brakes Which caliper to choose?

[evanc]

My new suspension is almost done and I need to decide on my brake setup. I already have the e21 vented rotors and volvo calipers, but the new stuff will be with tii material so won't be able to use the volvo calipers. I could run the standard rebuilt 5 series calipers, but with the core charge the price is almost the same as a brand new after market caliper. Just wondering what other people have tried, Wilwood, Outlaw, etc... and how happy you've been with them?

[munchytii]

Have you seen the prices on the Wilwood and Outlaw???Whew....very expensive, but not necessary. I'm running the BBK for Tii from Ireland Engineering which contains the 5 series calipers and they are such a major improvement compared to original tii front brakes. Just be warned I had to go back twice to get a working caliper. The measurement was off form one of the calipers on the first try. And on the second try the piston was jammed/frozen. This is the problem with rebuilds. He was such a nice guy though. Excellent effort for customer satisfaction. Since then 2 yrs ago, they have worked flawlessly. Volvo calipers??? I would stick to BMw's. Although I know that for a fact the Volvo calipers are ok. According to the guys from Bay area 02.

[cj]

Hey Evan- the e12 calipers from my source is 55.00 ea. Is this what you're needing?

Cris

[winstontj]

My new suspension is almost done and I need to decide on my brake setup. I already have the e21 vented rotors and volvo calipers, but the new stuff will be with tii material so won't be able to use the volvo calipers. I could run the standard rebuilt 5 series calipers, but with the core charge the price is almost the same as a brand new after market caliper. Just wondering what other people have tried, Wilwood, Outlaw, etc... and how happy you've been with them?

I'm not following "with tii material"??

If you have tii strut housings it's more of a hub issue than a caliper issue I believe. I have the Volvo (Girling) calipers with E21 hubs and vented rotors and it's nice. You also see me posting about finding a way to do a brake booster delete so maybe you shouldn't listen to me at all.

What's the car's purpose? You want things to be appropriate and proportional. Do you really want to have to start putting things like bias valves in or worrying about front/rear balance? Also you'll have to think about your MC and whether or not to run single or double lines up front. There's a ton of stuff to factor in and again that brings me back to: What exactly is the car's purpose? BMW makes good stuff and the Griling/Volvo calipers are top notch too.

If you go the Volvo route DO NOT grind down the caliper to fit under the wheels. It is VERY thin where the two halves come together and it will break through. You have to "Ovalize" the mounting holes rather than grind the caliper. Ask me how I know this...

[evanc]

Hey Evan- the e12 calipers from my source is 55.00 ea. Is this what you're needing?

Cris

Hey Cris,

Just trying to determine if there's any added braking power getting after market calipers. That's a good price at $55 each for the e12 calipers. Is that with the core charge too?

I'll email ya.

Thanks,

Evan

[evanc]

My new suspension is almost done and I need to decide on my brake setup. I already have the e21 vented rotors and volvo calipers, but the new stuff will be with tii material so won't be able to use the volvo calipers. I could run the standard rebuilt 5 series calipers, but with the core charge the price is almost the same as a brand new after market caliper. Just wondering what other people have tried, Wilwood, Outlaw, etc... and how happy you've been with them?

I'm not following "with tii material"??

If you have tii strut housings it's more of a hub issue than a caliper issue I believe. I have the Volvo (Girling) calipers with E21 hubs and vented rotors and it's nice. You also see me posting about finding a way to do a brake booster delete so maybe you shouldn't listen to me at all.

What's the car's purpose? You want things to be appropriate and proportional. Do you really want to have to start putting things like bias valves in or worrying about front/rear balance? Also you'll have to think about your MC and whether or not to run single or double lines up front. There's a ton of stuff to factor in and again that brings me back to: What exactly is the car's purpose? BMW makes good stuff and the Griling/Volvo calipers are top notch too.

If you go the Volvo route DO NOT grind down the caliper to fit under the wheels. It is VERY thin where the two halves come together and it will break through. You have to "Ovalize" the mounting holes rather than grind the caliper. Ask me how I know this...

So basically my new set up is the tii spindle with a 50mm strut tube, GC camber/caster and extended swaybar links to the strut. My buddy who is putting it all together for me has the same set up and is running Outlaw 2800 calipers. My car is already setup with the tii Master Brake Cylinder with dual lines so the last piece to the kit are the calipers. I've had the Volvo/Vented Rotor setup for the last four years and it's been great, except for the fast bearing wear. I have to replace them every 9 months or so. At any rate I'm changing my stuff now and am excited to have a more dialed in suspension. Thanks for suggestions and comments. Are you really going to not run a booster? You must be super hardcore like Norm to do that!

[NickVyse]

Hey Evan,

5 series calipers are a great brake set-up, but they do weigh a frickin ton. I'd consider Wilwood or whatever just for the saving in unsprung weight.

[winstontj]

So basically my new set up is the tii spindle with a 50mm strut tube, GC camber/caster and extended swaybar links to the strut. My buddy who is putting it all together for me has the same set up and is running Outlaw 2800 calipers. My car is already setup with the tii Master Brake Cylinder with dual lines so the last piece to the kit are the calipers. I've had the Volvo/Vented Rotor setup for the last four years and it's been great, except for the fast bearing wear. I have to replace them every 9 months or so. At any rate I'm changing my stuff now and am excited to have a more dialed in suspension. Thanks for suggestions and comments. Are you really going to not run a booster? You must be super hardcore like Norm to do that!

All good info. Running tii spindles to address the bearings is a good thing. With that said you can't run the volvo/girling setup. Check out Dave Varco's site (aardvark) for a good parts list of combinations. Our cars rarely have problems stopping if the brakes are maintained. If I were you I'd just go vented tii and be done with it. As I have learned with my attempt at a booster delete there is a HUGE difference between pads. If you have a good slotted rotor and a really aggressive pad you should be fine. Double lines are another reason to stick with the BMW parts. You gotta have tii hubs too you know. Better make sure you have all the right stuff together.

HTH,

TJW

[evanc]

Hey Evan,

5 series calipers are a great brake set-up, but they do weigh a frickin ton. I'd consider Wilwood or whatever just for the saving in unsprung weight.

Hey Nick,

Thanks for the your thoughts. I think I'm leaning more towards the Outlaws and hadn't even thought about the savings of unsprung weight. Bonus.