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      03-29-2020, 05:24 PM   #1
maupineda
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E82 BMW Performance Brake Calipers on E86 Z4M

Well, as the title says, I will be doing this mod, which needless to say is a horse that has been beaten to death with different view points, anyhow, I always struggled to find photos of how all the necessary parts come together and decided to contribute to the cause

I am not done collecting all the parts, but so far have...

1. the calliper brackets
2. Driver side calliper

Need...

1. Passenger side calliper
2. SS brake lines
3. New rotors

So, let's begin with some photos of the brackets I am using, I decided to go with "Reboot Engineering" as they were made of 6061 aluminum, and are lighter vs the cast iron OE brackets used on the e82 platform.

There as a thread I found where the user stated the OE E82 callipers could be used with only a set of washers to adjust for the different height of the rotor surface relative to the bracket mounting surface on the knuckle. I don't have a calliper so I could not measure the exact value, but the user on other thread called it is 8mm; I was going to follow this approach to save investing in the brackets but this method does not consider the rotor diameter difference so you end up with a pad that does not seat fully on the rotor surface.

Ok... let's jump to the photos

These are the Reboot Engineering items.



The bracket next to the BMW E82 OE "BMW Performance" Assembly



The next two photos show the offset required in the new bracket to radially place the calliper relative to the larger Z4M rotor, our rotors are 7mm larger in comparison to the E82 135i (345 vs 338) so the offset value should be around 3.5mm; by looking at the photos I think the offset is less, but I don't know for sure as I did not have how to measure it; the final test will be once I mount them to see how the pads seat on the Z4M rotors.





The next photo shows the difference in the offset of the knuckle mounting surface, this is what can be adjusted with washers to center the OE E82 calliper in relation to the Z4M rotor.




Finally here is the new bracket assembled to the calliper I have. I used 65 ft/lb and blue Loctite to replace the 10mm hex bolts.

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Next for me is to source the missing items so I can install the new brake kit.

Last edited by maupineda; 03-30-2020 at 10:42 AM..
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      03-29-2020, 05:37 PM   #2
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Here the weight difference, the new brackets are more than 50% lighter

OE Bracket

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Reboot Engineering Bracket

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      03-30-2020, 08:38 AM   #3
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Does anyone offer a bracket for the rears?
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      03-30-2020, 10:44 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3002 tii View Post
Does anyone offer a bracket for the rears?
I read that the rears are a "direct fit", but with my mental calculations, you won't have complete coverage of the pad to the rotor, and because of their design, there is no way to design a bracket, so the Boxter S calipers seem to be an option, or try out and see if you can live with a 2.5mm rust ring in the outside of the rotor.
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      06-10-2020, 05:56 PM   #5
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Well, after a lot of research and internet surfing I was able to find actual evidence of whether or not the rear BMW E82 135i callipers would fit the E85/6/46 chassis, and they do, but not the M's.

The M's have a different geometry in the trailing arm that prevents the use of these.

the next two photos are good to show the difference between the two

Look the calliper mounting lollipops of the NoN-M, they are shorter, you can see how the holes are tangent to the edge between the two lollipops

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Now if you look at the M version, see how the holes protrude further

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I was able to find the following photo of someone who had test fit the 135i calliper on an M3, you can see how the calliper is mounted further out radially

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So this option has been discarded obviously.

So I have sourced a set of rear 996 Rear Calipers which I have disassembled and cleaned for painting.

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Last edited by maupineda; 06-12-2020 at 10:33 AM..
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      06-28-2020, 11:02 AM   #6
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I have completed the install of the fronts... and so far so good. the installation is not too difficult but you do need to tweak some things

1. The knuckle, being cast, may require some filing to avoid clearance issues with the bracket, Instead of filing anything I mounted the bracket to the knuckle and started tightening, the bracket being aluminum (soft) could be driven to be fully seated by the fasteners making the knuckle and the bracket to notch one another just fine (I hope this makes sense). Now, the bracket does need about 1mm of spacing to the knuckle, so I removed the bracket, added the spacers, and tightened it back, at this point the notches created by forcing the two parts together provided actual clearance between the two parts with the spacer in place. This was only an issue on the driver side, the passenger side was perfect, but again, castings are not identical if not machined. More details the spacers on point 3.

