Brake upgrade.

Grumps

Always happy, apart from when I'm not 🤬
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Last weekend I sent an email to the supplier of my braided hoses and duly got a reply on Monday.


I am sorry there was these issues with your hoses.

We do a different female fitting for some of the other BMW models and that would have been better suited, so I will have the specs changed.

I got the specs for this vehicle from HEL performance, so tomorrow I will speck to them to why they choose that rear setup.
We don't make replacement hard-lines so I can only imagine the specs where designed to remove the hard line between the 2 hoses and to reuse the existing bracket.

I am more then happy to send you some replacements with the different fittings should your wish? I would just need to find out more about these rear specs first.

I apologise for the inconvenience this has caused you.

Regards,

Liam

For someone with a British sounding name he does seem to have a problem with the language (or keyboards), anyway a pleasant enough reply so I told him I would persevere and then send him pictures of the hoses fitted and what I needed to do to make them fit.
I also told him that more info was needed in the information leaflet to clarify that this kit deletes the short steel pipe between the 2 rear hoses.
Below is the old set up next to the new 2 hose arrangement.
View attachment 45871
Apart from the large washers required as were also on the fronts, the only other problem was the male union at the centre joint was too long to keep any pressure on the mounting bridge at the joint. It would have been loose at the bracket (hope that makes sense)
So what I did was make two "nuts" to screw onto the male unions and tighten up to the union head as below.
View attachment 45870 View attachment 45867
I made these nuts by getting a joining union and placing a male union in each end to keep the shape when tightened in the vice, this also preserves the thread too, I cut two pieces off and fitted to hose union as shown.
View attachment 45869 View attachment 45868

After placing the pedal bar on the brake pedal (this moves the piston in the Master Cylinder and prevents fluid running into the cylinder and eventually out of the system when you disconnect a pipe or hose).
View attachment 45874
With this in place you can remove a pipe, hose, bleed screw, whatever, and all you will lose is a tiny amount of fluid due to the pressure in the system but nothing after that.
After fitting the new hose set up I removed the pedal bar and bled the system on the O/S/R and checked for leaks under pressure.
View attachment 45875 View attachment 45876 View attachment 45877 View attachment 45878
Where the old Flexible hose was anchored to the rear suspension arm at the joint of the steel pipe I cut some rubber hose and packed it around the new hose to allow it to be clamped back in place. See the first of these 4 pictures.
View attachment 45879
View attachment 45880
Same operations on the N/S/R
View attachment 45881 View attachment 45882
Wheels on (130NM) and a short road test out in the foggy evening gloom. Brake pedal so firm now, looking forwards to the next part of the upgrades probably just after Christmas if Shirl gets all the hints!

Tony.

ps. If you have any questions please ask.
Gonna whip mine over in the morning, be done by 10!! :wideyed::wideyed:
 

ppavuk

Zorg Legend
British Zeds
Joined
Apr 20, 2016
Points
78
Location
Balsall Common
Model of Z
Z4
Last weekend I sent an email to the supplier of my braided hoses and duly got a reply on Monday.


I am sorry there was these issues with your hoses.

We do a different female fitting for some of the other BMW models and that would have been better suited, so I will have the specs changed.

I got the specs for this vehicle from HEL performance, so tomorrow I will speck to them to why they choose that rear setup.
We don't make replacement hard-lines so I can only imagine the specs where designed to remove the hard line between the 2 hoses and to reuse the existing bracket.

I am more then happy to send you some replacements with the different fittings should your wish? I would just need to find out more about these rear specs first.

I apologise for the inconvenience this has caused you.

Regards,

Liam

For someone with a British sounding name he does seem to have a problem with the language (or keyboards), anyway a pleasant enough reply so I told him I would persevere and then send him pictures of the hoses fitted and what I needed to do to make them fit.
I also told him that more info was needed in the information leaflet to clarify that this kit deletes the short steel pipe between the 2 rear hoses.
Below is the old set up next to the new 2 hose arrangement.
View attachment 45871
Apart from the large washers required as were also on the fronts, the only other problem was the male union at the centre joint was too long to keep any pressure on the mounting bridge at the joint. It would have been loose at the bracket (hope that makes sense)
So what I did was make two "nuts" to screw onto the male unions and tighten up to the union head as below.
View attachment 45870 View attachment 45867
I made these nuts by getting a joining union and placing a male union in each end to keep the shape when tightened in the vice, this also preserves the thread too, I cut two pieces off and fitted to hose union as shown.
View attachment 45869 View attachment 45868

After placing the pedal bar on the brake pedal (this moves the piston in the Master Cylinder and prevents fluid running into the cylinder and eventually out of the system when you disconnect a pipe or hose).
View attachment 45874
With this in place you can remove a pipe, hose, bleed screw, whatever, and all you will lose is a tiny amount of fluid due to the pressure in the system but nothing after that.
After fitting the new hose set up I removed the pedal bar and bled the system on the O/S/R and checked for leaks under pressure.
View attachment 45875 View attachment 45876 View attachment 45877 View attachment 45878
Where the old Flexible hose was anchored to the rear suspension arm at the joint of the steel pipe I cut some rubber hose and packed it around the new hose to allow it to be clamped back in place. See the first of these 4 pictures.
View attachment 45879
View attachment 45880
Same operations on the N/S/R
View attachment 45881 View attachment 45882
Wheels on (130NM) and a short road test out in the foggy evening gloom. Brake pedal so firm now, looking forwards to the next part of the upgrades probably just after Christmas if Shirl gets all the hints!

