|
Title: How to cram 355mm Brembo 4-wheel kit under 17.... |
|
Posted by:
David Zeckhausen on 2003-05-27 at |
Message:
... BMW factory wheels: It can
be done, but it's not a bolt-on! :-)
Here are some shots of my car, taken this afternoon. The 4-wheel Mov'it kit is now for sale, but I think it's already spoken
for. I'll put it in the classifieds if my buyer changes his mind.
Front 355mm x 32mm rotors with Brembo 4-piston F50 caliper
Rear 345mm x 28mm rotors with Brembo 4-piston caliper (28/30mm pistons)
It looks pretty tight now, but it was even tighter
when I tried to bolt it on. Despite reassurances from Brembo that the Style 66M
wheel would clear, it did not. In fact, with a 5mm spacer, the caliper was
still touching the barrel of the wheel where it (the wheel) starts to neck down
in size.
I was not going to let this brake kit defeat me, so out came
the air tools!
After putting a 45 degree angle at the outside edges and then filing down the
high spot of one wheel weight, there was a minimum of 1.5mm clearance at the
closest point. That's about where you want to draw the line. I used some 1500
degree engine paint on the bare aluminum where I ground the calipers. The paint
is silver, but you can't see it with the wheels installed, so I won't bother to
paint it red.
I bedded the brakes in this afternoon and they feel pretty good. Pedal travel
is slightly longer than the Mov'it 322mmm brakes, but
that's to be expected with the F50's bigger caliper pistons. Also, the pads
still need another round of bedding. I expect it will firm up some more.
The rear brakes require a special spacer, since the longer rear hub lip
prevents the use of a standard E39 hubcentric spacer.
I had to stack a 3mm universal spacer underneath a 10mm hubcentric
in order to get it to work. I have a shop building me 12mm hubcentric
spacers which will then become available as the first rear hubcentric
spacer for an E39.
An interesting side benefit is that the parking brakes work far better than
they have ever worked before! :-)
Dave Zeckhausen
Owner, Zeckhausen Racing
Ridding the world of CDVs, one E39 at a
time!