2. The lines, I had bought Z4M specific lines from ECS, and they did not fit, they are tad shorter than the OE rubber ones, which made the problem even worse, the OE hoses would fit, but I did not want to have stress on the lines so I had to get another set, this time around I went to Rally Road to match the rears (blue in colour ). These were perhaps longer than ideal, but they can be made routed rather well with zero clearance or contact issues.

(No photos of the above)

3. The calliper is designed for a 25mm rotors, ours, being 28mm, fit, but it is tight. As mentioned already I needed a small spacer between the bracket and the knuckle, which you can see in some of the photos below. with those rotors are pretty much in the middle relative to the calliper ditch. These spacers are nothing but washers (20mm OD, 10.8mm ID, 0.8mm thick)

The two photos below show the little spacing between the calliper and the rotor with the washer in place

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Below you can see the thin spacer, I was lucky that my rally road kit came with 0.8mm thick washers (measured with digital callipers) so they did the trick perfectly. without these, I don't know what I would have done, as the ones in Home Depot are 1.5mm, which would of not work as is and I would have had to thin them out. Without the spacers, the calliper binds to the rotor so these are a must, or they were in my case. Both sides were exactly the same so it was not something unique to one side of the car, I think by design these brackets missed that small detail

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Last edited by maupineda; 06-28-2020 at 02:54 PM..
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      06-28-2020, 11:21 AM   #7
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So after the install, you can see the pads use 100% of the rotor surface and the pads are bigger, so, in my opinion, that loss of area on the piston side (the 6-pot calliper apparently provide less area than the single 60mm piston calliper) is compensated by the massive difference on the pad side.

A few comments on what I noticed right after the install

1. the pedal is about 20% firmer, I was actually expecting a bigger change, but was also afraid it could be too hard, so I am fine with the improvement I am seeing. Also, the original setup for some reason had a soft pedal feel along the whole pedal travel, with not much change in pedal feel in proportion to pedal travel and brake force; with the 6-pots, the pedal starts to become firmer as the pedal is pushed further and the brake force increases, which I like. You are still able to trigger the ABS if you go deep on the brake pedal (this does not require much force v stock, it is just firmer). The issue with the OE setup is that it required very little force, which I did not like.

2. I did not see any change in normal driving behaviour, nor I would say there was a change in the braking power at all. All in I like the new feel as I have better feedback on how much braking I am applying versus travel and firmness of the pedal.

Next, I will install my rear 996 Brembos along with new lines and then a complete brake fluid flush, which should complete the package

See the pad versus the rotor surface

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And of course, it looks better

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Last edited by maupineda; 06-28-2020 at 03:00 PM..
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      06-29-2020, 12:48 AM   #8
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Nice work... I went with the 996 kit myself for front and rear, seemed like less work to be honest but good condition 135i calipers are easier/cheaper to find. Report back on how you like the setup. I’ve yet to install mine, too cheap to buy new track pads so will probably install end of summer.

Btw how much wheel clearance do you have on the fronts?
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      06-29-2020, 05:48 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3002 tii View Post
Nice work... I went with the 996 kit myself for front and rear, seemed like less work to be honest but good condition 135i calipers are easier/cheaper to find. Report back on how you like the setup. I’ve yet to install mine, too cheap to buy new track pads so will probably install end of summer.

Btw how much wheel clearance do you have on the fronts?
I do not know the exact value, but I can grab the spokes freely, that is my fingers slide through completely behind the spoke and do not touch, I'd say at 15mm. Radially, it is very similar, between 12 to 15mm from the calliper to the barrel. my wheels are ET34 at the front with a flatter design for the spokes so there is plenty of room (no spacers)
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      07-03-2020, 04:51 PM   #10
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I have completed my BB conversion. went with rear Porsche callipers. The photos are very poor and the lightning in the garage made it worse, but you'll get the idea.

I was also able to paint the rears in a very similar shade to the front.

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      07-03-2020, 06:56 PM   #11
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Alright so wait...I have a non-M. 135i rear calipers are direct bolt ons? I looked at the reboot engineering and they do sell an adapter for the caliper for the front.

