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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

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john-e89
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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by john-e89 » Fri Mar 18, 2016 8:52 pm

nfbr wrote:Maybe one for the future though John :)
Trouble is, we kind of have to put the VAG development at the forefront of the business.
Yes of course, needs must.

I really like well made kits using an existing caliper so best of luck, it looks a great quality kit.
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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by nfbr » Fri Mar 18, 2016 9:32 pm

Feel free to have a looksie on the Facebook page!
You'll see some of the stuff we've done on the Vag range to give you an idea of what we're about :)
VagBremTechnic - Facebook

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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by Worcester_spoon » Fri Mar 18, 2016 11:11 pm

nfbr wrote:Next up is the E46/E85/E86 Non-M models
Where do I sign up!!! :driving:

Can't wait to hear on this development. Assuming pre and post facelift?
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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by nfbr » Fri Mar 18, 2016 11:48 pm

Worcester_spoon wrote:
nfbr wrote:Next up is the E46/E85/E86 Non-M models
Where do I sign up!!! :driving:

Can't wait to hear on this development. Assuming pre and post facelift?
Front hubs and Brake line setup is the same on all Non-M Z4's, so it will be included. No ideas just yet on a timescale though.

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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by Worcester_spoon » Fri Mar 18, 2016 11:54 pm

nfbr wrote:Front hubs and Brake line setup is the same on all Non-M Z4's, so it will be included. No ideas just yet on a timescale though.
I can wait... :thumbsup:
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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by MrPT » Sun Apr 24, 2016 5:14 pm

Anybody take the plunge yet? Those DB9 callipers seem to come up quite often on eBay for not a lot of money, although when you factor in the price of a full refurb, the VagBremTechnic option seems tempting!

Shame there's no 2/4 pot rear option. I guess the balance would be ok with the stocks rears, but they'll look crap in comparison to the Brembos and you won't be able to hot-swap the pads for track days.
2008 Z4MC: heavy wheels | crap suspension | skittish rear end | wobbly engine | not enough induction noise | underwhelming turn in | inconsistent braking | lardy battery | chubby steering wheel
2006 Z4 2.5si: gone

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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by nfbr » Sun Apr 24, 2016 5:18 pm

From memory we've sold 3 sets now for Customers with E46 M3's as well as the set on my colleagues car that we did the development work on.

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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by MrPT » Sun Apr 24, 2016 5:23 pm

nfbr wrote:From memory we've sold 3 sets now for Customers with E46 M3's as well as the set on my colleagues car that we did the development work on.
Cool. Shame you're a 7 hr round trip from me otherwise I'd happily donate the car for a test fitting!
2008 Z4MC: heavy wheels | crap suspension | skittish rear end | wobbly engine | not enough induction noise | underwhelming turn in | inconsistent braking | lardy battery | chubby steering wheel
2006 Z4 2.5si: gone

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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by GuidoK » Sun Apr 24, 2016 5:46 pm

nfbr wrote: With regards the BMW Performance kits, these are great if sticking to the smaller size disc, but the caliper is used as standard to work with a 25mm thick disc, so future adaptability to a large diameter disc can be limited.
26mm. They are afaik desinged for 26mm and afaik also work with 30mm (e92 335i/m3 disc thickness). And of course with the 28mm z4m disc.
I dont know what the max thickness is though. But the caliper is narrower than for instance a brembo GT caliper I think.

(There is also a minimum thickness.... you dont want pistons falling out when your pads&discs start to wear :lol: )

Don't forget if you fit a BBK with more/stronger bite to fit a more aggressive pad in the rear also to retain the brake bias and get the maximum braking performance.
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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by MrPT » Tue Jun 20, 2017 11:27 pm

Here are some pics from my prep/install - apologies for those on slow connections! Many thanks to Al (nfbr) from Awesome GTI and Mike from VagBremTechnic for answering all my questions. :)

Went for the adaptors, HEL lines, new discs, calipers in red and Pagid pads. I guess my main motivation for the purchase was because I wasn't very happy with the stock pedal feel (having recently driven's a friend's 997 in anger and been fairly shocked at the difference), but looks were certainly a factor too, as was the chance to try these on a Z4M for the first time.

I plan to upgrade the rears as well in the future so didn't want to spend a lot of money on a refurb, especially since the calipers are factory-boxed items from Aston Marton. This meant removing the Aston logo and replacing it with a Brembo one (eBay - 90mm). I did this by wet-and-dry sanding the black lettering off, sanding the entire front face to an edge, then applying the Brembo decals and a few layers of VHT clear coat.

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The brackets and spacers are just gorgeous, to be honest. So well engineered - shame that they are going to be hidden! Everything came labelled up as well, although you'd have to try quite hard to fit things wrongly.

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I tried pretty much everything in the book to get the seized allen bolts out of the existing discs, but unfortunately I have some numpty's past enthusiasm to thank for this mess:

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:roll:

I took the opportunity to tidy up the dust guard and hub before fitting the brackets. To clear the adaptors you also need to bend the very lowest part of the guard back through 90 degrees, which is easy to do by hand. I left the old calipers hanging by a bungie cord until it was time to switch them over.

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Some pics of the finished install:

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Of course, by this point the rears were starting to look pretty crap, so I spruced them up too. Just a quick job, done on the car with lots of masking tape:

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So that was it and off I went for a 1000 mile shake down in the direction of Le Mans! :driving:

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With the exception of a serious moment of self doubt during the bleeding process, everything went smoothly - no issues with the kit itself. It is early days still, but first impressions are that the pedal travel is a little longer, with a more progressive onset of braking force along its length, and overall stopping power is at least as good as stock (which is excellent, in my opinion). :)
Last edited by MrPT on Tue Dec 31, 2019 11:49 am, edited 2 times in total.
2008 Z4MC: heavy wheels | crap suspension | skittish rear end | wobbly engine | not enough induction noise | underwhelming turn in | inconsistent braking | lardy battery | chubby steering wheel
2006 Z4 2.5si: gone

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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by D4dawg » Tue Jun 20, 2017 11:37 pm

Tres sexy and replied on other post u made

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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by Anakin » Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:21 am

..
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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by hopz121 » Wed Jun 21, 2017 7:56 am

Interesting, I will be keeping an eye on this kit for my M3.

What pads did you choose buddy?
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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by nfbr » Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:53 am

Nice work! You've done a fantastic job of re-finishing them :)

Glad you're happy with the kit, Myself and Mike from Vagbremtechnic spent many evenings doing the calculations, measurements and 3d Drawings for these. Was a good fun project to be involved with.

Also interested to know what pad choice you went for!

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VagBremTechnic Big Brake Kit for E85/E86 Z4 'M' models

Post by D4dawg » Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:56 am

Think said pagid

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