Ok guys, need some opinions, looked into Big Brake Kits and so far this are the choices;

Brembo (any dealer)
Torax (BMP)
SSBC (SS Brakes)
Willwood (UUC Motor Werks)

They all seem real good, but I will feel much better to hear personal experiences with any of these brands. The price difference is not extreme from one to antoher and I will go for the front kit for now, the car is pretty much a garage queen but when its driven is mostly spirited and long drives...

What about the E34 540 upgrade? Then the car is still BMW stock at least. You could get a set of 540 brakes, sandblast, powdercoat, and rebuild for less than the brands youve listed. Many people have done this upgrade and love them.

Ive only seen one other person use Wilwood's on their car. I didnt ask him about them, but im sure he put them on for a reason, although they were purple, which is kind of strange...

But, for the purpose of your car (spirited and long drives), perhaps look to save a little money on something that will perform just as well for what you need?

-Jeff

I'm not sure of the reason behind a BBK. If you can lock the wheels (or engage ABS since your car has it) the tires are the limiting factor, not the brakes.

A set of stainless lines and some ATE blue fluid will really help the feel and performance.

What about the E34 540 upgrade? Then the car is still BMW stock at least. You could get a set of 540 brakes, sandblast, powdercoat, and rebuild for less than the brands youve listed. Many people have done this upgrade and love them.

Ive only seen one other person use Wilwood's on their car. I didnt ask him about them, but im sure he put them on for a reason, although they were purple, which is kind of strange...

But, for the purpose of your car (spirited and long drives), perhaps look to save a little money on something that will perform just as well for what you need?

-Jeff

Definitely a good suggestion, will look into that, much cheaper option too..:cool

I'm not sure of the reason behind a BBK. If you can lock the wheels (or engage ABS since your car has it) the tires are the limiting factor, not the brakes.

A set of stainless lines and some ATE blue fluid will really help the feel and performance.

I'll be honest, I guess is one of those "wants" and not "needs" and the vanity of filling the space created by the 18" wheels... The car breaks fine for the driving that i do although it wouldn't hurt having a bit more stopping power. Thanks!!!

I'm not sure of the reason behind a BBK. If you can lock the wheels (or engage ABS since your car has it) the tires are the limiting factor, not the brakes.

A set of stainless lines and some ATE blue fluid will really help the feel and performance.

You have a good point there. I dont need the 540 brakes, but if im going to want to spend time on making the brakes look better behind the type 32's, id rather spend time on something that fills that void as javistor is talking about. I dont go fast enough to exceed what the stock brakes can do, but i may when i put FI on the car.

-Jeff

Hm, refresh my memory. Since you've got an 85 M635CSi, don't you have 4 pot calipers up front?

It all goes back to use,
In my RX7 I have stock brakes with SS lines, racing pads, good fluid, etc. on the road it's more than enough, now on the track after a few laps, definitley needed bigger brakes, scary!!!

Ahoy fellow Texan M635 owner! As long as you are doing your brake upgrade for the right reasons (vanity and just 'cause you want to) I think you'll be really happy no matter what you do. Xatlas is right, they won't stop your car better, just more times more consistantly. Check out the wilwood setup I am building for my e21, I'm using e23 rotors (280x25mm) with some custom brackets (I'm a machinist).
http://thumb11.webshots.net/t/55/555/9/38/46/2377938460101597211TTQIVf_th.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2377938460101597211TTQIVf)

Hm, refresh my memory. Since you've got an 85 M635CSi, don't you have 4 pot calipers up front?

Absolutely, and they have been rebuilt within the past 5K so no complaints...

Ahoy fellow Texan M635 owner! As long as you are doing your brake upgrade for the right reasons (vanity and just 'cause you want to) I think you'll be really happy no matter what you do. Xatlas is right, they won't stop your car better, just more times more consistantly. Check out the wilwood setup I am building for my e21, I'm using e23 rotors (280x25mm) with some custom brackets (I'm a machinist).
http://thumb11.webshots.net/t/55/555/9/38/46/2377938460101597211TTQIVf_th.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2377938460101597211TTQIVf)

Nice work Layne :buttrock

Take a look at these:

www.outlawdiscbrakes.com (http://www.outlawdiscbrakes.com)

There will be one that is a true bolt-on very shortly that is sized to work with our hydraulics instead of just adapting an available caliper.

I'm not sure of the reason behind a BBK. If you can lock the wheels (or engage ABS since your car has it) the tires are the limiting factor, not the brakes.

A set of stainless lines and some ATE blue fluid will really help the feel and performance.

The answers to all your concerns:

http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/pbc/need_a_bbk.htm

A BBK is never about "shorter stopping distances" - that's either ignorance or bad marketing. A BBK is about control, repeatability, heat management, and many other performance features. Read the link above. Quite frankly, once you've driven a proper fixed-caliper setup... you'll never want OE brakes again. OE brakes are the proverbial "showering in a raincoat" compared to a good BBK.

