Project 54: Big Brake Kit Upgrade

[Wayne at Pelican Parts]

Got any questions on Project 54 for your E36 or E30? Ask them here!

-Wayne

[nuvolarossa]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
Got any questions on Project 54 for your E36 or E30? Ask them here!

-Wayne

Hi Wayne, I'm new here.
I have fitted the 330i e46 brakes front and rear on my 318is e36, but on the rear the parking brake isn't working because the shoes are too littles... when the oem shoes are full adjusted there is a gap of 1,5 cm... look this pic


And this link with diagrams, please:
My thread about e-brake upgrade

what parts I need? the m3 shoes fit with my 318is dust shield? The holes for the pin that retain the shoes will be in correct position?
help me please...

I'm seaching where I can find your book in Italy with cheap shipment

[Wayne at Pelican Parts]

Not sure about the book in Italy, but we can ship it to you for about $15 USD, I think...

As for the shoes, the best bet I would recommend is to use the E46 setup on your car. They should be very similar, and I think that they will fit (although I haven't done this myself).

On a semi-related note, the rear brakes are not very important in the grand scheme of things. The front brakes do 80-90% of the braking, and the rears are really just along for the ride. Most "real" brake upgrades involve the fronts only - if you tighten up the rears, you can get the car unbalanced during braking, and have stability issues. If you can't easily solve this problem, I would replace the original rear setup, or you can upgrade to the rear convertible brakes as a slight upgrade as well (discussed in the book too).

-Wayne

[Wayne at Pelican Parts]

Not sure about the book in Italy, but we can ship it to you for about $15 USD, I think...

As for the shoes, the best bet I would recommend is to use the E46 setup on your car. They should be very similar, and I think that they will fit (although I haven't done this myself).

On a semi-related note, the rear brakes are not very important in the grand scheme of things. The front brakes do 80-90% of the braking, and the rears are really just along for the ride. Most "real" brake upgrades involve the fronts only - if you tighten up the rears, you can get the car unbalanced during braking, and have stability issues. If you can't easily solve this problem, I would replace the original rear setup, or you can upgrade to the rear convertible brakes as a slight upgrade as well (discussed in the book too).

-Wayne

[nuvolarossa]

I don't know. The E46 330 shoes are 16cm of diameter, as mine. The M3 E36 are 18cm of diameter. The problem is that for fit the M3 or 330 shoes I need too the dust shield from these cars. The trailing arms are differents and I don't know if the dust shield from a M3 will fit in my car.

I need the dust shield because the shoes are retained with some pins to the shield.
Otherwise I can drill the hole to my dust shield, if the M3 shoes needs the holes in different position...

I'm lost

[Wayne at Pelican Parts]

Honestly, I would use the brakes from the E36 cabriolet, and forget abou the rear E46 stuff. I'm not even sure how much of an upgrade the E46 brakes will get you, particularly in the rear...

-Wayne

[resqav8r]

Had an additional question on this thread. I'm building a '92 E36 4 door JP car and have a relatively new set of complete 2002 M3 brakes that I was planning on putting on the race car. After reading this thread I realize that most likely I'll leave off the e-brake. Other than the ebrake problem is this swap pretty much a straight up swap? Or do I need other spindles to use E46 M3 disks & calibers? Was just wondering if E46 M3 brakes differ greatly from E46 330i mentioned in this thread?

[jrl]

I have a related question on my E36 M3; asked it on another forum site and wanted to see what thoughts are here.

The M3 is a recent purchase; I have an '02 330Ci sport package. Its brakes have always impressed me -- firm pedal, quick engagement, easy modulation, confidence-inspiring stopping.

In comparison, the M3's brakes have a softer pedal with less "fatness" in the modulation. Stopping is fairly adequate, but the brakes don't feel up to the rest of the car.

The brakes appear pretty similar between the two. 330Ci has 41kmiles; E36 M3 47kmiles. Looks like newer front rotors on M3. Sooo...could the difference in brake feel and braking come down greatly to a fluid change and bleed? Good first place to start?

[Jeron]

Fluid change is a good start but the most likely cause is different pad material.

[jrl]

Thanks Jeron - How does braking feel compare between your cars? What pads do you run on the M3? Pads on my 330 are originals.

The rotors on the M3 are more rippled from wear than the 330, likely been braked harder. No warped rotor shimmy, though.

[Jeron]

The brake sizes are similar between the E36M3 and 330 so with the same pads they should feel similar.

I like Hawk HPS pads but I'm getting some noise on my 330 rear after two years so I need to pull it apart and see if it s just the pads or something else. I didn't use and anti-squeal when I installed them. I think the Hawk HPS might have a slightly less soft application bite than stock but I think they perform better for emergency stops. They are great for dust and performance, even occasional track days.

I've been through a few different pads on my M3 and the feel changes with each pad. Stock and PFC-Zrated were good and similar in modulation and cold bite. The PFC eventually got noisy. Wagner(textron) pads seem to be too soft but I haven't had them on long enough to be sure. The other pads I've used are track or track/street pads.

If you don't mind cleaning your wheels twice a week get OEM Pagid or Jurid otherwise I recommend Hawk HPS.