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      05-17-2014, 08:41 PM   #45
jafo1701
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ginger_Extract View Post
How do you feel about the RB rebuild kit? RB is local (20 minutes away) to me, and my front calipers are fried. After reading everything I can get my hands on, it seems like a solid fit for our cars. I will be contacting Warren and Co. over at RB in regards to bringing my car in for the caliper rebuild.
It's a pretty simple DIY. Just takes some time. I haven't done any track days with them yet so I can't comment on their durability. Just rebuilt them earlier this year. I'll have 7 track days within the next 3 months so we'll see how they hold up.
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      08-22-2014, 07:01 PM   #46
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Originally Posted by jafo1701 View Post
It's a pretty simple DIY. Just takes some time. I haven't done any track days with them yet so I can't comment on their durability. Just rebuilt them earlier this year. I'll have 7 track days within the next 3 months so we'll see how they hold up.
Jafo, how has the caliper rebuild been holding up? Is the heat transfer to your dust boots, calipers and brake fluid reduced or about the same? Do the RB's feal or react any different than stock brake pistons?
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2011 X3 35i with M pack + 2011 135i w/6SPMT | 255 square tire setup | Quaife 3.46 LSD | Diff lock down bracket | Bilstein B8+Swift SpecR springs+H&R FSB | CDV delete | BMS Oil Tstat bypass | ER FMIC & CP | N54Tuning DP | GC Street Camber Plates | M3 FCA +guide rods+RSFB's+Tranny mounts | Manzo toe arms | Cobb Stg2 agressive tune | Hawk DTC70 brake pads | RB SS brake pistons | Goodridge SS brake lines | Custom brake cooling ducts
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      02-04-2015, 06:05 AM   #47
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Spring 2015 Update: Installed custom brake cooling ducting attached to my stock E82 brake dust shields. Got rid of the F30 brake shields. Installed N55 catless downpipe and custom PTF/Cobb stage agressive tune ...

See my cooling duct pictures here ... http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=57
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2011 X3 35i with M pack + 2011 135i w/6SPMT | 255 square tire setup | Quaife 3.46 LSD | Diff lock down bracket | Bilstein B8+Swift SpecR springs+H&R FSB | CDV delete | BMS Oil Tstat bypass | ER FMIC & CP | N54Tuning DP | GC Street Camber Plates | M3 FCA +guide rods+RSFB's+Tranny mounts | Manzo toe arms | Cobb Stg2 agressive tune | Hawk DTC70 brake pads | RB SS brake pistons | Goodridge SS brake lines | Custom brake cooling ducts

Last edited by dcaron9999; 02-13-2015 at 02:28 PM..
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      03-06-2015, 02:23 PM   #48
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Before we get too far into this, you should note my expectations are probably a bit different than what you may have. I race a 128i in Grand-Am in the CTSCC. I also go out and have fun at the occasional DE, so I think I have an idea of what you might want, although I could be way off.

How much is budget a consideration? It's hard to tell you what you can/should do without an idea of how much you're willing to spend. Given the car list in your signature line, I can imagine you might have a good sized budget available.

Let's get started though, with brakes and tires. The first thing you should do, and the thing that will make you faster than engine mods, is brakes and tires. The 6 piston calipers and rotors on the 135 are quite good, but the street pads will burn away in no time. You're going to need to get some nice pads on there. Hawk makes several in the HT line. Stay away from the HPS or HP+. HT-10 is probably a good choice. We use aftermarket brakes with Pagid pads. Pagid doesn't make anything for the street version of the car.

Tires and wheels should be done at the same time you do the brakes. You can find a lot of nice lightweight 18" wheels. You'll probably want an 18x8.5 with an ET of 45. Try to keep the weight to 20# or less per rim We use the O.Z. Allegria. There are other options for less which perform as well. As for tires, are you going to drive them on the street? If not, you can get full slicks, but you're probably going to want to start with something like a nice summer high performance tire. Maybe even an R compound if you already have some track experience, but seriously stay off them if you don't. They can mask your mistakes. A good street tire would be something like a Toyo T1R or R1R, or maybe a Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. If you want a set of the Continental slicks we use, I can put you in touch with the right person to get some. You might do better to get some basic Hoosier R6 rubber as it tends to be a little less expensive.

