F80 Brake upgrade on E46 M3

[Cglhut]

Few 18's fit these brakes like stated earlier the ARC8 do not work with 18's. I bought some 513m wheels from BMW since there forged light and 18's and fit great with a spacer in the rear. Brackets for the rear I sourced from ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/E46-M3-F80-...-127635-2958-0 I don't track the car so I cant answer your question on that. My car gets like 200 miles a year.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hWWmqefBMuWRjMc87
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GR8865EAnErhnWJP8

Apex did recently release a new flow formed arc8 with a different barrel that’ll clear the f8x brakes. But the old style that most of us are running won’t clear. As of right now these are the 18” apex wheels that clear f8x brakes. The new arc8s, all their new forged wheels, and the FL5’s. Not sure about their flow formed ec7s.

[t44tq]

If money was not an object, sure! You posted links for fronts only for $3k and $5k. I'm working on ~$8k upgrade currently with VANOS, cams, headers, CSL airbox and dyno tune. The reason I was interested in F80 is mainly as a budget BBK, it's definitely better brakes than in 2003. I'm getting F/R calipers with new front OEM rotors for cheap but I will pass since I don't want to buy new wheels now. When I win the lottery, I'll look at Essex and AP Racing. In the meantime, I'll go back to budget build using 996 or Boxster S calipers to keep costs reasonable.

If you're running stock dimension rotors, or especially stock metallurgy and dimension rotors, you're not going to get much real improvement. The fixed caliper Brembos will get you better pedal feel, but that's about it.

That's why I suggested the Essex kit- proper 2 piece rotor assembly with floating pins, better metallurgy in the rotor, properly directionally vaned, with a much better caliper.

[PHNX636]

Im using F80 Front Brakes with the Porsche rears and they work great on track. I agree that if money was no object then id be rolling around with some APs for sure. Had the full Porsche setup but I really like how my current combo works. Im not on APEXs though and old ARC8s will not clear, using a set of BC Forged wheels currently but new wheels will be showing up sometime in April.

[jager911]

Im using F80 Front Brakes with the Porsche rears and they work great on track. I agree that if money was no object then id be rolling around with some APs for sure. Had the full Porsche setup but I really like how my current combo works. Im not on APEXs though and old ARC8s will not clear, using a set of BC Forged wheels currently but new wheels will be showing up sometime in April.

How was the 996 F/R set up on track? Was it a worthwhile upgrade over stock brakes in terms of feel and brake pad wear? That's my current default plan due to budget.

[PHNX636]

How was the 996 F/R set up on track? Was it a worthwhile upgrade over stock brakes in terms of feel and brake pad wear? That's my current default plan due to budget.

I definitely liked it more than stock with pads and fluid. Although I do believe that the stock setup with good pads, fluid and the brass guide pins work really well, the full 996 setup is better imo. I went with the f80 route in the front because a few things lined up really well where the price made sense otherwise I wouldn’t have switched. And in case anyone is wondering the f80 setup is a pound lighter all in all.


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[mrgizmo04]

And in case anyone is wondering the f80 setup is a pound lighter all in all.


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Help me understand what you are including in that. F8x vs 996 approx numbers I have:

M2 (same as M3 and M4 I believe):
-Front caliper: 10.78lbs
-Front rotor 380x30: 24.89lbs
-Rear caliper: 7.94
-Rear rotor 370x28: 20.39lbs
Total per side: 64 lbs

996/M3 CSL brake kit:
-996 front caliper: 6.4lbs
-M3 CSL 345mm front rotor: 19.1lbs
-996 rear caliper: 5.2lbs
-M3 CSL 328mm rear rotor: 15.9 lbs
Total per side: 47 lbs

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[PHNX636]

Help me understand what you are including in that. F8x vs 996 approx numbers I have:

M2 (same as M3 and M4 I believe):
-Front caliper: 10.78lbs
-Front rotor 380x30: 24.89lbs
-Rear caliper: 7.94
-Rear rotor 370x28: 20.39lbs
Total per side: 64 lbs

996/M3 CSL brake kit:
-996 front caliper: 6.4lbs
-M3 CSL 345mm front rotor: 19.1lbs
-996 rear caliper: 5.2lbs
-M3 CSL 328mm rear rotor: 15.9 lbs
Total per side: 47 lbs

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Sorry it completely skipped my mind
My f80 setup is with racing brake rotors which were 20ish lbs
996 setup was weighted with creation Motorsport brackets, which I don’t recommend at all.

The rear stayed 996 but you’re right stock for stock the 996 would be lighter. I apologize.


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[RazorM]

Help me understand what you are including in that. F8x vs 996 approx numbers I have:

M2 (same as M3 and M4 I believe):
-Front caliper: 10.78lbs
-Front rotor 380x30: 24.89lbs
-Rear caliper: 7.94
-Rear rotor 370x28: 20.39lbs
Total per side: 64 lbs

996/M3 CSL brake kit:
-996 front caliper: 6.4lbs
-M3 CSL 345mm front rotor: 19.1lbs
-996 rear caliper: 5.2lbs
-M3 CSL 328mm rear rotor: 15.9 lbs
Total per side: 47 lbs

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What About Essex AP Racing 325mm kit? They are additional 10lbs weight savings on the front axle to 996/csl and 27lbs lighter to F8x kit.
With more heat capacity, lesser diameter and inertia with weight closer to the center.

