2002 BMW M3: Installing the Big Brakes

I'm not nuts about using wheel spacers, too. :(

We got some bad information regarding the necessary wheel spacers when we settled on this kit. We were initially told only a 3mm spacer would be required, which we figured was livable. Had I known going in that we'd end up with a 10mm spacer, I would have done things differently.

Hey, at least they're not on wheels that are driving and steering.

Josh

Time for some aftermarket wheels... haha.

"Hey, at least they're not on wheels that are driving and steering."

Good point, Josh!

I'm gonna be joe-negativity here, but I'm again going to say that this will yield no real benefit over the stock brake system with upgraded pads and fluid.

"Aggressive street" driving would not overwhelm the stock track-ready system on this car, with those tires.

So much money....(to be honest, $500 for new pads, calipers, and rotors is not as bad as I had thought).

Joe

That $500 was just installation. Read the previous post. Total for hardware and install was around $3K.

Looking forward to before and after photos with the wheel spacers.

Now, spend a third of that amount to update the stereo and we're in business. Makes the $30K used M3 more like $35K. Still would rather have this than an un-optioned 135 for the same money.

I'm a little surprised that you guys aren't just doing it yourself. I know that we all sit back and say, "Hey, the dealership ripped you off!" when there's a $250 oil change, but in all fairness it shows the cost of buying this car new and keeping it serviced.

This car, on the other hand, was intentionally bought used by knowledgeable people. Since most people reading the long term blog and would appreciate buying a used M3 would have the knowledge that it would be costly to keep the maintenance up. Therefore, saving the money for buying it used in the first place, we'd keep it going ourselves. That being said, wouldn't it make more sense to walk us through your own trials and tribulations?

This is a very special BMW, I know it's no 318ti, but not exactly an exotic ala the 308. After the ludicrously expensive door lock motors for this vehicle, I would have thought you'd get your hands dirty. This boils down to a brake job with a little extra work (bleeding valves, etc.), not rocket science.

$500 isn't an enormous sum of money, but isn't buy it used a reason to save money in the first place? Expenses like the Advan Neova's are obvious exceptions to the rule, such as the brakes themselves, but installation of the brakes just baffle me.

Agree w/ the above post that said it's time for aftermarket wheels that will fit the brakes w/out spacers.

Would the factory 19" wheels fit the new brakes without the need for spacers?

I have a question.

Why?

isn't the m3 already the super track car version of the 3 series?. (ok, there might be a csl)

Why would it need bigger brakes? Wouldn't BMW the 'ultimate driving machine', esspically and M version already have enough brake for the car?

Or are you admitting that BMW doesnt know what they are doing?

and 10mm spacers? thats HUGE 4/10ths of an inch per side, nearly an inch for the whole axle.

plus the spacer by its shear nature effects power transmission, since alot if not most of the power from the axle to the wheel is transfer through the friction of the matting surfaces, you just added 2 extra surfaces to transfer power.

holy calipers batman!

Do the Stoptech brakes add to the unsprung weight? I find myself agreeing with Joe -- this is too much brake unless you're tracking the car all the time. I HOPE you see an improvement on the street; I believe you won't see much of a difference (from new pads and rotors, that is).

I'm with Opfreak on this one. Why blow 3+ large when you haven't tried changing the pads to racing pad applications in order to address the fade issue? Like I said in my prior post, you can buy an upgrade on the rotors that would cost around $1000 if the pads failed to improve the fade issue. Of course, you're in too deep now to go back, but it seems a shame you didn't work up gradually to address the issue.

I'm impressed by the level of discontent on this forum over this choice, edmunds. It seems you have strayed for the vision of the long-term blog, and the peons (myself included) are not happy.

If the M3 was bought to show what the everyman can do with his/her $30k, then you are definitely blowing it with unnecessary upgrades. (Which was my fear back when you bought this car and mentioned getting 19" wheels....what use is it to describe everyday driving in a long-term blog when substantially altering the driving characteristics of said car).

In this case, this is just $3k down the tube (In my earlier comment, I meant to say $500 for installation of all of the above is not bad at all). Any benefit you reap will be unknown as whether or not it's a result of new pads (vs. worn out pads), new rotors, upgraded calipers, the whole brake kit, or simply fresh and upgraded fluid. And as this car was already equipped with a track-ready brake package, it would've been far more useful to simply upgrade the fluid (and maybe the brake lines), pads, and rotors for a far smaller sum.

The spacer's aren't cool either....

Joe

I meant to say as well: that $3k was enough to buy a cool, fun, used car for which Edmunds could evaluate. It's enough to buy a rough-around-the-edges e30 BMW 325is (or 1/2 of a pristine model). How about 60% of the way there to buy a decent Porsche 944 turbo?

Needless to say, I feel the money could've been spent advancing the long-term blog in other ways.

But hey, that's just me.

Joe

I just know that changing fuild, can change pedal feel alot. did it this year has 100k miles in my car, went from spongee to firm.

100k? Well yeah...I bet that fluid had absorbed a 1/2 quart of water...

Joe

To paraphrase Joe, I am surprised by the level of discontent on this forum. Granted, the M3 is a high performance street car, but the stock brakes have trouble keeping up with 333 hp strapped to 3600 lbs. of German steel on the track, according to the experts at least (my first track day is still a couple months away). A cursory look at any number of M3 enthusiast forums will tell you that BBKs, while probably extravagant for most drivers, are by no means extraordinary upgrades on these cars. The same can be said for 19" wheels, coilovers, and exhaust. And while I won't be going the BBK route myself (so he says!), I am extremely curious to see what advantages they offer over upgrading the stock brakes with say, cross-drill OEM Euro rotors and better pads.

As for the wheel spacers, the general consensus seems to be that with them on you get better turn in at the expense of slightly increased wear on the wheel bearings. I just installed 15mm front and 10mm rear to fill up the wells better (darn Euro overhang regulations).

Now that we got that straightened out Edmunds, when are you guys gonna install coilovers? And while you're at it, replace those ugly OEM 18s with some Competition Package (ZCP) 19s already!