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123d brake upgrade

2K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  MarkTe30 
#1 ·
Hi Guys

I've got a remapped 09 123d msport with suspension upgrades that i track a few times a year. Covid-19 dependent I'm going to be making a trip to the to the ring this year and feel its time for a brake upgrade as i need new pads and discs anyway. I tend to destroy pads on track days no matter what pad i put in and don't fancy the idea of losing brakes on the ring, the stopping power is also poor as the ABS never kicks in. I've gone through a lot of pads and discs since I've had the car and always had the same problem so i think a caliper upgrade is the next step.

I've looked through the forum and the general rule seems to be M135i front calipers and 135i rear calipers but I'm unclear on if i need spacers as well?

Looking through ebay i was shocked at the cost these still are, from what i can see its about £400 for fronts and the same again for rear? Is this the normal price that others have found before? If the price higher than normal at the moment i don't mind waiting a few months till this is all over.

Because of the cost i am considering only upgrading the fronts but I'm not sure if this will put too much brake bias towards the front?

Cheers
 
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#3 ·
marco_polo said:
The Ring isn't too savage on brakes.

You might need a thin spacer to clear the fat M135i front callipers, depends on wheels. Standard rears should be fine really.

Which pads have you tried in the past? Is the fluid fresh?
I've got the m3 lca and camber plates if that makes a difference? I've got the standard 18" msport alloys

Padwise I've done the majority of the standard ones which i found Bendix to be the best, upgraded I've done redstuff (got them cheap) yellowstuff which has best performance but lasted 5 20 mins sessions at cadwell then had no wear left from new! And ferodo ds2500 which had crap performance, low wear but crumbled and cracked away. Yes new braided hose lines and lots of RBF 600 fluid put in over the years.
 
#4 ·
No, M3 LCA's nor camber plates make any difference. Are they 208m's?

Do you always do 2 cooldown laps religiously?

I'd track down THETYRANT on here (who makes Carbotech brakes), his 130i and your 123d should have the identical standard brake set-up. You'd be fine with his XP10 track pads even if you're hard on the anchors, probably his XP8's too (that's what I use on track).
 
#5 ·
Yeah 208m's

Depends on the track but yeah i cool them down, brands indy is probably the only track where i would do 2 full cool down laps though. I was gonna look at carbotech pads for the new calipers, didn't wanna risk spending hundreds on new pads and discs to find out its only slightly better.

Is £400 about right for the calipers then? E90 m3 are cheaper!?

Will PM THETYRANT

Cheers
 
#7 ·
As above good pads in stock setup will handle a lot!, and by good i mean something like Carbotech XP8, XP10 or Pagid RS compounds!, im guessing you havent ran anything like this before if your "destroying pads" quickly on track?

Going for bigger front setup like M135/M140 is better of course but stock setup can handle a fair bit of hammer if all working correctly (not binding!) and fitted with decent pads and fluid. Rear isnt as critical for an occasional track car but if regualr then doing rear with either better pads or bigger brakes will help take some heat out of front, upgrading rear calipers is a bit tricky but on a 123 you should be able to fit the 2pots from E82 135i coupe as easy upgrade, ive also got the M135/140 rears on my 130 but its a bit of a faff.

HTH
 
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