E46 M3 & CSL Braking Upgrades
By Thorney Motorsport
Thorney Motorsport E46 M3 & CSL Braking Upgrades
It's somewhat traditional now for BMW to install inadequate brakes on their M3's. It's a tradition that started with the E36, and has been carried on to the E92! If you take a standard brake setup to the track, they will cook within 2 laps. It's the reason you won't see standard calipers / pads / discs on E46 track cars. It's important to realise however that brakes (and their relative performance) are subject to different driving styles, what may work for one person maybe overkill or not enough for another. It's best to contact us and discuss your requirements before making any decisions. Brake upgrades come under three different areas - pad upgrades, ancillary upgrades (hoses, fluid) and full system upgrades (calipers, disks etc).
Its important to realise that brakes (and their relative performance) are subject to different driving techniques. What may work for one driver maybe totally the wrong setup for another. It's best to contact us and discuss your requirements before making any descisons. Brake upgrades come under three categories - Pad Upgrades, Ancillary Upgrades and full Brake Kit (System Upgrades).
Thorney Motorsport - BMW M3 & CSL Stage 1 Braking Upgrades
Pagid Pads, Braided Hoses, DOT 5.1 Brake Fluid
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Normally a simple pad change is sufficient to make a dramatic improvement in braking performance on the road. We recommend Pagid and their range of pad composites for Track applications. Ferodo or Mintex tend to suit the fast road application. For the E46 M3 we recommend the Pagid RS421 as a good fast road pad which can still perform well on track. It is still a road pad so doesn't suffer from brake squeal when hot and doesn't need any warming up to reach full operational level.  Pagid RS421 (Blue) Brake Pads.  Goodridge Braided Brake Hoses for E46 M3.  Pagid RS29 (Yellow) Brake Pads. For track orientated work we recommend the Pagid RS29 (an optional upgrade on our Big Brake Kits). These will still work from cold, but do require regular heat cycling to avoid squeal. Changing brake fluid to a decent DOT 5.1 rating (we apply AP Racing DOT 5.1 fluid) and fitting braided hoses also improves performance with limited downsides. The M3 is a relatively heavy car (even in CSL form) and is like to suffer from varying degrees of brake fade. Changing the fluid to a decent quality Dot 5.1 or ideally a Dot 4 level will resist boiling the fluid. Installing Goodridge braided brake hoses allows less deformation in the line when applying pedal pressure, improving brake pedal feel. |
Price List:
Pagid RS421 Brake Pads, Goodridge Braided Hoses, AP Racing DOT 5.1 Fluid Fitted Front & Rear:
£580.00 |
Thorney Motorsport - BMW M3 & CSL Stage 2 Braking Upgrades
Big Brake Kits by AP Racing & Alcon Components
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Brake kits are as they sound, complete system upgrades to improve every aspect of the braking system from top to bottom. Typically the only things they don’t change (or affect) is the master cylinder and the ABS control, everything else is up rated. There are three or four decent manufacturers on brakes for the M3, Alcon (installed on the CSL Cup race cars, the E46 M3 and CSL), AP Racing, Brembo and Stoptech to name a few.  E46 M3 AP Racing Kit behind Rays TE37.  E46 M3 AP Racing Kit.  E46 M3 AP Racing Kit Front in Black. The two main ways to improve braking performance are greater dissipation of heat together with maximising the pad/disk interface area, in other words – larger disks combined with larger pads.  CSL Cup Road Brake Kit Rear by Alcon.  CSL Cup Road Brake Kit Front by Alcon.  CSL Cup Road Brake Kit Front by Alcon. At Thorney Motorsport we are advocates of two manufacturers of Big Brake Kit. For Fast Road, AP Racing. For Track, and Race applications, Alcon. We have been involved in development of both kits from the ground up and can safely say they are the best on the market for the E46 M3 & CSL.
 CSL Cup Road Brake Kit Rear by Alcon.  CSL Cup Road Brake Kit Front by Alcon.  CSL Cup Road Brake Kit Front by Alcon. |
Price List:  CSL Cup Race Brake Kit Front by Alcon, as used in the CSL Cup.  CSL Cup Race Brake Kit Front by Alcon, as used in the CSL Cup. Alcon Road Big Brake Kit Front & Rear Fitted: £3,999 |