Tony.

ps. If you have any questions please ask.
great write-up, mate! Thanks!
 

Antm72

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Nice work as always Tony an upgrade i need to do including the clutch delay valve delete :thumbsup:
 

oldcarman

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@Grumpy you best see a Dr about your problems if it takes you till 10 when you " whip mine over" when we all know you're up so early every morning!! JIM
 

t-tony

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Looking good @t-tony I had a similar problem with my braided hoses for the z3 had to put washers on else they slipped through the bracket.
To be honest Daz I half expected to come across this problem. I've seen it a few times testing cars at work.

Tony.
 

Daz3

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To be honest Daz I half expected to come across this problem. I've seen it a few times testing cars at work.

Tony.
It must be a common thing with most of the hose makers. Trouble is majority of people who are going to fit them get round the issue by putting washers on so don't bother sending them back or complaining. You probably did the right thing contacting the company, you'd hope they would have the issues sorted for the next guy that buys some.
 

t-tony

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More on the brake upgrade, by a rather convoluted route, but bear with me.
At work we have 2 4-post lifts which were installed in the workshop by the then owner British Gas in 1980 and as you can imagine the type of cars these were made for, Avengers, Escorts, Marinas etc. all with fairly good ground clearance and weight as much as a bag of sugar.;)
In recent times cars generally have got lower and some vehicles such as 4x4s and vans much heavier and in the pictures you can see what the weight has done to the run on ramps on these old lifts. The consequences being that you can't get on or off these old ramps without scraping the bottom of cars and ripping the front splitters off each time. A royal PITA. So yours truly had a brain wave and ordered some steel and modified the run on ramps. Brilliant, even if I say so myself.
004.jpg
003.jpg
You can see how bowed they'd become in effect shortening the run on to about 2/3 of it length and lowering the height by a lot too.
002.jpg
001.jpg

The new bits fitted and such a success that guess what I can now get on these 4 post lifts.;);) Not that this had any bearing on the plans.
Some better pictures of the mods I made to the stainless hoses.
005.jpg
006.jpg
007.jpg

The original joint mounting keeps the hoses securely away from the CV joint @Brian H
The nice parcel delivery man brought these today for the next instalment of the brake upgrade.
009.jpg
010.jpg
011.jpg

Just the pads left to source now.

" I love it when a plan comes together!" That rings a bell.;)

Tony.
 

oldcarman

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Nice one Tony, that's exactly what we did in my buddie's shop when we had trouble getting the street rods we worked on all scrapped the front lips! And nice delivery, can't wait to read your install thread, JIM
 

t-tony

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Been looking into what type of pads to use with the new discs and I am leaning towards EBC Ultimax 2.

Ultimax2™ brake pads deliver:
  • Superb daily driver R90 type approved pad.
  • Features red “brake in’ surface coating for instant safe braking after install.
  • New 100 % ECO friendly material with ZERO sulphides.
  • No shims for noise reduction needed.
  • More bite from cold.
  • Works in hot and dry climates as well as in cold.
  • Fully R 90 approved as was the original Ultimax grade.

Ultimax2™ brake pad will supersede on a stock rotation basis its predecessor material and customers will only be supplied Ultimax2™ as stocks of the 2012 sell through or they place a specific order for a production run of 100 sets per reference for a dedicated production batch.

If you simply need a quality OEM replacement pad, look no further than the Ultimax2™ brake pad. Made in the UK Bristol EBC Brakes manufacturing plant the Ultimax2™ brake pad is a beautifully engineered brake compound that lasts well, produces minimal dust and is the perfect choice for the urban or daily driver. Why spend more if all you need is a quality replacement pad.

The Ultimax2™ brake pad is a total NON METALLIC pad containing ZERO steel fibre making this a cleaner pad far less aggressive to cast iron brake rotors.

Ultimax2™ has also been graded Code “N” by the USA brake ratings system meaning this receives the TOP award for its environmentally friendly status and has also achieved the much coveted GG friction rating, almost unheard of in the automotive brake Industry.

This equates to a clean pad, that lasts longer, extends disc life and emits ZERO toxicity and is a true PAD FOR THE FUTURE. The brake effect with the GG ratting is truly amazing and delivers powerful braking at first brake application. Ultimax2™ has also been widely tested in cold and damp conditions in Northern Europe and Scandinavia and in the Caribbean hot and humid temperatures where brake noise was ZERO.