The answers to all your concerns:

http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/pbc/need_a_bbk.htm

A BBK is never about "shorter stopping distances" - that's either ignorance or bad marketing. A BBK is about control, repeatability, heat management, and many other performance features. Read the link above. Quite frankly, once you've driver a proper fixed-caliper setup... you'll never want OE brakes again. OE brakes are the proverbial "showering in a raincoat" compared to a good BBK.

Great info Rob!!! I must admit that I've been leaning towards this product due to previous experience with UUC (short shift kit, quality product!)
Thanks for the reply...

I'll be honest, I guess is one of those "wants" and not "needs" and the vanity of filling the space created by the 18" wheels... The car breaks fine for the driving that i do although it wouldn't hurt having a bit more stopping power. Thanks!!!

Here's a shot...

Yea, i can see why you would want to fill in the space behind those M-Parallels.

-Jeff

Here is a good write-up on the options for swapping the bigger brakes from other BMW's:

http://bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2137&start=0

It would seem financially prudent to use BMW brakes where they will fit without special machining and other considerations that tend to drive the price up. Then a careful choice of pads should cover the needs of most of the folks here, and make maintenance down the road simpler.
And I wonder if cars of this age should be on the race track? It takes considerable experience to be comfortable and competent at racing speeds.
I'm perhaps looking into E-32 750 front and E-34 540 rear and using SS braided lines.

First thing I did on my son's 89 635 was put bigger brakes on it. E32 fronts and e34 530 rears, It makes a difference, trust me. I put 540 rears on my M5, it stops whenever and whereever I tell it, no nose dive, just as if a huge hand stops it, Least cost and great stopping

Presently the brake setup on my 88 M6 is the Brembo Gran Turismo big brake kit on the front and the E34 M5/540i rear calipers and rotors.

The Brembo kit consists of the 4 piston calipers and 332x32 drilled single piece rotors. The only modification need was to trim the lip off the stock brake dust shields to accommodate fitment of rotors. The stock brake master cylinder was also retained. Needless to say, this setup looks awesome with massive stopping power to match and there is absolutely no brake fading even with repeated mulitiple pedal applications. This was installed on my car about 5 years ago and have never experience any problems with the Brembo systems. Present pricings for this kit run from about $1700 to $1900 from various retailers.

As for the various big brake kits from other manufactures out there, don't have any experience or knowledge of them other than they all basically have the same looks and designs of the Brembos.

The rear setup consists of the E34 M5/540i slightly bigger calipers and 300mmx20mm vented rotors vs the puny 6 series stock calipers and 280mmx10mm solid disc rotors. This is a direct bolt on system with no modifications needed. This is also the perfect time to install stainless steel brake lines if you've not already done so.

Bert
88 M6
72 3.5 Csi


http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee229/m6csi/Picture079.jpg
Top pic, Brembos mounted on 18" Fikse 3-piece FM-10 rims
Bottom pic, Brembos mounted on 17" Fikse 3-piece FM-10 rims
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee229/m6csi/Picture054.jpg
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee229/m6csi/coupepics079.jpg

Presently the brake setup on my 88 M6 is the Brembo Gran Turismo big brake kit on the front and the E34 M5/540i rear calipers and rotors.

The Brembo kit consists of the 4 piston calipers and 332x32 drilled single piece rotors. The only modification need was to trim the lip off the stock brake dust shields to accommodate fitment of rotors. The stock brake master cylinder was also retained. Needless to say, this setup looks awesome with massive stopping power to match and there is absolutely no brake fading even with repeated mulitiple pedal applications. This was installed on my car about 5 years ago and have never experience any problems with the Brembo systems. Present pricings for this kit run from about $1700 to $1900 from various retailers.

As for the various big brake kits from other manufactures out there, don't have any experience or knowledge of them other than they all basically have the same looks and designs of the Brembos.

The rear setup consists of the E34 M5/540i slightly bigger calipers and 300mmx20mm vented rotors vs the puny 6 series stock calipers and 280mmx10mm solid disc rotors. This is a direct bolt on system with no modifications needed. This is also the perfect time to install stainless steel brake lines if you've not already done so.

Bert
88 M6
72 3.5 Csi


http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee229/m6csi/Picture079.jpg
Top pic, Brembos mounted on 18" Fikse 3-piece FM-10 rims
Bottom pic, Brembos mounted on 17" Fikse 3-piece FM-10 rims
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee229/m6csi/Picture054.jpg
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee229/m6csi/coupepics079.jpg

That looks awesome!!!!

Here's a shot...

Looks like a CD with a potato chip bag clip. :D

- Rob

Looks like a CD with a potato chip bag clip. :D

- Rob

:lol