E30 brakes

[tomorrowcalling]

If you look closely you can just see that I've cut the end of the lower control arm off and replaced it with a rod end, This let me increase the front track and camber but then that increased the castor and made the tyre rub on the front of the guard, I then had to made the castor adjustable to compensate, so the actual castor is not much more that stock

[justinevert]

Tomorrow Calling, please email me, I am doing the rear E30 brake upgrade on a 323 trailing arm set up with my 2002. I was just doing this when I saw this email link.

I cannot seem to get the mounting part (remember there are 2 parts to it) of the rear caliper to 1) fit in the center of the bracket (rubs on the rotor) and 2) the caliper bracket to mate with the trailing arm (there is a bit of a gap when I tighten the bolts.

My email is justin_evertatsbcglobaldot net

I'll send pics to you let you see what I am talking about.

Thanks!!

J.E.2002

Lola

[BimmerFiend]

What modifications were required for the front? I will be able to look at my parts side by side this weekend, but for now I wanna pick your brain.

[tomorrowcalling]

What modifications were required for the front? I will be able to look at my parts side by side this weekend, but for now I wanna pick your brain.

Disclaimer - all the numbers are from memory you'll need to check

Drill & Tap the hub on a 100mm PCD (M10 from memory) to match the holes in the E30 disk. (you can see the ends of the bolts in these holes in one of the pictures)

Make 4 (per side) spacers 15.6mm OD x 10mm ID x 7mm (the thickness of the E30 disk hub). The spacers go into the holes in the disk to sleeve them down to the the size of the threaded holes in step 1.

Make up a stepped backing disk, this needs an ID to match a 2002 disk, a small spigot to match the E30 disk and a 4 x 100 mm PCD pattern of 8mm holes. The idea is the E30 disk is sandwiched between this plate and the hub and it also centralizes disk on hub.

The E30 caliper has a different hole pitch to a 2002, I cut of the top rear lug and made a boomerang shaped bracket from 3/8" plate. One end of this bracket picks up on the bottom rear lug and the other on the top front lug.

There is also an additional M6 bolt so that when I remove the caliper mounting bolt, the bracket stays in position

The caliper is then mounted by a bolt passing through the bottom rear lug and a bolt passing through a hole on the bracket.

The stock backing plate has been cut away so that just the bearing shield remains.

If you're really keen I'll pull the disk off and take some more photos but I won't get a chance to do that this weekend as I've a rallysprint to compete in.

[CamB]

Nice work!

It's always the way - I find out you've done all this AFTER I go down the road of coilovers/camber plates. If I don't get enough camber and castor with what I've got, I might need to make the pilgrimage to Puke (if its ok with you) and check out your setup.

[BimmerFiend]

Pictures with the disk removed would be great, but check back here next week. Since this is a 3 day weekend I will have lots of energy and time to check it all out. I should be able to figure it out.

Are the brakes that much better than the 2002? Rhett from Terry Sayther says they are not that much better...

Also, will the e30 brakes fit behind 13' wheels? I have a set of Alpina looking 13" I want to use...

[Lee]

Well, well, well. Here is a very good exemple of a swap that is a downgrade, not an improvement.

Sliding calipers require more maintenance and have less modulation than fixed calipers. The more the pads are worn, the more pedal travel is required for the brakes to grab. The e30 is well known for its lousy brakes.

If I have to choose between a stock 2002 4-pot caliper and an e30 caliper, I will vote for the 2002 clamper. No hesitation. e30 rotors are not bigger nor wider than vented e21 rotors. 10.25" in diameter.

One question remains: why?

[tomorrowcalling]

Basically because E30 parts are a lot more common in NZ than E21 parts. I would have preferred to use AP calipers but I'm on budget and those were the parts I had.......

[tomorrowcalling]

Also, will the e30 brakes fit behind 13' wheels? I have a set of Alpina looking 13" I want to use...

I don't believe so - I run either 14" E30 bottlecaps (for gravel) or 15" minilites for tarmac. There isn't a lot of clearance on the 14".

[tomorrowcalling]

As promised disassembled pictures

[tomorrowcalling]

(nt)

[lynxrat]

Tommorow Calling, Do you have the spec detail on the custom springs? I am going with the same setup, but using 318Ti trailing arms with the 02 crossmember. Lotta work for the 5 bolt....

I you have the spring specs, I would appreciate it.

kevin

[tomorrowcalling]

Sorry for the delay, Attached is a bit of a drawing I knocked up to give to the spring maker, I also took along an E30 spring & a 2002 spring and explained what I was doing. Since then I've had a coil taken off and the spring reset to give a higher spring rate.

Currently the wire size is 15.98 mm, The OD of the spring is 117 mm, there are 9.25 active coils giving a spring rate of about 250 lb/ inch. This gives an effective spring rate at the wheel of 176 lb/ inch

[lynxrat]

Tommorow, thanks for the info, I really do appreciate it.

One question, I understand that your car is set up for rally, but how would you describe the ride, "Buckboard" or "Supple"

Again, thanks

Kevin

[tomorrowcalling]

Tommorow, thanks for the info, I really do appreciate it.

One question, I understand that your car is set up for rally, but how would you describe the ride, "Buckboard" or "Supple"

Again, thanks

Kevin

Somewhere in between, firmer than a road car but doesn't loosen your fillings