Are e36 M3 brakes overkill on an e30

[greg1333]

I am doing a 5lug conversion to a 24v e30. the car will be used for weekend fun and autocross.
My question is, does it need the larger e36 M3 brakes up front or will the non-M e36 front brakes be fine.
The reason I ask is for wheel and tire selection. M3 brakes will require the use of 17" wheels while non-M conversions will allow for 15" wheels.

I have both sets of spindles in hand...its just which one ends up on the car.

Thanks in advance

[Eric]

not overkill

[greg1333]

I guess the correct question should have been; Are non-M brakes sufficient?

[whodwho]

Since you have the parts I would check the fit on the rims. I have E46 M3 brakes(325mm Rotor) under 16" rims(E38 style 5), I would think E36 M3 should fit fine

[b-rad]

E30/1987 325is / S50 Swapped
Trying to make the same decision. I have 16" Style 5 with 88 M3 Suspension/Brakes now.
Want to goto BBK, but would like to keep the 16" Rim

Massive does not sell the kit that would work.
Is the IE, basically the same?
Since I have the 5 lug, the kit's are somewhat limited.

Thoughts?

[greg1333]

My concern is more about performance than appearance.

[reelizmpro]

Nice factory upgrade. I just don't like the change to E36 offset in front.

[FredK]

I believe using the E36 M3 parts will get you better front suspension geometry. What rear brakes are you planning on using? I think you'll bias the braking to the front by a decent amount if you use 318Ti rear brakes, which makes the car feel like it's braking harder since the car will pitch forward more, but your stopping distances may ultimately be lengthened by a small amount.

As for the E30 M3 IE BBK, it will likely be about the same as the formerly available 300x32mm Massive kit, so long as the pistons are sized for the application.

[greg1333]

Rear brakes are e30 m3

[FredK]

That's not too bad, then. E30 M3 has 38mm rear pistons. If you want to get slightly better braking you can swap out the calipers with 40mm calipers from an E34 540iT.

[Eric]

Good call Fred. You can fit a bunch of 16" wheels on e36 M3 front brakes, just takes a test fit!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[greg1333]

So from what I have seen on the forums, the e46 330i calipers and rotors bolt up to the non-M e36 spindles giving the same diameter rotor as the e36M brakes....
I understand the rotor is slightly thinner rotor and the piston is little smaller, but it would allow me to more easily upgrade from the 286mm to the 325mm setup.

Has anyone here done this?