By this time, you're probably going to want to do a short shift kit and clutch if you don't have the DCT. Steptronic is an evil and awful excuse for a transmission, so we'll just stay away from that. I like B&M for shift kits, and SPEC for clutches. I've had several cars with a SPEC clutch and I find them to be excellent. The punishment I put them through, they last amazingly long. Pricing is about the same or less than your typical tuner sport clutch. You're probably going to stall it several times the first month you have it while driving on the street, but you'll get used to it. I'd probably go with a SPEC 3, which is surprisingly cheaper than a 2 or 2+.

Moving on to the next stage, the bars. You can get some nice bars for a few hundred bucks each. You can get what we use for about $2k or a little more per axle. They're bladed bars, and basically infinitely adjustable. Adjusting on the fly if you want to set it up that way (in car adjustment), or mounted on the strut bar. If you're interested in these, let me know. I can put you in touch with my team owner and he'll get them to you.

After the bars, it's time for springs and dampers. Ground Control does a nice job with adjustable coil overs. You can always specify the spring you want. Then for the dampers, although we use AST, my preference would be JRZ. They're good for dual duty, while at the same time being great on the track. Dual adjustable, easy to set up, and probably the one thing that will make you feel like a master more than any other. It'll be the best $4k you've ever spent on making your car (and you) faster. Also, depending on how sticky the tires are and the stiffness of the springs, you're probably going to need camber plates. Brian at JRZ can help you out with them. When you're ready to do this stage, call him and tell him what you're looking for. He'll set you up with what you need based on your level.

By this time, you're spinning the inside wheel, and think the traction control is for wimps. It's LSD time! No, not time to drop acid. Limited slip, baby! I'm not sure which one we use on the CTSCC car, but it's probably the Turner one, and yes, it's expensive. On the other end of the price spectrum, it's Wavetrac. I've heard great things about them, although no personal experience. Personally, if I were building a dual duty car, I'd probably go for the Wavetrac.

Now you're getting really fast, and probably wanting to Time Trial with SCCA or NASA. I think they require a cage, so it's time to do a full roll cage. I have a great guy in Austin (Dripping Springs) who builds a nice cage. There's also Precision Chassis Works in Arizona. Great work from that shop. And of course, if you're in the Virginia beach area, my team owner's shop does them, too.

You may have noted I haven't mentioned a single engine or drivetrain mod so far. Power will make you faster, but not as fast as the other stuff I've already mentioned. A full intake, exhaust, and tune will get you probably 60 horses. That might take a half second off your lap times. For comparison, just switching to an R compound tire will take at least a second off. I'd probably go with the Dinan stage 3 to do this. I think it includes the headers, pipes, intake, tune, etc. Then look at getting serious in the motor after doing the stuff i just mentioned...

Balance the crank, match the pistons, port and polish the heads, and get a hot cam in there. You're looking at about $15k to have it done right, but you'll get the car over 400 to the ground. At this point, it's a good thing you did the brakes and tires. =-)

Now, we can look at aero. A splitter and wing should be done at the same time, and they'll take a lot of time to match. We're not allowed any aero, so I don't have any idea on where to go for this on the 135. On my Boxster, I built the splitter myself, and I'm still trying to tune the rear wing to match it after almost a year.

I hope this helps. Feel free to PM me for more exacting details on anything.
Great information here, thanks for sharing!
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      03-10-2015, 11:00 PM   #49
jafo1701
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dcaron9999 View Post
Jafo, how has the caliper rebuild been holding up? Is the heat transfer to your dust boots, calipers and brake fluid reduced or about the same? Do the RB's feal or react any different than stock brake pistons?
Sorry haven't checked this thread in a while. The Racing Brake kit has held up brilliantly. Last year I went through 2 sets of Carbotech XP 10s and had to upgrade to the 12s. So some serious heat have gone through the Calipers. I now run XP 10s on the rear and XP 12s on the fronts for track days. I can't say if they feel much different from the stock pistons without a direct A/B comparison, but they have held up great. Not sure if they are reducing heat transfer, I have the high temperature dust boots. I haven't had any brake fluid boil over either. I use the ATE gold brake fluid and flush out after every track event. The boots and Pistons are still in outstanding condition though. I highly recommend the RB kit for those who don't want to spend the big bucks on a BBK. Or just do the RB kit for the rears and BBK for the fronts. However I see no need to even go to a BBK at my skill level. I run intermediate and advanced depending on the track club and do around 7 to 10 track days a year.

