Are My Brakes M3 Brakes?

[Sevorith]

My E30 had a 5 lug swap done by the PO and I'm working to fix and finish a few issues i'm having with it. I took the wheels off today to swap new ones on, and I decided to look at the setup a bit more. The front rotors and calipers should be E36 M3 parts, but I think my driver side is different than my passenger side.

The driver side caliper says 60/28/302/(something I can't read) without the M symbol. The passenger side says 60/28/315 with a very clear large M cast on it.

PO told me that the front spindles and hubs are from an E36, didn't specify if it was the M or not. Not sure if that matters.

What do you guys think? Should both calipers say the same thing?

[lukeADE335i]

60/28/302 comes up as a 540i caliper, 60/28/315 comes up as e36 M3.

Looks like first number is the piston diameter, second is disc thickness & third is disc diameter. Check that your front discs are the same diameter - if they are, then it might not matter much given the piston size is the same & they're to suit 28mm discs.

[daveduck]

It could be that they are reman calipers, which are not always the same as the OEM style. When I ordered an e36 m3 caliper from rockauto it did not have the M logo on it

[Sevorith]

Is it possible for the calipers to be interchangeable? The rotors appear to be the same size. The driver side caliper is definitely saying it's for a different size rotor.

[Sevorith]

Also, a question about the spindles. If the brakes are M3 brakes, is it even possible for the spindles to be non-M? From what I've read about upgrading E36 non-M brakes to M, everyone swaps the spindles as well.

[318ti808]

Let me check I have m3 calipers and spindles from a 1999. I also have a 1996 spindle from a E36bumpers 318ti. Per RealOEM, https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/par...079&series=E36 the Ti spindle are used on the 325 s Will see if the m3 calipers can mount to the ti spindle. I suspect not, but will check and post Norm Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Aloha Norm

[318ti808]

The m3 calipers bolt up to the non-m E36 spindle, but I don’t have an M3 rotor to see if it fits. I am guessing not per this google search https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...rakes-on-non-M However the above link suggest for E36 struts, the e46 330i calipers are a direct fit. I believe the eE6 struts will bolt up to the e30, but you should research to confirm. Pics of M3 calipers on non- M spindles Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Aloha Norm

[e30austin]

i've been running into this lately. for whatever reason, the parts suppliers insist that the 540i and m3 calipers will interchange. they won't. the piston bore and rotor size is different. you would be best to buy a pair of matching calipers from a parts car and have someone local to you rebuild them, to ensure you get the correct units. ordered 11 calipers for a customer's car before i got the correct one. frustrating doesn't even begin to cover it.