Porsche 996 caliper project is under way

[Jeremy]

Paul - will you be making brackets for Stop-Tech, Porsche 996, or BMW 135i calipers?

[mooseheadm5]

Stop Tech and Brembo radial mount calipers should be the same, and I'm starting with those. Sounds like the 135 brakes just need some spacers.

[rod2190]

How much for spacers 135 calipers are much cheaper then both of the other caliper 200 for 135 rotors and 400 for the calipers Porsche calipers are atleast 600 and not t

[ronin]

What is the rotor diameter that the 135 calipers are designed for and what size rims will fit?

Eric

[rod2190]

I assume only 18's and up because stock 135 is 18 but I am running 18's on my 6er anyway sorry for the selfish concern lol but if moose head or anyone is making those spacers I'm all for the 6 piston 135 calipers

[rod2190]

Rotor size is 13.4inch

[mooseheadm5]

If you get 135 calipers and rotors I can make adapters for them, but I haven't got any to measure for you. However, if the information given in the earlier post is correct a simple set of spacers 9.75mm thick should be in the tens of dollars, plus you'll need longer grade 12.9 bolts.

[rod2190]

So If I ship a caliper and rotor to u, you can make the brackets?

[S38Mike]

Wow, forgot about this thread. Kohler, I just checked my inbox and saw nothing, sorry if I did not get back to you.
To be clear, it was able to mount the caliper on to the strut housing and center them in the stock 338X25mm 135i disc my using washers that had a total thickness of 9.75mm. Due to the orientation of the calipers it will be necessary install a right caliper on the left and vice versa in order to keep the bleed screws facing upward. At the time I only had stock 16" inch basketweaves so I shelved the project until I found some 17's which I now have (RK's).

I never followed through with the project for a number of reservations I had:
1) the inherent flaw in the caliper design
135i calipers have ceramic pistons that are known to crack during use at the track http://forums.racingbrake.com/showthread.php?t=859
so improved pistons must be fitted for track longevity. Although, I ran a handful of track events with Hawk HT-10 pads in my 135 and the braking was 95% fade free with not a sign of piston or seal deterioration.
2) 135i rotors are thinner than stock M5 rotors so I wasn't sure they'd be able to dissipate heat better than stock M5 rotors.
3) a calculation of the effects on brake bias change is in order
http://forums.racingbrake.com/showthread.php?t=859
with respect to changes in piston and pad area, brake pressure and disc area/diameter to see if if will help or hurt performance.

If all one wants to do is be able to point to their shiny 135i calipers at the car show to receive kudos from peers here is your answer: yes they will fit if you use spacers and longer bolts.
If one wants bigger calipers for street use and occasional track events here is your answer: yes they will fit if you use spacers and bolts.
If one wants improved braking and cooling under severe use here is your answer: I'm not sure but I think it is possible.

Honestly, I think a well built set of brake cooling ducting that attaches to the backing plates and makes use of the fog light holes in the stock "is" airdam behind fog lights that can be removed for track days would be a great improvement.

[wkohler]

The Airdam even has ducts for this purpose without removing the fogs.

I had heard about the ceramic pistons so I'm glad you made some comments on that. Guess I will stick with the E31 Brembos. Thanks for following up!

As for the PM thing, it was sent pretty close to the time you made the initial post on the 135 calipers. No big deal as I think I got better info from this post.

[S38Mike]

Actually, I just changed jobs and moved to the Bay Area in August so and during the move I ended up leaving the caliper back at the dealership on accident, D'OH!!!
I really like the E31 brembos, are they good for track duty? Opinions? Experiences? Anyone?
As for the brake ducts, I saw those little ducts on the bottom of my airdam but they do look pretty small, I wonder if they are large enough to allow a decent volume of cooling air to pass through? Apparently there was a company named "Berlinetta" that made ducts to fit the airdam but I'm sure that finding a set would be hard. I was thinking about taking some measurements of the total perimeter of the opening then dividing it by 3.14 to see what diameter hose I could use. I guess just running a string around the perimeter of the backside of the opening would work. I have this picture in my head of a 3" piece of metal tubing flattened and radiused on the ends to match the shape of the opening, attached to the airdam then a hose attached to it and running to the backing plates. I guess I need to spend some more time nerding out in the project again now that I have access to a welder and some fab tools.
I refuse to track my car without adequate braking, dammit.