I got injured last fall so may not be able to do any more track days till late this fall. Odds are though I'll have to wait a year to completely recover, so won't be able to update any further on the durability of the RB kit. Still adding upgrades to my 135i though. Adding a limited Slip diff later this month. Car should be that much better the next time I'm able to hit the track.

Last edited by jafo1701; 03-10-2015 at 11:07 PM..
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      03-11-2015, 02:58 PM   #50
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jafo1701 View Post
Sorry haven't checked this thread in a while. The Racing Brake kit has held up brilliantly. Last year I went through 2 sets of Carbotech XP 10s and had to upgrade to the 12s. So some serious heat have gone through the Calipers. I now run XP 10s on the rear and XP 12s on the fronts for track days. I can't say if they feel much different from the stock pistons without a direct A/B comparison, but they have held up great. Not sure if they are reducing heat transfer, I have the high temperature dust boots. I haven't had any brake fluid boil over either. I use the ATE gold brake fluid and flush out after every track event. The boots and Pistons are still in outstanding condition though. I highly recommend the RB kit for those who don't want to spend the big bucks on a BBK. Or just do the RB kit for the rears and BBK for the fronts. However I see no need to even go to a BBK at my skill level. I run intermediate and advanced depending on the track club and do around 7 to 10 track days a year.

I got injured last fall so may not be able to do any more track days till late this fall. Odds are though I'll have to wait a year to completely recover, so won't be able to update any further on the durability of the RB kit. Still adding upgrades to my 135i though. Adding a limited Slip diff later this month. Car should be that much better the next time I'm able to hit the track.
Sorry to hear about your injury. Hope you recover quickly!

Thanks for your feedback. RB pistons and high temp dust boots are on my short list. My stock dust boots are crumbling to pieces, but Im not in a hurry to change them, as pistons are still intact. Ive just added DIY cooling ducts to front brake dust shields during the off season... http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=57
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2011 X3 35i with M pack + 2011 135i w/6SPMT | 255 square tire setup | Quaife 3.46 LSD | Diff lock down bracket | Bilstein B8+Swift SpecR springs+H&R FSB | CDV delete | BMS Oil Tstat bypass | ER FMIC & CP | N54Tuning DP | GC Street Camber Plates | M3 FCA +guide rods+RSFB's+Tranny mounts | Manzo toe arms | Cobb Stg2 agressive tune | Hawk DTC70 brake pads | RB SS brake pistons | Goodridge SS brake lines | Custom brake cooling ducts

Last edited by dcaron9999; 03-11-2015 at 03:03 PM..
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      03-11-2015, 06:58 PM   #51
jafo1701
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dcaron9999 View Post
Sorry to hear about your injury. Hope you recover quickly!

Thanks for your feedback. RB pistons and high temp dust boots are on my short list. My stock dust boots are crumbling to pieces, but Im not in a hurry to change them, as pistons are still intact. Ive just added DIY cooling ducts to front brake dust shields during the off season... http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=57

You'll have to let me know how they work for you. I'll still be updating my car even though it won't be tracked for a while. Maybe add this on things to do. I'm pretty hard on my brakes.
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      03-15-2015, 05:58 PM   #52
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Hey just wanted to update you apparently the seals failed on my RB kit. This past weekend I went to take the car out for the first time and the brake pedal hit the floor. Checked the reservoir and it was empty. Took my Calipers off and brake fluid was leaking out from the pistons. This happened on all 4 of the Calipers. Which is a double whammy because with the high temperature dust boots being all exposed to brake fluid they are now all useless. I'm trying to get a hold of RB to see if they will send me some new seals and dust boots. If not I'll just rebuild em with a stock rebuild kit using the RB pistons.

