Derbo's ZHP

[BCS_ZHP]

Yeah, had one on our '00 323ci so wouldn't fit the ZHPs. And I think you're correct it was only a 2 piece exhaust, the 3 piece one was the Magnaflow on my son's car. Anyway, I'm suspecting one pf those little UPS stores you see in strip shopping centers could box & pack it in a secure & protected way. Let me know.

[derbo]

Yeah, had one on our '00 323ci so wouldn't fit the ZHPs. And I think you're correct it was only a 2 piece exhaust, the 3 piece one was the Magnaflow on my son's car. Anyway, I'm suspecting one pf those little UPS stores you see in strip shopping centers could box & pack it in a secure & protected way. Let me know.

Bruce, You will have to wait a little longer (few days). I may not be able to get a quote till next week, but for sure you are first on the list. :P I said I would sell it to you when I was planning to get rid of the exhaust. Whats another few days to that 1.5 year wait..LOL..

[derbo]

I ended up installing the exhaust tonight after work. The exhaust I bought is in a little rough shape. I will have to clean the tips and see if I can make it pretty again. No test drive yet. Tomorrow I will take it to work.


Bruce,

Luckily my parents have recently bought a sofa and dryer. I will see if I can makeshift a box tomorrow night. I'll get the weight and then get a quote from UPS or FedEx.

I'll be sure to take some pictures tomorrow for you.

[derbo]

Recently I've had the topic of focusing on my front brakes.


Problem:
135i calipers have a known heat problem. It is accelerated when used at the track with aftermarket pads that generate more heat. The ceramic piston cap will crack and will need replacement.

My calipers see alot of track time with aftermarket pads and I foresee this problem arising soon. I need to find a good solution for when it does happen.


Solutions:

I really see about 3 reasonable solutions.


1st solution is to go back to 330i brakes. I sold my old calipers to a local E46 owner and I would need to buy the whole front setup. This solution seems a little silly since I would need new track pads again for the car. It might not make sense anymore.

2nd solution is to rebuild the pistons on the 135i. This one is the more complicated one. Initially like Chad, I saw there was a set of Stoptech aluminum pistons that could replace the OEM pistons. Now there is a new set of Stainless Steel pistons from RacingBrake.com that see potential. The battle between SS and AL begins. The SS pistons seem reasonable as they are similar in price but heat transfer is slower in the SS than Aluminum. This can be beneficial as the 135i caliper already has a heat problem. I need to look into this more with the 135i guys and see if they have any insight on this portion.

3rd Solution is to get Stoptech 332mm Brake kit to replace the 135i and be done with it.
This one is a toughie as the brakes are designed for the E46 and brake bias may not be affected as much. The kit itself barely fits my 17" wheels and I might have to use a 5mm spacer to run them. Replacement rotor rings are expensive as well.



I think the 2nd solution with the stainless steel pistons might be the best choice for me to minimize cost in the long run as well. Since I'm not experiencing brake fade with the current setup, I think I just need to setup the pistons so it can take the abuse over and over again. Hopefully I can research and see if 1ers received good results with the RacingBrake SS pistons.

Any opinions would be appreciated

[Vas]

Are the stoptechs a two piece rotor? If they are I would go with that.

[johnrando]

No brake expertise to offer but interesting in hearing how/what you decide.

[derbo]

Are the stoptechs a two piece rotor? If they are I would go with that.

The stoptechs are indeed a true two rotor setup.

The bmw performance rotors are the semi-floating rotors.


The main reason I am having trouble wanting to go to Stoptech.
-Barely fits my current track rims.
-I don't want to run spacers, which means I need new rims which will be another item to replace.
-Currently I have a setup where I swap rotors and pads for street duty and have a seperate set for track duty.
-Replacement rotors can be expensive. From what I've seen, they are around $250-300 each side. This can be difficult for me to want to do the same setup as I had with the bmw performance brakes.
-more expensive than the BMW brakes I have right now.

Course the benefits of Stoptech:
-The rotor is larger and thicker for better heat dissipation.
-Ease of changing pads without removing the caliper
-A system that was designed for the E46.


This makes it hard to say yes to the Stoptech but it doesn't rule it out either...

[derbo]

[derbo]

Initial Impressions:

Surprisingly I expected it to be louder judging by how many people said it was loud. IMO its not much more louder than the HKS exhaust in the interior.

However it is definitely louder on the outside and the exhaust note is more M3 like.

[johnrando]