OK, but is the E46 328 caliper an upgrade over the stock ti caliper? The reason I ask is in the notes of the very first post in this thread it states "The thickness of the rotor is the same for the 286mm and the 300mm as well as the breaking surface." So that makes it sound to me that by simply moving to a slightly larger rotor, I'm not gaining anything.

Trust me, if I can upgrade the front brakes and not spend $1,800 by going to a big brake kit, I'm all for it!

The calipers on the E36 325/328 are the same on the calipers on the E46 325/328 so there is no upgrade to the caliper itself. That does not mean the 300mm upgrade is not an upgrade... in the most basic terms BMW would not have bothered if it was not an improvement. To be a little more technical you are increasing the size of the friction surface, this allows for better cooling which limits brake fade.

That said, the 300mm brake upgrade is the cheapest possible upgrade you can do for your 286mm brakes so you will not find much difference, especially in daily driving.

I have been through 3 brake upgrades on my E46 wagon and each one cost more than the last but each one worked far better than the last. I'm currently running a Porsche/Brembo set up and it is amazing. I will be running the same set up on my S50ti.

Thank you. I appreciate the explanation.

Sorry guys if I missed the info on this thread relating to upgrading the REAR calipers to E36 M3 units. From what I read and understand, besides upgrading the master (since I'm doing front and rear upgrade), in order to install the rears, I would need Z3 M coupe or roadster trailing arms. Are there any other parts needed to complete the swap to E36 M3 units in the REAR? Are there any other options possible to complete this swap besides the use of the Z3 M trailing arms? I read somewhere that E30 trailing arms can be used with Z3 hubs, is this true?
Thank you all for your help, and patience with us noobs!

just did my front brakes on my 318ti today. it helps to pay attention to the fact that you have to remove the guide pins to get it all back together. 30 min job became a 3 hour job real quick until i washed my hands, opened up the old laptop and reread the directions. ohhh. that.

You should not need to remove the guide pins... just make sure you lube them when you have them apart.

Regardless, glad you finished the job!

now i just realized what you are getting at. but i assume then that the floating part of the caliper gets lowered down with the guid pins on and then lowered down on top of the pads that are already in place?

When I change brake pads:

1) Remove the caliper and carrier
2) Remove the old pads
3) Separate the caliper from the carrier
4) Compress the caliper piston all the way (you will need to have the brake fluid cap off for this part)
5) Clean the carrier where the ears on the pads reside
6) Lube the guide pins
7) Put the carrier back on the caliper
8) Install the inside pad that clips into the caliper piston
9) Install the outside pad
10) Slide over the rotor and bolt back on
11) Install the spring clip
12) Reinstall the brake fluid cap (when I'm done changing all the pads I'm going to change)

originally i tried to follow exactly what you have listed (also i hope this is where we discuss this and i am not cluttering this thread) but with the piston side pad in i couldn't get the other pad to go in. it was about a full mm too big. perhaps the aftermarket pads i got were slightly too big? the only way to get it all to fit was to take the pins off, drop the pads in, drop the carrier on, install pins, slide over rotor. it was killing me.

but as a side note, i love driving this car so much, its even more fun than the mg i used to have when i was in high school. best $1000 i ever spent.

Do you have solid rotors? It has been a few years since I have swapped pads on those calipers maybe they have less room to work?

All that matters is that it's done. Enjoy!

What calipers to use for rear vented rotor upgrade?
 

I would like to upgrade the rear brakes on a 318ti, and have a good sense as to which rotors will work for different wheel sizes. However, the comprehensive brake thread does not mention which are the correct calipers to use for the rear brake upgrades. Ireland Engineering sells a rear upgrade for the rear brakes with the 294x19mm rotors (http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/E36-.../E36bbk1R.html), but of course they don't mention which calipers they use. I would like build my own kit, so I can source better hardware at a better price. If anyone has the correct info for the proper calipers to use for the rear brake upgrades, would please post it? Thanks

That is almost certainly a type-o in IE's description. No one rear brake upgrade will fit the ti and a standard E36. Call them to verify before ordering.

Thanks for getting back to me. I am pretty sure the Ireland kits are just categorized generically under the e36 label and the kits are car specific. However, the reason I ask what calipers to use, is because I have already given IE too much of my money with my 2002 project. Plus,
I want better than stock rotors. So if you or anyone does know which are the correct calipers to use, please let me know. Thanks

If I wanted to upgrade my front brakes (286mm non-vented rotor), would using a 286mm vented rotor work with the stock calipers? The performance of the brakes has been good, but fading can be an issue at times.

You will need the corresponding calipers and carriers. Your stock calipers and carriers will not work with vented rotors.