Mo Reviews
BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   BMW M3 and BMW M4 Forum > BMW F80 M3 / F82 M4 Technical Topics > Suspension | Brakes | Chassis

Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      08-15-2014, 10:47 AM   #1
jritt@essex
Captain
jritt@essex's Avatar
United_States
1019
Rep
839
Posts

Drives: e90 335i, NSX, 997.2, 987.1
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Charlotte, NC

iTrader: (0)

AP Racing Competition Brake Upgrades…let us know what you want!

Hello Gents,

I'd like to first introduce myself and the company for which I work, and then use this thread as a technical discussion about brake upgrades for the F80 / F82 platforms. My company signed up earlier in the year as forum sponsors, and we plan to be here for the foreseeable future. Our most recent product introduction was a 6 piston/4 piston AP Racing Competition Big Brake Kit for the e92 M3. You can read all about that product, user reviews, etc. in the e92 brake forum.

Personal Background
My name is Jeff Ritter, and for the past five years I have been the High Performance Division Mgr. at Essex Parts Services. Prior to that, I was the sales mgr. at StopTech for roughly 5 years. I've been autoXing/tracking cars since 1999, and my stable over the years includes or has included: '98 Integra Type-R, '03 350Z, '03 Z06 Corvette, '92 Miata, '04 CTS-V, '05 Legacy GT Wagon 5MT, etc. I've also been participating in online automotive forums since roughly 1999. You can find my posts under the screen name jritt across a wide range of forums: honda-tech, my350Z, corvetteforum, ft86club, and the e92 M3 section of this forum. You can read my professional bio here. Chances are, there is someone on this forum who I've helped with brakes at one point or another.

Essex Parts Services Background
Essex Parts Services is located in Charlotte, NC and has been in business for roughly 30 years. We are the exclusive importer and distributor for a number of high-end, mainly European brands including: AP Racing competition brake products, CL Brakes pads, Ferodo brake pads, Scorpion Exhausts, Spiegler SS brake lines, etc. You can read more about us here. Historically our focus has been on professional racing. More recently however, we've been working on bringing the technology from our professional racing experience into the aftermarket, and making it available to the average enthusiast. Many of the exclusive products we sell have either been used in professional racing, or contain a number of features that in the past have only been available at the higher echelon of racing.

Competition Big Brake Kit Project Background
Roughly three years ago we began developing a line of brake systems geared towards heavy track users. We call them our Essex Designed AP Racing Competition Big Brake Kits, and we currently have applications for a host of popular racing/track day/AutoX/time trial cars: e36/e46/e92 M3, STI, Evo, BRZ & FR-S, C5/C6/C7 Corvette, Focus ST, S2000, etc. These systems are designed with the sole mission of making you go faster, and use the latest racing technology to improve performance. They focus on ultra-low weight, extremely durable materials, and inexpensive and readily available spare parts (pads and discs). They are built around components by AP Racing, arguably the top performance brake manufacturer in the world. With these systems we've had a lengthy list of NASA and SCCA race winners, time attack victories, national rally wins, a 5th place at Pikes Peak on an Evo, lap records, etc. As you may or may not know, the majority of the factory BMW racecars also use AP Racing brakes.

Our first BMW Competition Big Brake Kits were for the e36 and e46 M3. You can see details on those by clicking the links below.

See details on our E36 M3 Competition BBK here.
See details on our E46 M3 Competition BBK here.

Earlier this year we launched our e92 M3 front and rear Competition Big Brake Kits. These kits have a laundry list of beneifts, and shave nearly 40 lbs. of unsprung weight from the e92! Again, you can read all about their development, customer reviews, etc. in this thread.

See details on our front e92 M3 Competition BBK here
See details on our rear e92 M3 Competition BBK here

Here's what they look like:








While it took a while to get off the ground and running, quite a few BMW customers are now enjoying the wide range of benefits our systems provide.

You can read customer feedback about our Essex Designed AP Racing Competition Brake Kits on our Essex Blog.

F80 / F82 Brake Upgrades

For the F80 / F82 M3 and M4 we are considering a wide range of brake upgrades. While the factory brakes seem fairly solid, there's plenty of room for improvement if you plan to track your car. We faced a very similar situation on the new C7 Corvette Stingray, which also comes from the factory with a Brembo road brake system. You can read my analysis of that system, and where the improvements can be made. Reality is playing out just as we expected, and the brakes on those cars aren't proving themselves under heavy track abuse. As an example, here's what our BBK did for one C7 customer.

Below is what I have in mind for the M3/M4:

Complete front and rear Competition Big Brake Kit- These systems would be targeted towards owners who plan to heavily track their cars, or simply those who want a six piston/four piston solution, rather than a 4/2 setup. We'd be looking to provide a complete four wheel solution (calipers, brackets, discs, SS brake lines, etc.) at a price that is equal to or lower than the factory Carbon Ceramic upgrade option (under $8,000). They will offer some of the weight savings of the factory Carbon Ceramic brake upgrade, but with iron discs are far better suited to heavy track use vs. carbon ceramic discs. Spare parts and overall long-term running costs would be much, much lower vs. the CCB option.

We have some amazing new AP Racing calipers in the works that are going to blow people away. They will almost definitely be what we use on this platform. I can't give many details yet, but they will more or less make everything currently on the market obsolete.

What I'd like to know is…What brake products would you like for your car?
We value your feedback and want to make the products people actually want!

Also, we would like to take some measurements on a car. If you are anywhere near Charlotte, NC and are interested in helping us out, please let me know. In particular we'd like to get our hands on a car with the standard brakes. You will get a REALLY good deal on whatever brake solutions we come up with. 

Thanks, and looking forward to a good discussion!
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
ap racing, bbk, brakes, brembo, track

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:20 AM.




f80post
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST