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12-13-2020, 01:16 AM | #1 |
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Brake porn!
It took me all day, but I finally installed my BMWP brake kit. The main snag was painting the rear caliper brackets because I couldn't start until I had taken the rear brakes apart. I spent about an hour just cleaning them and then 3.5 hours painting because I had to bake them for an hour between layers. Ugh!
Some people scoff at the BMWP kit, but I really don't know why. Sure, it's just the same brakes as the 135i, but that's hardly a bad thing and the 128i is about 200 pounds less. A set of used 135i calipers is generally around $900 which is barely less than these brand new (if you include the rotors). The only problem is that they can crack pistons if you track them too hard, but a Centric aluminum piston upgrade is $230. That still puts them at less than half the price of a true Brembo front 6-pot set. Unfortunately there are no more 4-wheel BMWP kits so I had to buy the front kit for the E92 and add the stock E92 rear calipers which have larger diameter pistons which is what the 4-wheel kit included. I added Stoptech slotted rotors in the rear also. I was too tired to recode the car tonight so I'm going to do that tomorrow and also remove all brake nannies. I bought the Protool coding license just for these, but I'm going to play around with it and see how well it works. I replaced the pads that came with them for Hawk HPS because I've always liked the Hawks. The size difference is huge compared to the stock pads! There's so much more pad area and 6 pistons distribute the pressure more evenly to avoid hot spots. Tell me these can't take a lot more abuse than the stock brakes! The rotors are huge next to the stock rotors and they're a two-piece design with an aluminum hat. They're just riveted instead of bolted together. The BMWP calipers make the stock calipers look like a joke. The difference it staggering.
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Official BMWP Whore - BMWP suspension kit w/ M3 arms, BMWP big brake kit, BMWP intake w/Mishimoto tube, BMWP exhaust, BMWP carbon strut brace, BMWP short shifter, and BMWP carbon spoiler. OZ Leggera HLT w/ 245 square setup.
Last edited by Thunderguts; 12-13-2020 at 01:22 AM.. |
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12-13-2020, 01:25 AM | #2 |
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I freaked out when I backed up the car because the pedal went to the floor. I thought I had left one of the brake lines undone but then I realized that all the pistons were fully compressed and I had to prime them before the brakes would work.
I also thought I got one incorrect front rotor because the slots face forward on one and backwards on the other. The internal vanes are straight, so direction shouldn't matter, but WTF wouldn't they make a right and a left so the slots would face the same way? I double-checked RealOEM and the BMWP kit does actually have two identical part number rotors in the kit. Weird!
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Official BMWP Whore - BMWP suspension kit w/ M3 arms, BMWP big brake kit, BMWP intake w/Mishimoto tube, BMWP exhaust, BMWP carbon strut brace, BMWP short shifter, and BMWP carbon spoiler. OZ Leggera HLT w/ 245 square setup.
Last edited by Thunderguts; 12-13-2020 at 01:39 AM.. |
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12-13-2020, 06:40 AM | #3 | |
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02-24-2021, 06:19 AM | #4 |
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Apologies for reviving an old thread, but I'm about to do the same with my 128i.
The front kit I ordered from ECS doesn't come with new dust shields. Will I need 135i shields, or are the 128i shields the same? I went with new pads and rotors for the rears because I read you'll lose the e-brake going with the 135i calipers. Is this the case, or did you use the 135i knuckle as well? Any gotchas with the install? |
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02-24-2021, 08:34 AM | #5 | |
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The stock shields will need to be trimmed with tin snips. No big deal.
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02-24-2021, 11:10 AM | #7 | |
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Don't make the mistake I made and buy new boots, bleeder screws, etc. because the calipers already include most of it. You might buy new caliper guide bolts if you think yours are rusty. Don't forget the rear pad sensor. It's a mild pain to replace it because you need to go behind the splash guard. If you upgraded the rear knuckle, you'd want to go full bore and get the two-piston rear caliper setup. It would be nice to have, but you'll replace a lot of parts to get there. I'd go ahead and get new brakes lines while your at it. I would never pinch a brake line to seal it off. They make little silicone plugs that you put in your brake fitting to keep the fluid from leaking out. If you don't have a pressure bleeder, you'll appreciate it for this job. Get plenty of extra fluid. It takes a lot of flushing to get all the air out of new calipers. Don't forget to bleed your clutch while you're at it. You also need to code your new brakes. I used ProTool, but there are around 3 options that can code them. Your standard Foxwell-type scanner can't do it.
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Official BMWP Whore - BMWP suspension kit w/ M3 arms, BMWP big brake kit, BMWP intake w/Mishimoto tube, BMWP exhaust, BMWP carbon strut brace, BMWP short shifter, and BMWP carbon spoiler. OZ Leggera HLT w/ 245 square setup.
Last edited by Thunderguts; 02-24-2021 at 11:27 AM.. |
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02-27-2021, 02:16 PM | #8 |
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Any time you open your brake system for calipers, lines, etc, just put a 2x4 or something to depress the brake pedal about half way. Check valve in the system will not let any brake fluid leak out.....other than the little bit in the line. Works great.
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02-27-2021, 07:24 PM | #9 |
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Was the upgrade worth the money? I'm due for pads+rotors, and I'm tempted to return the zimmerman/akembono FCP kit and upgrade to this instead.
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02-28-2021, 02:10 AM | #10 | |
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Well, it's nearly the same price as buying used 135i calipers which may need to be rebuilt before you even install them. If you were going to upgrade anyway, yes the BMWP kit is actually a pretty good deal. You're getting 6-piston calipers, splash shields, 2-piece rotors, and a wear sensor. You simply can't argue that these calipers don't have significantly more thermal capacity than the tiny stock brakes on the 128i. The rotors are much larger and the pad area grows substantially as well. Can the stock brakes lock up the front tires (ABS notwithstanding)? Sure. Can they do it for long without overheating and cooking your pads? Probably not. Stock brakes are fine for street driving. These will hold up significantly better for canyon carving and track days (if you upgrade to aluminum pistons).
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Official BMWP Whore - BMWP suspension kit w/ M3 arms, BMWP big brake kit, BMWP intake w/Mishimoto tube, BMWP exhaust, BMWP carbon strut brace, BMWP short shifter, and BMWP carbon spoiler. OZ Leggera HLT w/ 245 square setup.
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05-24-2021, 05:38 PM | #11 |
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Do you know or done the math regarding how the brake bias changes with just the front calipers? Or both front/rear? Did any 128i come w aluminum calipers or never? Thanks!
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05-24-2021, 08:37 PM | #12 | |
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I've been running the 135i calipers/rotors up front for 5+ years, with stock rear brakes and I haven't made any coding changes. Car has run fine....so unless you're tracking heavily and you're going to really be threshold braking, it's probably not a huge concern. |
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05-25-2021, 07:56 AM | #14 |
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05-25-2021, 12:49 PM | #15 | |
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On a side note, I really love these brakes (and uncoded nannies)! I've gotten used to the extra effort required and they are so linear and easy to modulate now.
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Official BMWP Whore - BMWP suspension kit w/ M3 arms, BMWP big brake kit, BMWP intake w/Mishimoto tube, BMWP exhaust, BMWP carbon strut brace, BMWP short shifter, and BMWP carbon spoiler. OZ Leggera HLT w/ 245 square setup.
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