splash shield mod for brake cooling (pics & results)

[pixelblue]

so finally today the weather cooperated for me to try this out. I used my dremmel and cut the splash shield along the control arm. this allowed me to bend the splash shield in a proper way where as before I couldn't get this bend for obvious reasons. at full lock the shield touches the connecting rod but since it has a spring like quality it won't interfere with the action and won't make any noise. as you can see in the second pic it clears the tire just enough to supposedly scoop some air from the front bumper brake ducts.

I wanted to test this out and see if in fact it helped with cooling the rotors so I left one side in an unbend form and kept one side with a full bend. armed with my IR thermometer I took the car for a spin. along a semi quite parkway I performed four braking procedures from 60-5 with 70%-80% pedal effort just enough to heat up the rotors. then I drove for another 1/4 mile to let the air cool the rotors and pulled up into a rest area to measure the temps. the rotor without the bend read at 380 deg and the rotor with the bend read 240 deg. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

another cool thing about this mod is that you can close the bends for daily driving or for when you want to bed the brake pads where you need to build up heat into the pads and or open them up for the track days only. I am really stoked with the results and with this mod along with the titanium shims I should be able to keep the temps down somewhat.

[Focusedintntions]

Very nice informal test senor! May have to do this before my next track event.

[DriveHard]

Hi Pixie..

you just knew i was gonna respond..

120 degrees... that is wayyyyy cool. no pun intended.. I feel better as the idea is a sound benefit with apreciable results.. still working on mine.. "mom" won out on this week end.. but i have all week coming up..

p.m. me your e-mail ill send you a pic of what i have...

Regards.. Alex

[Lubo]

Originally Posted by pixelblue

so finally today the weather cooperated for me to try this out. I used my dremmel and cut the splash shield along the control arm. this allowed me to bend the splash shield in a proper way where as before I couldn't get this bend for obvious reasons. at full lock the shield touches the connecting rod but since it has a spring like quality it won't interfere with the action and won't make any noise. as you can see in the second pic it clears the tire just enough to supposedly scoop some air from the front bumper brake ducts.

I wanted to test this out and see if in fact it helped with cooling the rotors so I left one side in an unbend form and kept one side with a full bend. armed with my IR thermometer I took the car for a spin. along a semi quite parkway I performed four braking procedures from 60-5 with 70%-80% pedal effort just enough to heat up the rotors. then I drove for another 1/4 mile to let the air cool the rotors and pulled up into a rest area to measure the temps. the rotor without the bend read at 380 deg and the rotor with the bend read 240 deg. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

another cool thing about this mod is that you can close the bends for daily driving or for when you want to bed the brake pads where you need to build up heat into the pads and or open them up for the track days only. I am really stoked with the results and with this mod along with the titanium shims I should be able to keep the temps down somewhat.

That is awesome, and simple enough to do. On another note, what kind of wheels you use, that is awfully close to the strut.

[pixelblue]

Lubo,
they are 264's but the wheel wasn't bolted down. it's probably leaning on the top.

[aisthetes]

Nice work and empirical evidence to support your mod.

I'd love to see a vendor take it to the next level (such as HPA) and design a bolt-up kit with specifically made shields and brake ducting/hosing. With upgraded pads, a BBK probably wouldn't be necessary for track use for those on a budget. For those with a BBK, they'd have even better/consistent performance.

[pixelblue]

^ agreed. I would prefer something fabricated rather than butchered like what I did a member here has actually fabricated a piece and we are waiting for his final pics and results. either way, this should really help reduce fade on those tracks that are hard on the brakes.

[DriveHard]

BTW for those of you wondering... thoses backing plates are less than 20 bucks each side.... so its not like a big expense or anything to experiment.

also swapping the plates ( if you dont like it or if you feel you want stock ones on between track events ) is 4 bolts after rotor is off.. Ive done it in 15 minutes each side ....

On a 135 or a 128 with the BMW BBK.. you need

a) jack
b) jack stand
c) 10mm hex drive ( for caliper bolts )
d) 6mm hex drive ( for rotor set screw .. NOTE remove screw before removing caliper)
c) pry bar or large screwdrive ( to seperate pads)
d) 17mm lug wrench / torque wrench / breaker bar
e) 10mm socket ( for backing plate screws)
f) 3/8 drive ratchet
g) bungee cord to hang caliper once free from bracket
h) brake-Kleen to wash off greasy finger prints


apply pressure to pedal to lock rotor while loosening set screw while caliper still on !!!

DO NOT step on brakes while caliper hanging loose !!!!! VERY IMPORTANT !!

do one side at a time

[pixelblue]

Originally Posted by DriveHard

apply pressure to pedal to lock rotor while loosening set screw while caliper still on !!!

Alex,
are you talking about the screw for the rotor? why do we need to apply brake pedal for this? not sure if I understand

[Focusedintntions]

It's times like these i wish i could weld...might be time to learn..I have an idea too

[DriveHard]

Originally Posted by pixelblue

Alex,
are you talking about the screw for the rotor? why do we need to apply brake pedal for this? not sure if I understand

yes, some times it is stubborn and the rotor will just rotate as you try to apply force.. even with an impact driver... i was laying out instructions for those that may not be all that knowledgable, or have the correct tool at hand. if you step on the pedal it will hold the rotor still while you loosen

[DriveHard]

Originally Posted by Focusedintntions

It's times like these i wish i could weld...might be time to learn..I have an idea too

if no welder >>>> pop rivit !!! nice, clean, easy, removeable, cheap, and just as strong fro what we need it too be.