[derrith]

Mike,

Glad to hear you're in the Bay Area, would be great to meet up some time. Devinder is currently running the 840ci brembos on his car and while they are a decent caliper, pad compound selection is severely limited. There are better choices for track use. I have tracked my M5 quite significantly and am running e32 750i euro 4 pot fixed front calipers and the standard 300x20mm rear upgrade from e34s/e32.

I ran stock M5 front calipers with e34/e32 rears, good pads, stainless lines, and excellent fluid with minimal brake fade issues during 20-25 minute sessions.

[wkohler]

lol @ "decent caliper."

[derrith]

lol @ "decent caliper."

Hey, they stop cars relatively effectively, no?

[wkohler]

I think they're great calipers.

[derrith]

I think they're great calipers.

Your italics say everything.

[winfred]

i have no complaints


lil paint got rid of the annoying "BMW" on the caliper

I think they're great calipers.

[MShimon]

So the 996 caliper project is 'on hold' indefinitely for sure?

Paul, Moosehead, is making brackets and / or spacers for the 135i calipers correct?

[Mrkanda]

I assume any of these upgrade options will work just as well on E34s? I have a '92 535i that needs new brakes soon and want something fun but affordable to fit and look good under my 18" M5 Style 65 wheels and give good performance. I'm not sure if I will track it, but it would be nice to have the option.

[wkohler]

The e34 540i brakes are plenty for tracking the car. Plus they're the same as the E36 M3 brakes so there's 500,000 different pad choices. Your current brakes are the same diameter but 6mm thinner in front and 10mm thinner in the rear. I don't even think it's critical to upgrade them. I didn't on my touring as I felt it would be a waste of money, so I just put new stock pads and rotors on. Obviously I don't track it though but the brakes get used.

[Philo]

Hi guys, sorry for not posting in a long while.

The 996 BBK project is pretty much dead. I had it all set with ST but they high-balled me on the brackets, and couldn't find a shop to trim the base of the calipers for less then $60 a set. This is after a $350 tooling and jig fee. So decided not to sink any more cash into the project.

Anyway, I have a working set on my S54 M5 and works well. No complaints. If anyone needs the 996 calipers I have about 8 sets I need to get rid of. Dam, hate when projects go south.

http://phil.files.infostreet.com/M5_Ima ... 300357.JPG

Thanks for listening !

[Jelmer538i]

How much for 2 calipers? I want those on the back of mine.

[Mrkanda]

Hi Philo,
I would like to use the Porsche calipers for my brake upgrade, especially since I plan on going with a larger rotor on my E34. I assume that if the caliper is farther out then the brackets can be made and used without having to trim the caliper seats. I will be putting them under 18" wheels. So, please msg me and let me know how much you need for a set. Thanks, Mark

[Mrkanda]

Wkohler, You said the E34 540i brakes are the same as the M3 brakes. Does that mean they take the same pad or that they are exactly the same and M3 calipers can actually be fitted to E34 cars? I know that the 540- calipers are the same as the E32 740i/750iL, but I was just checking on the M3s.

Either way, when using the 540i calipers with a 324mm or larger rotors I would still need to fit them with custom brackets, correct? Thanks.

[dan101smith]

The 540 brakes take the same pad fitment as the M3 calipers, but I'm 99.763% sure you can't bolt M3 calipers to an E28 strut.

FWIW, I use 540 brakes on my E28 race car with Pagid RS29s and they're all the brakes you could need.

[wkohler]

Calipers are the same except for the ///M logo on them and that the right is the left and the left is the right. Carriers are different.

[Mrkanda]

So, it sounds like in order to use M3 calipers (since I like the///M logo) I would need to get the 540i or E32 carriers and custom brackets to fit them over larger rotors. Correct?

[wkohler]

Why would you waste the effort to use those brakes over 324mm rotors when you could just get a set of E31 calipers made for those rotors? Or E34 M5?

[Mrkanda]

I'm looking at what's available and affordable until I can go all out with a $1k+ bbk in the future. I can get almost new 324mm rotors from an E38 740iL for next to nothing. I still don't have a lead on E31 calipers. I've been looking. Otherwise I may just go with a brand new E32 setup for less than $300 for everything.

[wkohler]

Go with the E32/E34 stuff. No reason to reinvent the wheel.