BREMBO Big Brake Kit for the E46 M3

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Big Brake Kit for the E46 M3 - 2/27/2002

I decided to upgrade the front brakes to the Brembo setup to prepare for some more intense track / driving events. It was pretty clear from my first driving event at Road Atlanta what my first major upgrade would be.... Brembos!

Some Notes about the install:

The dust shields need to be slightly modified to accommodate the larger calipers. I had no problems with a simple hacksaw shaving off about an inch around where the caliper was located (on both top and bottom).

The only extra piece that could be added to this kit is (2) 8mm washers to hold the rotor in place when the caliper is off. I put one of the original hex nuts back into place, but the rotor can still be pulled off.

The install was a piece of cake. It took my brother and I just under 3 hours for both sides. I'm sure we could have done it quicker, if we hadn't been snapping pics during the process. This is easily a one man job, except for power bleeding the brakes.

Picture of the packaged product. The kit is packed in two separate boxes (left & right). Brembo is high quality, right down to the shipping packages.
Pictures of the Brake Calipers. Its a 4 Piston setup along with stainless steel brake lines.

The factory setup...
The OEM Rotors are fairly new (less than 1000 miles). The Calipers and pads are original with about 18K miles. The pads have plenty of wear left in them.
Side by Side Comparison from the Front
Side By Side Comparison from the back.
Stacked on top of each other... Hmmm.... Bigger is better.
New Rotors & Caliper installed. Also note the 15mm wheel spacer. Its definitely needed for the stock 18" rims.

All Finished... Time to seed in the brakes... and wear off the gold plating.