[pixelblue]

ok got it! so it may require another person to push down brakes. good to know

[DriveHard]

Originally Posted by pixelblue

ok got it! so it may require another person to push down brakes. good to know

or a 2x4 wedged between pedal and seat

[Focusedintntions]

Originally Posted by DriveHard

if no welder >>>> pop rivit !!! nice, clean, easy, removeable, cheap, and just as strong fro what we need it too be.

Pop rivets would work fine for the attachment but not for the rest of what i'm thinking

[DriveHard]

As Pixelblue mentioned previous.. I am the "other Forum member " working on something that we had begun to discuss in another thread..

insert leagl stuff here >>>>>>

GOOD NEWS!!!

as of right now the products name is "COOL BRAKE PLATE" a product of PiTBULL Racing LLC... patent pending.

no phots or data may be used and or copied or repoduced without the expressed written consent of myself.

the scope of the product is to aid in the cooling of the front brakes of BMW 1 series vehicles under normal driving and HPDE / TIME TRIAL / Similar Limited Race conditions. Full race / Enduro applications would require dedicate brake ducting and PiTBULL Racing does not intend this product for that application.

This includes US spec 128 and 135 ,and other world variants. other applications may follow.

all photographs are of a 2011 128 up fitted with the BMW Performance brake kit. In so much as the upgrade is identical to a 135, and the backing plate used is from a 135, fittment should not be an issue. wheel used in this fitment are OEM style 206 wheels in a 17 x 7 size with OEM offset. as most 135 have 18" wheels , the fittment should not be an issue.

************************************************** ****

Ok, after 4 prototypes and some test fitting, i came up with the following latest version of my "COOL BRAKE PLATE" it still needs a little bit of clearence at full lock.. but it is not an issue.. its actually the sensor wire for the ABS sensor that is mounted on the strut tube. This can be either re-positioned, or i just may re-work the plate a little more.

I have been oly working on the left side, so i have to make a mirror copy and invert the bends for the right side and install a full set and try them out..

The first picture is how it all started out....
The second is the latest version not mounted .

[DriveHard]

oops pics.. from above post ^^^^^

I am using actual OEM Backing plates, using exsisting mounting points, and modifying the plate with a duct with a sufficient amount of opening to direct a large volume of air directly at the rotor hub, and inner surface of the rotor.

assuming PixelBlues (and my own testing) temperatures are dropping the way we see them drop, Then the addition of a true Formed duct in a larger size will only reap more benefits for us Track guys...

I am hoping this will help solve the overheated 135 Caliper issues, and by default make our little 1ers brake even better than before!!!!!!

At this point all plate are hand made... it would be great to get a stamping, i will have to look into that..

Regards, !! Alex

[aisthetes]

Wow, fast work to take this to the next level! Looking forward to seeing the finished product, stampings and mass production.

[DriveHard]

First of all this last prototype fits without hitting.. actually if i change the attachment angle a little more I could in fact get a "bigger" scoop into the air stream and still not hit anything in the suspension. I have to watch one point because some offsets ( espically you guys with 255's and whatever up front ) will get in the way. lol

I put the protype pictured above on (on left side only) and went for my R and D session
4 stops 60 to 20, then 1/2 mile blast just to get everything up to temp. Then 6 runs 80 to 20 and continue 1/2 mile at speed ( 70 ish ) with no braking until i come to a stop and measure temps.... I did the 80 to 20 set twice

Contrary to my thoughts, i did not see the rotor temps go down as much as i thought it would..

It is VERY hard to get a pad temp measurment, so i have to base all my results on Rotor / caliper temps. I did see about a 40 degree drop in caliper temp ( outside surface basically the middle piston ) . Note: the leading edge of caliper is almost 15 degrees HOTTER than trailing edge..go figure that one out ???

One could sumize that the rotors are getting hot equally, and shedding the heat thru the rest of the system. We know that 135 calipers seem to "absorb" alot of heat and effect the seals , and secondly the pistons.. then the fluid.. as mentioned before in other threads, the Braking system is a huge heat sink, and some have complained that the 135 caliper is too small and not big enough to be an efficient heat sink and hence our issues.

Is it safe to say that a caliper that is 40 degrees cooler on the outside is 40 degrees cooler on the inside ?????

Is measuring caliper temp better then rotor temp???

BTW i did get the rotors up to about 550 deg F in the above mentioned road test The 80 to 20 decel set.

Thoughts?? Thanks..

[pixelblue]

so what was the difference in the rotor temps? one reason I can think that you may have not seen as much difference in rotor temps can be because your design is tapered towards the bottom. that's where most air comes through.

I would say measuring rotor temps is more important. that's where all the heat is generated.

[DriveHard]

Originally Posted by pixelblue

so what was the difference in the rotor temps? one reason I can think that you may have not seen as much difference in rotor temps can be because your design is tapered towards the bottom. that's where most air comes through.

I would say measuring rotor temps is more important. that's where all the heat is generated.

30 degrees tops... I had more temp difference when bending plate like you did..

You make a good point... air flow is lower in the wheel well area.. Hmmmm maybe i can invert the design, but there is very limited clearence due to tie rod and control arm.. ill have to look at it.. I'm trying something else also..

I also had the thought. am i trapping the air in the scoop?? This whole idea is based upon moving new cooler air thru the rotor. If my duct is grabbing air and trapping it, it may not be allowing it to flow .. is it possible im grabbing too much air and it has no place to go ??? an example would be a plastic bag out the window.... once it fills up with air, thats it, and if we make a small hole in the bottom ( to simulate the rotor openings) of the bag, it still takes a while to flow the volume of air in the bag thru the hole and thus providing the cooling effect..

[pixelblue]

^ you know it doesn't makes sense you got a bigger temp difference from the calipers than the rotors but I see what you mean with trapping the air. although there is room for the air to escape between the rotor. I personally think it's more to do with your scoop being tapered in the bottom.