How is the overall breaking feel? I'm wanting something better than what I currently have.
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      07-04-2020, 08:48 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yapakanichi View Post
Alright so wait...I have a non-M. 135i rear calipers are direct bolt ons? I looked at the reboot engineering and they do sell an adapter for the caliper for the front.

How is the overall breaking feel? I'm wanting something better than what I currently have.
That is my understanding, you just use the Z4M rotor (Rear).

To be honest I was expecting a bigger change. I installed the fronts first and I did notice an improvement in pedal feed, but after adding the rear Porsche 996 Brembos there was no further improvement in feel. knowing this now I would advise to just do the fronts and keep the rears unless you are after a nicer look. Below images of the final product

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Last edited by maupineda; 07-06-2020 at 07:03 AM..
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      07-05-2020, 12:41 PM   #13
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Nice work! What type of paint did you use on the calipers and how'd you do prep?
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      07-06-2020, 07:01 AM   #14
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Quote:
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Nice work! What type of paint did you use on the calipers and how'd you do prep?
I used Phoenix yellow in a can from a company called ExpressPaint. After that, I used the Dupli-Color engine enamel clear.

the prep I did was not very thorough, I cleaned them removing all dust and dirt completely (very tedious) and then I cleaned them one more time with a pre-paint cleaner I got from home depot. Then just the regular initial light coat of color, I think I gave them up to 4 passes. They are not factory perfect and if I would do it again I would have sanded them just to improve durability, but I plan to do powder coating sometime later after the current paintwork starts to give up, we will see how much they last. I think they will be fine as I don't track or abuse the car, is a weekend toy so I'd say what I did is more than enough

Also, I could not find a close enough powder coat color so I went with "touch up" paint for better matching. you can not tell the difference between front and rear

I also masked all the areas I did not want pain, but if I had to do it again I would use plugs/screws instead for a better finish around the bleeder and screws areas.
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      07-07-2020, 03:41 PM   #15
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Thanks!
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      03-29-2021, 08:37 PM   #16
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Reviving an old thread: Does anyone know if the stock style 224M wheels will fit over the front caliper? I'm looking to price out how much this "upgrade" would cost and have read there may be interference.
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      03-29-2021, 11:59 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mmns999 View Post
Reviving an old thread: Does anyone know if the stock style 224M wheels will fit over the front caliper? I'm looking to price out how much this "upgrade" would cost and have read there may be interference.
Worst case budget for a pair of 12mm spacers.
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      03-30-2021, 05:39 AM   #18
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I forgot to update my thread, the breaks are an absolute blast. What was leading me to find no more improvement after the rears were installed were the pads, I did not chose better and went with Brembo ceramics, and they are shit for power and feel. Now I have textar and the difference is noticeable. Brake pedal is very firm and linear, and there is just that solid sporty feel I was looking for. Now they are a match to the track pack Mustang I used to have.

To the above question, yes, 224 wheels fit with no issue.
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      03-30-2021, 07:59 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maupineda View Post
I forgot to update my thread, the breaks are an absolute blast. What was leading me to find no more improvement after the rears were installed were the pads, I did not chose better and went with Brembo ceramics, and they are shit for power and feel. Now I have textar and the difference is noticeable. Brake pedal is very firm and linear, and there is just that solid sporty feel I was looking for. Now they are a match to the track pack Mustang I used to have.

To the above question, yes, 224 wheels fit with no issue.
Awesome, thanks for the update!
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      11-27-2023, 10:26 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maupineda View Post
I forgot to update my thread, the breaks are an absolute blast. What was leading me to find no more improvement after the rears were installed were the pads, I did not chose better and went with Brembo ceramics, and they are shit for power and feel. Now I have textar and the difference is noticeable. Brake pedal is very firm and linear, and there is just that solid sporty feel I was looking for. Now they are a match to the track pack Mustang I used to have.

To the above question, yes, 224 wheels fit with no issue.
What brake pads are you u using? The ones for the e82 135i?
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      11-28-2023, 07:19 AM   #21
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Yes, I chose OE EU compound, they dust, but offer great feel, modulation, and braking power. Also the initial bite is good.
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      01-05-2024, 02:50 AM   #22
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Hi guys, is anyone able to tell me what length flexi hoses are needed for this install.?
I have everything sourced, apart from the hoses.

Thanks.
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