Euro E38 4-pots on an E34?

[Erwin8r]

Anyone ever hear of adapters made to fit the four-pot E38 calieprs onto our cars? Or does anyone know who makes radial caliper mount adapters to fit Brembo radials onto our E34s? TIA!~

[Brandon J]

Not that I know of. 4 pots? Tell me more. I do know that the 750i came with 2 piston floating calipers with I believe 332mm rotors. What some shops/people have done is use the 2 piston C5 corvette front calipers on the 332mm rotor fo the 750i with radial adapters. They weren't too popular for good reason as the fr/rr balance was off. Using the C4 rear calipers gives too much rear bias as on some kits and the best upgrade would be to use the e34 540i/M5 rear calipers with 40mm pistons (other e34s use 38mm pistons) and relocate them farther out. The only problem is that the e38 740 and e31s use solid instead of vented rear rotors; those would be very good for the rotor diameter. I have looked extensively into this subject years ago. All my information is on my computer at home and I am at work so I can go on about the information later.

[Erwin8r]

Thanks, Brandon! I was thinking that we could find a good, alternative "outside the norm." Maybe Porsche Bremobs with adapters? The radial adapters could be made to accomadate, for example, the M5 rotors front and rear (if in fact the rear calipers were made for vented rotors), etc... Any idea who makes reasonably priced adapters? I talked to a shop back east, but they quoted $500 for a set (a bit steep). I might talk to a local tuning shop (D2, etc.) to see if they have ideas for a solution...

[Scott H]

you ran across to get the C5 calipers to fit....haha....

Thanks, Brandon! I was thinking that we could find a good, alternative "outside the norm." Maybe Porsche Bremobs with adapters? The radial adapters could be made to accomadate, for example, the M5 rotors front and rear (if in fact the rear calipers were made for vented rotors), etc... Any idea who makes reasonably priced adapters? I talked to a shop back east, but they quoted $500 for a set (a bit steep). I might talk to a local tuning shop (D2, etc.) to see if they have ideas for a solution...

[Brandon J]

you ran across to get the C5 calipers to fit....haha....

I'll try to dig up a picture when I get home. Seriously though, nothing beats a good tuned brake set that was tuned for our application or a vehicle very similar. Mov'it did the porsche brake calipers and used an adapter, but it wasn't as good as the brembo kits made for our BMW applications. The e34 M5 euro with 345mm fronts and 328mm rears is the best brake upgrade that cost some $$$ and costs an arm and a leg for replacement rotors and pads. However I would get this upgrade in a heartbeat.

Now if you are searching for better stopping capabilities, it should go like this:

Rear: e34M5/540i rear calipers(and carriers, etc.), rotors. Calipers have a bigger piston at 40mm vs regular e34 38mm.
Front: M5 or e31 calipers and rotors. M5 (315mm) uses same pad as other e34s and as e36 M3 so many pad choices out there. e31 has a larger rotor (324mm). All front single piston calipers from base e34 to e39 M5 have 60mm pistons. The e31 single piston uses 60mm piston too. They gain better stopping from larger scrub radius, or larger diameter and thicker venting for better cooling. e31 has less pad choices.

If caliper changes cost too much and don't worry about dust too much, go for the Axxis Ultimates all around. They are the bast street pad I have used and others have also confirmed. Less duse than stock, dust is more grey, but still mroe dust than "dustless" pads. They stop amazing in all temperatures.

[Erwin8r]

I'll try to dig up a picture when I get home. Seriously though, nothing beats a good tuned brake set that was tuned for our application or a vehicle very similar. Mov'it did the porsche brake calipers and used an adapter, but it wasn't as good as the brembo kits made for our BMW applications. The e34 M5 euro with 345mm fronts and 328mm rears is the best brake upgrade that cost some $$$ and costs an arm and a leg for replacement rotors and pads. However I would get this upgrade in a heartbeat.

Now if you are searching for better stopping capabilities, it should go like this:

Rear: e34M5/540i rear calipers(and carriers, etc.), rotors. Calipers have a bigger piston at 40mm vs regular e34 38mm.
Front: M5 or e31 calipers and rotors. M5 (315mm) uses same pad as other e34s and as e36 M3 so many pad choices out there. e31 has a larger rotor (324mm). All front single piston calipers from base e34 to e39 M5 have 60mm pistons. The e31 single piston uses 60mm piston too. They gain better stopping from larger scrub radius, or larger diameter and thicker venting for better cooling. e31 has less pad choices.

If caliper changes cost too much and don't worry about dust too much, go for the Axxis Ultimates all around. They are the bast street pad I have used and others have also confirmed. Less duse than stock, dust is more grey, but still mroe dust than "dustless" pads. They stop amazing in all temperatures.

Great info! I don't caer about dust AT ALL-I wash my car regularly anyway, and would not want to compromise performance for cleanliness... having a 540, the brakes are certainly decent, but the "truth" is that I really want some 4-piston calipers (okay, I'll admit, I really like the way they look.... ). I've been trying to source e31 4-pots with very little success... so I thought that the E38 (or Porsche route...) would be the next logical step. I am also thinking about dishing out the $1500 for the Brembo upgrade, but boy would it feel better to find a good cross-fit solution!

[Scott H]

or many other combinations (E34 M5 n'ring brakes, etc), the Brembo aftermarket package starts to look much easier. We worked on this (Brandon and I) for months (Brandon did most of the research on the brakes) and came to that conclusion.

Great info! I don't caer about dust AT ALL-I wash my car regularly anyway, and would not want to compromise performance for cleanliness... having a 540, the brakes are certainly decent, but the "truth" is that I really want some 4-piston calipers (okay, I'll admit, I really like the way they look.... ). I've been trying to source e31 4-pots with very little success... so I thought that the E38 (or Porsche route...) would be the next logical step. I am also thinking about dishing out the $1500 for the Brembo upgrade, but boy would it feel better to find a good cross-fit solution!

[Erwin8r]

or many other combinations (E34 M5 n'ring brakes, etc), the Brembo aftermarket package starts to look much easier. We worked on this (Brandon and I) for months (Brandon did most of the research on the brakes) and came to that conclusion.

Update: Steve Haygood (www.stevehaygood.com) can source the E31 Brembos, Brand New, for $800 a pair... I'm going for it! Thinking Zimmerman rotors, Mintex pads... Thoughts, ideas?

[Scott H]

group buy together for those calipers new from Germany for about that price....good deal!

I'd stick with stock rotors or even frozen rotors. What are the pad choices available for that caliper? Hawk HPS? Axxis Ultimates?

Update: Steve Haygood (www.stevehaygood.com) can source the E31 Brembos, Brand New, for $800 a pair... I'm going for it! Thinking Zimmerman rotors, Mintex pads... Thoughts, ideas?

[Erwin8r]

group buy together for those calipers new from Germany for about that price....good deal!

I'd stick with stock rotors or even frozen rotors. What are the pad choices available for that caliper? Hawk HPS? Axxis Ultimates?

What would be a good set? I've only tried Pagids and Mintex on all of my Bimmers... The pad choices are pretty much wide open.