Brass brake bushings?

[632 Regal]

Anyone know anything about these? Benefits? Drawbacks?
http://www.koperformance.com/BMW/brakes/oem_misc/oem_solid_brass_brake_bushing.htm

[Ross]

Hey! Read the ad man ,it says "Intensifies the excitement of owning a BMW"

[BigKriss]

I know Martin in bellevue has them on his front e31 850 single piston brakes. I'm getting some because I'm rebuilding my brakes.

[Alexlind123]

WHo doesnt want to intensify their dirving experience? Although i suppose a dual blowout at 70mph would be pretty intense too...

[winfred]

i read that to mean noisy as ****, i hardly ever need to screw with the standard rubbers, usually the only time they need looking at it's because some ass screwed them up, i do several dozen brake jobs a year and sell many calipers from the yard


Hey! Read the ad man ,it says "Intensifies the excitement of owning a BMW"

[BillionPa]

I have them, they are in my new calipers but not im my car yet.

will report on their effectiveness

[Alexlind123]

Heres my thought: BMW designed them the way they are for a reason, and its highly unlikely they did it to save money (dont see too many cost cutting features on these cars). Something rubber rather than metal is probably meant to transmit less vibration. Sounds like something BigKriss would like (ie, race car setup).

[jjw]

I have those installed in both front and rear. Find them to be able to quiet down my brake and offer less brake chatter. And not sure if it is just me or not, the brake actually grab a little better and sooner than with rubber bushings.

[Martin in Bellevue]

Agreed, they hold the caliper firmer in plane to the rotor. The heavy 850 single pot front calipers wore the pads significantly more at the inner radius area, without the brass bushings. They stopped the pad squeal at the rear.
I think the rubber pieces can only take so much heat with the heavier calipers; they were very soft on 1 side.

[632 Regal]

so replacing the stock rubber ones would probably be an idea at my mileage...ill check out the part numbers and add them to the growing list.


Agreed, they hold the caliper firmer in plane to the rotor. The heavy 850 single pot front calipers wore the pads significantly more at the inner radius area, without the brass bushings. They stopped the pad squeal at the rear.
I think the rubber pieces can only take so much heat with the heavier calipers; they were very soft on 1 side.

[BillionPa]

if you havent replaced them, they are probably either jelly or rock solid, and the guide pin doesnt want to move.

[632 Regal]

actually seems kinda spongy in the front, the pins slide but seems sloppy. added to the list #34111157038 need 8 of em.


if you havent replaced them, they are probably either jelly or rock solid, and the guide pin doesnt want to move.

[BigKriss]

If the ass didn't screw the standard guides and bushes would you still replace them if they are old. You can easily see wear on the guides, but what about the bush - how do you inspect that for wear / damage?


i read that to mean noisy as ****, i hardly ever need to screw with the standard rubbers, usually the only time they need looking at it's because some ass screwed them up, i do several dozen brake jobs a year and sell many calipers from the yard

[winfred]

if the pins no longer fit snugly in the rubber they need replacment, the front brakes on my truck are nearly identical (a couple of the worn pins i replaced with pins out of a bmw) and those were so worn out you could probably throw the pins in from across the room, new rubbers are cheep but somewhat a pain in the ass to poke in


If the ass didn't screw the standard guides and bushes would you still replace them if they are old. You can easily see wear on the guides, but what about the bush - how do you inspect that for wear / damage?

[rizal]

actually seems kinda spongy in the front, the pins slide but seems sloppy. added to the list #34111157038 need 8 of em.

I have them on the front of my 94 525iT with 133K miles. I like them a lot, and I was very skeptical when I got them. The rubber bushings were really soft and I could very easily move the calipers around on them...not well located. I replaced the thrust arms at the same time as I had a recurrence of the familar shudders under braking 5-65 mph. This is the second time I've replaced the arms, rotors, pads, etc. but the first time I've used metal caliper bushings. I now am very happy to report that I have zero braking shudder for the first time ever. I also notice the brakes bite very well and progressively, and are easily modulated, a noticeable improvement. I don't do dozens of brake jobs a year, am not a professional mechanic, etc., so can only report my experience but I am very satisfied with them. Who knows if just putting fresh rubber bushings in there would've done the same? If I had the time and patience, I'd have done that first due to cost, then progressed to the metal ones if unsuccessful.