Not sure how or why it happened. They held up perfect over the spring/summer/fall and all those track and autocross days, but failed over long term storage. I'll see what RB has to say.
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      03-15-2015, 06:35 PM   #53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jafo1701 View Post
Hey just wanted to update you apparently the seals failed on my RB kit. This past weekend I went to take the car out for the first time and the brake pedal hit the floor. Checked the reservoir and it was empty. Took my Calipers off and brake fluid was leaking out from the pistons. This happened on all 4 of the Calipers. Which is a double whammy because with the high temperature dust boots being all exposed to brake fluid they are now all useless. I'm trying to get a hold of RB to see if they will send me some new seals and dust boots. If not I'll just rebuild em with a stock rebuild kit using the RB pistons.

Not sure how or why it happened. They held up perfect over the spring/summer/fall and all those track and autocross days, but failed over long term storage. I'll see what RB has to say.
That really sucks! Sincerely hope that this is not how you got injured!

I had high hopes for the RB rebuild kit. Keep us informed on how they address this! I know they say we must be careful not to put brake fluid on the boots when installing, but it sounds as you were careful not to run into this situation. The fact that you tracked for a full reason with good results would prove it.

Sounds like RB are not the "end all" ideal solution for our overheating stock calipers... ;-(
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2011 X3 35i with M pack + 2011 135i w/6SPMT | 255 square tire setup | Quaife 3.46 LSD | Diff lock down bracket | Bilstein B8+Swift SpecR springs+H&R FSB | CDV delete | BMS Oil Tstat bypass | ER FMIC & CP | N54Tuning DP | GC Street Camber Plates | M3 FCA +guide rods+RSFB's+Tranny mounts | Manzo toe arms | Cobb Stg2 agressive tune | Hawk DTC70 brake pads | RB SS brake pistons | Goodridge SS brake lines | Custom brake cooling ducts
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      03-18-2015, 10:26 AM   #54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jafo1701 View Post
Hey just wanted to update you apparently the seals failed on my RB kit. This past weekend I went to take the car out for the first time and the brake pedal hit the floor. Checked the reservoir and it was empty. Took my Calipers off and brake fluid was leaking out from the pistons. This happened on all 4 of the Calipers. Which is a double whammy because with the high temperature dust boots being all exposed to brake fluid they are now all useless. I'm trying to get a hold of RB to see if they will send me some new seals and dust boots. If not I'll just rebuild em with a stock rebuild kit using the RB pistons.

Not sure how or why it happened. They held up perfect over the spring/summer/fall and all those track and autocross days, but failed over long term storage. I'll see what RB has to say.
Hey Jafo,

Mine failed twice. Winter 2013 and Winter 2014. They worked well all year, and then bailed in the winter. First time they failed RB sent me new boots and seals (as they changed up the sizing), and last November they wanted me to send in my calipers, and I was not able to, as its my daily driver. So i just ended up rebuilding with the OEM pistons and got new boots and seals from BMW. For me, as soon as the temp outside fell below 35, they let go. I got a new track car now, haven't been tracking much with the 135i, but will move to stoptech's at some point when I want to bring it back to the track.
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      03-18-2015, 01:46 PM   #55
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Hey Jafo,

Mine failed twice. Winter 2013 and Winter 2014. They worked well all year, and then bailed in the winter. First time they failed RB sent me new boots and seals (as they changed up the sizing), and last November they wanted me to send in my calipers, and I was not able to, as its my daily driver. So i just ended up rebuilding with the OEM pistons and got new boots and seals from BMW. For me, as soon as the temp outside fell below 35, they let go. I got a new track car now, haven't been tracking much with the 135i, but will move to stoptech's at some point when I want to bring it back to the track.
Do you have the part# for the OE seals? I plan to install this later this year and maybe the RB seals are just no good. RB confirmed that the OE seals are compatible with their pistons.
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      03-18-2015, 02:02 PM   #56
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Originally Posted by Bullitt View Post
Do you have the part# for the OE seals? I plan to install this later this year and maybe the RB seals are just no good. RB confirmed that the OE seals are compatible with their pistons.

Not off hand, but found this on GetBMWParts:
http://www.getbmwparts.com/parts/201...&siteid=214672

After two failures, I didn't want to chance putting OEM seals on RB's pistons. I am tired of rebuilding pistons, needed to do them for the 911 last summer too!
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      03-18-2015, 10:12 PM   #57
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^ You surely must be sick of rebuilding.

Turns out that link only contain the dust boots. The part # for the seals appears to be awfully elusive.
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