Pads, rotors and calipers|?

[@thomasvancil]

What brake set up are you guys running? Time to upgrade mine.

[asbrr]

135i front calipers and rotors with stoptech sport pads, stainless lines all around. Still running stock 128i rear brakes, however I have contemplated buying some used E90 328i rear calipers and refinishing them. That will get me to an equivalent of what BMW sold as the "BMW performance brake package" for the 128i.

For the power of the car, and mostly daily driving with a few DE days thrown in, this setup is more than adequate. Response and feel on the street is excellent, with huge stopping power limited by the tires more than anything else.

[Kerbouchard]

Will the 135i front calipers fit inside the 128i sport wheels, or did you have to go to larger rims? Other than calipers and rotors and brackets(?), did you need anything else for the swap?

[ShocknAwe]

Really recommend the RB 2pc rotors. Designed to be used with 135i brembos. Super lightweight for less than half the cost of a BBK.

[amg6975]

E9x 335 brakes all around, Stoptech Sport pads and slotted rotors. After selling the 135 brembos it's cheaper than a set of pads/rotors for the 135, can get rid of heat a lot better, and has a million pad choices since they're the same as the E9x M3.

[Kerbouchard]

Were the e9x 335i brakes a direct bolt on? Looks like the front rotors for those were 348mm, vs 300mm for the 128i, so 18” wheels are required?

[gjm120]

Here are a couple of threads I bookmarked that might help.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1132152

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1461879

[Kerbouchard]

Super helpful, thank you!

[Kerbouchard]

Okay, so after reading both those posts (and a half dozen others), I think it seems like the below might be good combos:

Option 1:
Front: F30 M-Sport (gray) calipers Rear: 135i Brembos with brake shoe mod a la
https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show...ke+128i&page=2

Option 2:
Front: E9X 335i calipers Rear: e9x 328i calipers

Sounds like swapping to a 135i master cylinder (p/n?) will help maintain brake feel on either option.

Option 2 is cheaper / less jankey (no JB weld) / less attractive

I’m not planning to track the ‘vert, but since I need new rotors anyway, figured it was a good time for an upgrade.

Thoughts?

[amg6975]

The E9x 335 upgrade does require the E9x rear hub mod if you want to run 335 rear rotors, which I did for simplicity's sake, and to run more normal rear wheels. I think, like you said, if you use 328 rears you should be ok. There are two different size parking brakes across the 128, 135, 328, and 335 though so make sure you've got everything lined up right.

You will not need to change the master cylinder, the pedal feel is great with the stock one, which I believe is the same as the non-M E9x. The M3 has a lager MC, but you can't use M3 brakes without a front hub swap anyway.

[SayHack]

If this is just strictly for the streets and sometimes enthusiastic driving in the mountains, then in my opinion the best bang for the buck is the R1 concepts (e-line) rotors/pads....you can get a whole set for less than $300 and trust me they are worth 3 times the price.....just look into them, they are definitely underrated and not too many members talk or even know about them.

[Diego_135i]

interesting info

[Olgeezer1]

For simplicity and staying close to OE I went with BMW Performance brake setup. Works with your 17" wheels, straight bolt on. Basically 135i 6 piston Brembo fronts and 328i rears (only difference here is slightly larger single piston - 42 vs 40mm., rear pads remain the same ). Should be plenty unless you spend a lot of time on the track. For pads, lots of options and opinions here. For me, for the street and the odd half hour of track time, stock was way too dusty and fade prone. Went EBC Redstuff front, stock rear. No noise, no dust but still fade prone. Just ordered the new Cool Carbon S/T PLUS. Supposed to be a big improvement over old S/T's which had a reputation for crumbling with too much heat while still being low dust/noise. We'll see how they work.

[2013BMW128i]

Originally Posted by Kerbouchard

Will the 135i front calipers fit inside the 128i sport wheels? Did you have to go to larger rims? Other than calipers and rotors and brackets(?), did you need anything else for the swap?

Did someone answer this or did I miss it.
I see that NIB Brembo calipers are available for about what folks are asking for them used on that auction site. Is the new caliper, only, so will need to add in the cost of pads and rotors. But, am wondering if they will simply bolt-on or must one also replace some other parts (brackets, etc.)?