Is anyone running those?

It looks appealing to me with those attributes.
Not sure if the kit is any good for street also. Since they don’t run dust boots, but they say they don’t need to.
They say it’s designed to run these wit OEM M3 rear brakes for track.
I remember them on last Black Friday for something 2700$.

https://www.essexparts.com/essex-designed-ap-racing-competition-brake-kit-front-cp8350-e46m3

[Gt4]

What About Essex AP Racing 325mm kit? They are additional 10lbs weight savings on the front axle to 996/csl and 27lbs lighter to F8x kit.
With more heat capacity, lesser diameter and inertia with weight closer to the center.

Is anyone running those?

It looks appealing to me with those attributes.
Not sure if the kit is any good for street also. Since they don’t run dust boots, but they say they don’t need to.
They say it’s designed to run these wit OEM M3 rear brakes for track.
I remember them on last Black Friday for something 2700$.

https://www.essexparts.com/essex-des...t-cp8350-e46m3

CP8350 is a good entry level caliper but not for the heavy E46 M3 platform. Flex too much IMO. I had them on a previous track car with same pads (PF01) as my PF45 BBK and there was a huge difference in pedal feel. 345mmx32mm front rotors also help.

I would get Brembo GTS 355x32 or AP Racing Radi- Cal BBK instead.

[RazorM]

CP8350 is a good entry level caliper but not for the heavy E46 M3 platform. Flex too much IMO. I had them on a previous track car with same pads (PF01) as my PF45 BBK and there was a huge difference in pedal feel. 345mmx32mm front rotors also help.

I would get Brembo GTS 355x32 or AP Racing Radi- Cal BBK instead.

Thats interesting since they are marketed as an proven endurance racing set commonly used in corvettes Camaros- which are heavier and faster cars

I thought that it may be bit of a trend, since stoptech also started to sell C43 BBK set, which is using the same philosophy, ultralight 4pot caliper without dust boots and smaller than usual 324x32 disc. They say the caliper is 50% lighter than ST40

[MasterC17]

What About Essex AP Racing 325mm kit? They are additional 10lbs weight savings on the front axle to 996/csl and 27lbs lighter to F8x kit.
With more heat capacity, lesser diameter and inertia with weight closer to the center.

Is anyone running those?

It looks appealing to me with those attributes.
Not sure if the kit is any good for street also. Since they don’t run dust boots, but they say they don’t need to.
They say it’s designed to run these wit OEM M3 rear brakes for track.
I remember them on last Black Friday for something 2700$.

https://www.essexparts.com/essex-des...t-cp8350-e46m3

I'm strongly considering the AP CP8350 kit. I have a set of F80 fronts ready to go, but the weight gain is considerable using the OEM rotors. I had AP's on another car and they were simply the best feeling brakes I've ever driven on.

[jager911]

Cool! Will be interested regardless as I am doing a similar setup this spring too.

I forgot to update this thread with my- dyno results. I got the engine mods completed along with Beisan VANOS kit last year. With 288/280 Cat Cams, CSL airbox, Euro headers, El Diablo muffler and on Alpha-N HTE dyno tuned, it made 346WHP which I estimate met my goal of 400HP with 15% losses. Hassan said it needs better exhaust to make a bit more power, I changed to a race muffler and will get it dyno'd again. On the original topic of BBK, I ended up going with the tried and true Porsche 996 f/r gathering parts. I just dropped off calipers at machine shop and looking forward to better brake feel and pad wear. Related topic, what happens to ABS with adding non-original calipers? I currently experience ABS ice mode when braking from 130 on the track and need to modulate the brakes. The first time, it was terrifying until I read about ice mode.

[enjoy_m3]

I forgot to update this thread with my- dyno results. I got the engine mods completed along with Beisan VANOS kit last year. With 288/280 Cat Cams, CSL airbox, Euro headers, El Diablo muffler and on Alpha-N HTE dyno tuned, it made 346WHP which I estimate met my goal of 400HP with 15% losses. Hassan said it needs better exhaust to make a bit more power, I changed to a race muffler and will get it dyno'd again. On the original topic of BBK, I ended up going with the tried and true Porsche 996 f/r gathering parts. I just dropped off calipers at machine shop and looking forward to better brake feel and pad wear. Related topic, what happens to ABS with adding non-original calipers? I currently experience ABS ice mode when braking from 130 on the track and need to modulate the brakes. The first time, it was terrifying until I read about ice mode.

very nice, Are you running upgraded valve springs?

[jager911]

very nice, Are you running upgraded valve springs?

No, not really needed, I shift at peak power around 7800rpm on track and didn't raise the rev limit for engine reliability. This was not a full engine rebuild as motor didn't need it. On my Porsche 993 rebuild, I did cams, titanium retainers and Motorsport valve springs per recommendation of engine builder.