Brakes for an S52 Swap...

[mtech325]

Completely agree the e36 is an easier car to drive and more confidence inspiring over an e30. Have you tried any different pad options? The daily driver pads like Textar, Jurid, etc. were pretty lackluster for any sporty driving. I've used Hawk HP plus as an autocross pad before which has good bite once warmed up, but dusts like crazy and quite noisy on the street if that bothers you. Eventually I settled on PFC 08 and while a little noisy they were good on track and even worked alright on the street without too much trouble. It seems that all the cool dished vintage wheels wheels work easiest with the stock brakes (ran into the this with my 15x7.5 Ronal LS when looking for bigger brakes that would fit) and the BBK setups often require more modern wheels for additional clearance.

[iXBeater]

What size are the Kansei wheels, 15x7 or 15x8? If they're the 8 inch wide, generally you need to be around et20 for them to work on an e30 4-lug car.

They're ordered as 15x7. Kansei does make a 15x8, though Tire Rack didn't show it for an E30 (probably because they're not made in ET20).

I'll go down and eyeball them - kinda wonder if a 15x8 ET25 set got pulled by accident...

What is it about the stock brakes you'd like to improve? Pedal feel & bite or just durability hard driving at the track? For a mild BBK the kit above will probably work fine (looks very similar in dimensions to Massive's 280mm sport brake kit). Wilwood pads are a bit slimmer than stock which helps with caliper clearance, but the tradeoff is they may need to be replaced a little more frequently. Another option is 5-lug but that opens another can of worms!

Even if I had the money to devote to a 5-lug swap I wouldn't - too many other needs in front of something like that for this car.

The brakes just don't inspire confidence - my E36 M3 was so damn balanced - it always seemed that whatever speed you could generate with the motor could be scrubbed off without drama by the brakes. This car doesn't seem to have the pedal feel or raw stopping power of that car. I mean, it shouldn't - no ABS/TC, smaller tire footprint, etc., but what I'm looking for is more confidence. This little guy is way fun, and I want brakes that can tame the speed. And it seems like they'll offer more clearance for wheels (the description says some 14" wheels would work...)

[EDIT - I don't drive on the track much, so stock+ performance in that realm is just fine. I want great brakes for enthusiastic country drives, etc. that also fit the dang wheels.]

[mtech325]

What size are the Kansei wheels, 15x7 or 15x8? If they're the 8 inch wide, generally you need to be around et20 for them to work on an e30 4-lug car.

What is it about the stock brakes you'd like to improve? Pedal feel & bite or just durability hard driving at the track? For a mild BBK the kit above will probably work fine (looks very similar in dimensions to Massive's 280mm sport brake kit). Wilwood pads are a bit slimmer than stock which helps with caliper clearance, but the tradeoff is they may need to be replaced a little more frequently. Another option is 5-lug but that opens another can of worms!

[iXBeater]

I haven't been impressed at all with the (stock - Girling) brakes that came on my S52-swapped E30. I was kinda planning to slap new rotors and pads in there this Spring, but I bought some wheels from Tire Rack that are supposed to fit, but the fronts rub the damn caliper pretty close to the center:


So... I could send these back, but now I'm suspect of many of the wheels I wanted, or at least my trust in Tire Rack is a bit diminished. I'm in short-term need of more winter-compatible tires. I don't live in the Snow Belt, but the Falken Azenis tires are worn to the bar at the front and getting close to replacement-time on the back, and they are sketchy in cold w/ rain - I have zero desire to find out what they're like in any kind of snow.

I could try to save the wheels with some spacers, but I hate the idea of spacers. While I know people run bigger spacers, I don't want to be one of them past 5mm. I'll probably get the car in the air in the next day or two and mock up some 5mm spacers out of cardboard.

I've also toyed with the idea of smacking the caliper carrier a bit with a grinder. I believe it's rubbing right here:


I'm not entirely comfortable with that idea wither...

Another idea is remove these rotors/calipers and sell them. Contribute that, the $400 or so some H&R 5mm spacers and the regular pads/rotors would cost and some extra cash on top and get a Wilwood setup like this one for around $850:

https://www.silverminemotors.com/products/1982-to-1994-bmw-325i-318i-e30-front-wilwood-brake-upgrade-kit-swap-performance-non-m?

I have no clue whether the 944 brake booster has any issues with that idea...

My goals are to have brake performance that's up to the S52 in daily-driver world driven with gusto, but also up to to VIR for some enthusiastic laps or similar with credibility. I'm wrenchy enough to pull off the swap, so it's the cost of the hardware. I do not want a cray track-monster setup. I do want it to fit with my current 15" wheels (the BBS RM and hopefully the Kansei wheels).

Any suggestions/thoughts are appreciated!