My name is Earl, and I have a Stainless Steel bolt fetish =)

Earl

That's the thing that is swaying me away from them. I wouldn't really mind lubing them regularly since they're easy to quick disassemble. CaTuned is coming out with braided stainless e36 lines and I am getting them for my fronts as soon as they get in next week=)

I just looked at RockAuto and my mind was blown yet again. They have the carrier guides and bushings for dirt cheap. They even seem to have rear rebuild kits for over $30 cheaper than anywhere else. I might as well just get it all from them and see how it works out. What do you guys think?

REKIII

The lube and relube thing is what initially came to mind....although I didn;t even know they existed. I suppose it's probably what race cars use, which would make sense as everything is rebuilt every race or 2. I think you would want the rubberized ones just for the longevity, even though they are not as high performance.

Note: I almost always go for high performance over just about anything else.....but having to relube the brakes a few times a year is enough to make me turn away.

REKIII

can you find out who makes the cheaper units? They might be an off brand with lower quality standards. Sort of like when you buy from pelican, they have OEM, OEM supplier, but not branded, then offbrand 1 and usually offbrand 2. Gets cheaper each time, but, depending on the part, sometimes it's not worht the money saved on the off brand. This is especially true when looking at suspension, drivetrain, and braking components.

jc43089

Just make sure any braided line is DOT approved, some of them aren't. Brakes are no place to cut corners.

jc43089

REKIII said:

can you find out who makes the cheaper units? They might be an off brand with lower quality standards. Sort of like when you buy from pelican, they have OEM, OEM supplier, but not branded, then offbrand 1 and usually offbrand 2. Gets cheaper each time, but, depending on the part, sometimes it's not worht the money saved on the off brand. This is especially true when looking at suspension, drivetrain, and braking components.

^This, I don't like doing stuff over because of crap parts. Not saying RA is bad, just in general. I bought a cheap replacement radiator support for out Maxima because it was rusted out and not only was the fitment terrible but it was so much thinner than the OEM part that It couldn't even support the engine cradle. I had to make a reinforcement from angle iron and weld in to hold it all together.

Earl

Centric makes the parts. They are one of the brands people usually recommend for caliper rebuild kits. CaTuned lines should be DOT approved. They are a very legit shop in California=)

jc43089

I have used Centric brake parts before and they seem good. The rotors I have gotten were from Canada in fact.

RamRod E28

jc43089 said:

I have used Centric brake parts before and they seem good. The rotors I have gotten were from Canada in fact.

Canadia parts on a German what has this world come to????!!!!!

jc43089

^ on my Nissan.

Earl

It is better than using chinese parts=)

I got the piston faces sandblasted and will be getting rubber plugs tonight so that I can sandblast the caliper bodies tomorrow.

RamRod E28

its just any time you get on the brakes the car probably asks "you sure you wanna stop eh?"

Earl

I started yesterday by rounding up a rubber tipped air nozzle. I got the pistons to pop right out.

I saw how nasty the face of the pistons were so I figured they could use some cleaning up.

Only one has a good bit of corrosion.

I think it should be fine since I wasn't having any issues with it before rebuilding these.

I dropped the caliper bodies in the parts cleaner yesterday to get all of the brake fluid out of the bore. I then stopped by the hardware store last night and grabbed some rubber plugs to block off the holes for the piston and brake line while they get sandblasted/powdercoated. I should be able to get them nice and clean by the end of today=)

B C

Keep up the good work.
You are pretty much obligated to keep this car in a climate controlled garage with a de-humidifier, never drive it in rain or snow, or on days with 80% relative humidity.

Earl

Why is that? haha

Bassboy3313

Because show car!!

Earl

It won't see snow anymore, but rain or shine I will be driving it when it is done=)

Earl

I managed to finish cleaning up the calipers today.

I can't wait to see them satin black

I will be out at the shop Saturday if anyone wants to stop in. My buddy Kyle will be making it out and I am hoping to accomplish something.

Derflaminflitzer

Earl said:

I will be out at the shop Saturday if anyone wants to stop in. My buddy Kyle will be making it out and I am hoping to accomplish something.

If there is an e30 318is trunk spoiler in said shop this guy will be there with smiles. If no spoiler there will only be dirty looks....

DrLeadFoot

What company did you go with for the rebuild kit?

I need to rebuild my rear calipers soon.

Earl

Derflaminflitzer said:

If there is an e30 318is trunk spoiler in said shop this guy will be there with smiles. If no spoiler there will only be dirty looks....

It'll be there=)

DrLeadFoot said:

What company did you go with for the rebuild kit?

I need to rebuild my rear calipers soon.

I will most likely get the Centric parts. If they don't fit I will bite the bullet on the OEM kits.

WIBIMMERS

My name is Earl, and I have a Stainless Steel bolt fetish =)