BMW perfromance brake vs BBK or AP

[dextro]

Wanna upgrade the brake kit, anyone got experience between BMW performance, brembo and AP, all i want is the performance and outlook come second.

the mechanic told me that the bmw performance brake kit need to upgrade the rear brake as well for better balance, is it necessary ?

[mfanatic325]

It's always better to do both ends of the car and keep a balance going. That said, what kind of performance driving do you do? Make sure that you actually need the fade resistance from upgrading brakes over stock, otherwise it'd just be a waste of money
If upgraded brake lines, fluid, pads, and rotors aren't enough, then I'd probably wait until your current set of rotors and/or pads wear out and require replacement before biting the bullet for a BBK of some sort.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by dextro

Wanna upgrade the brake kit, anyone got experience between BMW performance, brembo and AP, all i want is the performance and outlook come second.

the mechanic told me that the bmw performance brake kit need to upgrade the rear brake as well for better balance, is it necessary ?

The rears don't always need to be upgraded, however in the BMW Performance case it does because that front caliper was meant to be used with a certain rear and you don't currently have the rear. However companies like Stoptech sell a front kit that maintains the bias with your stock rears.

Brembo, AP, Stoptech - can't go wrong with any of these. I would choose Stoptech just because they are slightly cheaper.

To mfanatic's point, if your first concern is performance, you may as well skip ALL of these because you won't notice a performance upgrade over your current stock setup. Whatever improvement you feel would be just a function of whatever pads they give you, assuming they bite better than stock. So if you want better stopping performance, all you really need is a pad upgrade. The bbk helps with fade resistance which you would not encounter on the street.

[GuidoK]

I think that you first need to consider how big you want your brakes. Larger discs and pads (calipers) mean more heat dissipation possibilities, but also mean more unsprung weight.
So lager brakes (foremost: lager discs) mean less handling (grip/traction) but also less heat issues.

The BMW performance kit on the front can be used with a stock setup at the rear if you use a more aggressive pad (according to ECS) for maximum performance (more front bias won't create an unsafe situation, but you just don't get the maximum stopping force out of the whole system).
The BMW (ecs) performance kit is basically a smaller /m front rotor (325mm) and a 6 pot brembo caliper. With some work (for example shims between the caliper carrier) you might be able to fit a 338mm (130i performance rotor) or 345mm rotor (z4m rotor)

The bmw performance rotors are 'semi floating', and rotors like brembo are mostly floating (but there are also non floating front bbk sets, even from brembo). Both systems have an aluminium centerpiece. But I don't think Brembo has a rear GT bbk set for a non /m z4 (and I dont think a lot of other brands have them)

[The HACK]

The first question you should ALWAYS ask yourself before doing any work, is what do I intend to use this car for. Once you have an answer to that question, all else will follow.

Otherwise all you're doing is throwing darts at a board 100ft away. Blind folded. With BOTH HANDS tied behind your back.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by The HACK

The first question you should ALWAYS ask yourself before doing any work, is what do I intend to use this car for. Once you have an answer to that question, all else will follow.

Otherwise all you're doing is throwing darts at a board 100ft away. Blind folded. With BOTH HANDS tied behind your back.

I think I could spit a dart out pretty close to 100ft if my life depended on it, just need a running start

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by DSC_OFF

I think I could spit a dart out pretty close to 100ft if my life depended on it, just need a running start

Is this you?

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Is this you?

If it makes you feel better I never intentionally tried hitting you. I usually aim for the 911 owners if anything.

[STIHLBOLTS]

So since I plan on just regular street use, a after market brake kit is pretty much a waste of money. So in keeping with that theme, what can be done to the brakes to clean them up and make them look better. I checked out Caliper covers and for $200 bucks and more if you want BMW written on them that seems high for some aluminum covers. Who has painted their calipers and had success?