  • GG friction rated highest in brake effect
  • Top Rated with Class N by the USA environmental testing to SAE J2975:2011

  • I think these will be up to the job. Any thoughts welcome .

  • Tony.
 

Bozzy

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Been looking into what type of pads to use with the new discs and I am leaning towards EBC Ultimax 2.

Ultimax2™ brake pads deliver:
  • Superb daily driver R90 type approved pad.
  • Features red “brake in’ surface coating for instant safe braking after install.
  • New 100 % ECO friendly material with ZERO sulphides.
  • No shims for noise reduction needed.
  • More bite from cold.
  • Works in hot and dry climates as well as in cold.
  • Fully R 90 approved as was the original Ultimax grade.

Ultimax2™ brake pad will supersede on a stock rotation basis its predecessor material and customers will only be supplied Ultimax2™ as stocks of the 2012 sell through or they place a specific order for a production run of 100 sets per reference for a dedicated production batch.

If you simply need a quality OEM replacement pad, look no further than the Ultimax2™ brake pad. Made in the UK Bristol EBC Brakes manufacturing plant the Ultimax2™ brake pad is a beautifully engineered brake compound that lasts well, produces minimal dust and is the perfect choice for the urban or daily driver. Why spend more if all you need is a quality replacement pad.

The Ultimax2™ brake pad is a total NON METALLIC pad containing ZERO steel fibre making this a cleaner pad far less aggressive to cast iron brake rotors.

Ultimax2™ has also been graded Code “N” by the USA brake ratings system meaning this receives the TOP award for its environmentally friendly status and has also achieved the much coveted GG friction rating, almost unheard of in the automotive brake Industry.

This equates to a clean pad, that lasts longer, extends disc life and emits ZERO toxicity and is a true PAD FOR THE FUTURE. The brake effect with the GG ratting is truly amazing and delivers powerful braking at first brake application. Ultimax2™ has also been widely tested in cold and damp conditions in Northern Europe and Scandinavia and in the Caribbean hot and humid temperatures where brake noise was ZERO.

  • GG friction rated highest in brake effect
  • Top Rated with Class N by the USA environmental testing to SAE J2975:2011

  • I think these will be up to the job. Any thoughts welcome .

  • Tony.
Sounds good and it seems they should cover all bases reading the info.
No bedding in required as well as good bite from cold,no metallic particles to damage wheel coatings.
How much are they Tony ? If you don't mind me asking.
 

Dino D

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Sounds good. Now I've done a few miles with the Pagids I can say that the brake dust is much more than the EBC yellows. Performance has been great- maybe in the summer on some heavy driving I'll find fade but for now in cold weather the bite is great.
Lower dust levels would be nice and seems these EBC's do that.

Do the disc manufacturers maybe have any recommendations for the best material suited to their disc material?
 

GazHyde

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Do the disc manufacturers maybe have any recommendations for the best material suited to their disc material?
I should imagine EBC would say EBC, and Pagid would say Pagid... and so on!
 

Dino D

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I should imagine EBC would say EBC, and Pagid would say Pagid... and so on!
Yep they probably would!
Just wondering if some would say something about the science behind it so the best compound/type that works better with their disc material. These low dust/non metallic pads just got me thinking do they work better on certain disc materials than others.
 

t-tony

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@Dino D here's what M-Tec say on their eBay listing for their discs

Best results will be seen with premium branded pads, although these discs are fully compatible with budget pad types. We can also supply Mintex Redbox pads.

Also,

Motorsport Tunning & Engineering Company established in 2004. We are a UK based company that specialise in the manufacturing and supply of performance brake discs and brake pads. Our discs are machined using state of the art CNC machines which ensure all designs are cut with precision.

Tony.
 

ppavuk

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I have mtecs with mtec pads, sharp brakes, but a little noisy as grooved and drilled. And a plenty of dust!
 

t-tony

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This afternoon, after getting Steve's @Bozzy brakes working better I had a little time to kill so I gave my nice new M-Tec discs their first coat of paint before they get fitted around Christmas time.
019.jpg
020.jpg
021.jpg
022.jpg
023.jpg


As long as Santa plays ball and brings me what I wanted this should soon be a completed upgrade !!

Tony.
 

Bozzy

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This afternoon, after getting Steve's @Bozzy brakes working better I had a little time to kill so I gave my nice new M-Tec discs their first coat of paint before they get fitted around Christmas time.
View attachment 46494 View attachment 46495 View attachment 46497 View attachment 46498 View attachment 46499

As long as Santa plays ball and brings me what I wanted this should soon be a completed upgrade !!

Tony.
Looking good mate,I bet you can't wait to get them fitted.

Steve
 

t-tony

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That paint is a really quick drier Steve, hopefully get a 2nd coat tomorrow and then back in their boxes till Santa's been.:)

Tony.
 

Grumps

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Did someone say Santa! :hohoho:
 

t-tony

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