am
Location: Morris County
Contact:

Post by edw1 »

The Z cars draw a lot from the 3 series parts bin. Your Z4 3.0 (?) probably has rotors and pads from some flavor E46.

Anyone up for a BrakeFest before the autocross season starts?




Ed
ImageImage

BJerolimic
Posts: 747
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:24 pm
Location: Glen Ridge, NJ . . . . . . '98 318ti - '01 M5 - '08 X5

Post by BJerolimic »

brunhuber wrote:Thanks Brent! Who did the installation for you?

--Norbert
me with some help from the Brakefest crew! :-)

it's not hard to do, and not easy to mess up... good combo! although I'll admit it's "scary" the first time you do a repair like this as you know this affects the safety of driving around on the street let alone an autox or track! but then you see how straight forward it is and how hard it is to mess up and you feel fine and glad you just saved $$$ on the labor which you can use to support your driving/autoxing/DEing habit!

Ed taught me how to change pads at the original Brakefest... must've been 7 or 8 years ago now (whoa) and I've been doing my own ever since


if you need any tools, I'd recommend Ken @ Bimmertools.com, that's where I got my brake bleeder and some sockets, rachets, etc
Last edited by BJerolimic on Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Image

and gone but not forgotten:
'00 323Ci Steel Grey / Black Dinan & UUC & Schnitzer mods
'89 325iX Diamond Black / Black 4dr 5spd Dinan chip, Ireland exhaust, H&R+Koni
'01 525iTa

BJerolimic
Posts: 747
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:24 pm
Location: Glen Ridge, NJ . . . . . . '98 318ti - '01 M5 - '08 X5

Post by BJerolimic »

edw1 wrote:The Z cars draw a lot from the 3 series parts bin. Your Z4 3.0 (?) probably has rotors and pads from some flavor E46.

Anyone up for a BrakeFest before the autocross season starts?


Ed

I am... check out my email about maintenance items for my e46 please and let me know what you think I need to order for the coming season


danke
B
Image

and gone but not forgotten:
'00 323Ci Steel Grey / Black Dinan & UUC & Schnitzer mods
'89 325iX Diamond Black / Black 4dr 5spd Dinan chip, Ireland exhaust, H&R+Koni
'01 525iTa

brunhuber
Posts: 128
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:24 pm

Post by brunhuber »

Wow Scott, that's some excellent information. Thank you for so thoroughly answering my question.

--Norbert

Post Reply