[BillionPa]

the rubber ones let the caliper flex, putting more pressure on one side of the pad.


the brass ones dont, putting even pressure over the pad surface.

i think the best bushing would be a strong metal with thin rubber on the surface against the caliper.

that would offer a bit of flex and vibration damping with superior guide pin holding.

also having the guide pin coated in tungsten disulfide and the metal inserts interior surface coated in zirconium nitride would provide extended durability and lubricity under constant heavy braking, like racing applications.

hopefully someone with manufacturing capability would read this and make em, because i really want some!

[BigKriss]

you can buy them from BMA for usd$52 per set.

[genphreak]

you can buy them from BMA for usd$52 per set.Hey Kriss, by set do you mean a pair, enough for one caliper, two or all four?

[632 Regal]

usually a set of four, enough for either the front or real calipers.

Hey Kriss, by set do you mean a pair, enough for one caliper, two or all four?

[BigKriss]

A set is a pair - yeah for 2 calipers, 4 guides and bushes.


Hey Kriss, by set do you mean a pair, enough for one caliper, two or all four?

[genphreak]

A set is a pair - yeah for 2 calipers, 4 guides and bushes.Thanks mate, so we need 2 sets, 104USD. ouch. But necessary I guess.

You know this would be an ideal group buy... $104 is a lot for a set of bushings, surely a group buy could help to avoid the (not inconsiderable) markup wherever it is being made...

[sKilled]

I'm in.

[632 Regal]

anyone with a lathe should be able to easily make these, as long as the stock pins arent worn they could be used with the retrofit bushings. Probably cost $2.00 - $5.00 each to make after setup.

Send me one and I know a guy that gets into intricate little things like this.


Thanks mate, so we need 2 sets, 104USD. ouch. But necessary I guess.

You know this would be an ideal group buy... $104 is a lot for a set of bushings, surely a group buy could help to avoid the (not inconsiderable) markup wherever it is being made...

[Felixdacat]

Brass would probably dissipate heat better, but since it is a softer metal, wouldn't it cause mechanical failure in future?

[BillionPa]

the guide pins for the brass bushings arent the same as the normal ones.


they have ridges to hold grease or something on them.

they feel much more expensive and precision machined than the stock ones do.

also there is no cap to keep dust and stuff out of them, anyone wanna mould some rubber caps for the back?

[genphreak]

I'm in. Sweet! OK, what we really need is someone in the US that can send em all out to everyone that needs em. Perhaps someone stateside as wonderfully kind and conscientious as Jeff (regal632) would be kind enough to do the honours? Perhaps if all the participants were to donate $5 to your 'fix ma frikkin shimmy fund' it'd cover the hassle of boxing em all up for us? This would be great :) Nick

It'd be great if we could do this. What else could be in the group buy?
Caliper rebuild kits
Piston rebuild kits
Ceramic pads
Subframe mounts
Dogbones
sway bar links
Control arms
Tie rods
shock mounts
spring pads
hmm.. what else?


Gale's banjo bolts for one- bruno's plates/Delrin inserts of course, a lot of us need them- and hmmm... what else is needed?

[genphreak]

the guide pins for the brass bushings arent the same as the normal ones. they have ridges to hold grease or something on them. they feel much more expensive and precision machined than the stock ones do. also there is no cap to keep dust and stuff out of them, anyone wanna mould some rubber caps for the back?Do they need it? Is there no seal at all? Brake dust+extreme heat would be (very) bad for brass. Though is the original is bubber, maybe its not so hot there.. (but farout, its is on the caliper- it must be pretty hot...