Brakes arrived Friday and I sorted through what I got and what I need. Front rotors are pretty beat up, but I'm going to see if they can be turned.

Thanks to GTYellowJacket I've got a good parts list together for the hubs needed to fit the rear rotors.

I cleaned up the calipers and caliper carriers...seem to be in good shape.

 

I've been out of the loop for a while. Finally catching up after two weeks away.

I installed the rear shocks and one of the front coilovers today. Hope to finish up and be on the road with the KWs tomorrow.

I've got everything I need for the M5 brake install, with the exception of tires and rims. I've been reading to try to understand the options and thought I'd reach out to you guys for info. I'm not opposed to a square 19 x 8.5 setup and wondered if this can be done with 4 wheels with the same offset after the M5 rear flanges go on. Do I look at different offsets to avoid spacers?

 

Finally got my wheels and completed the M5 Brake install over the weekend. Amazing brakes!



I used Zimmerman rotors and EBC Yellowstuff pads. Stopping power is phenomenal. Pedal feel is perfect. No noticeable difference in pedal pressure.


Wheels are Forgestar F14 8 ˝ x 19 ET35 Front and 9 ˝ x 19 ET35 Rear with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3’s 245/40 and 275/35. Stock fenders. No rubbing.

As others have written the fronts are direct bolt on. The rears require M5 axle flanges and replacement wheel bearings. The M5 hub reduces the offset by 20mm.

I decided to remove the axles at the differential leaving the wheel bearings installed. I heated the flanges to 750 degrees F and they pushed right out with very little force. Took about 15 minutes to heat them up and less than 5 to push them out. Doing it this way also makes it easier to get to the wheel bearing bolts. I heated these up a little as well to melt the red Loctite.

The E61 brake backing plate doesn't fit the larger M5 rear rotor. Rather than cut the offending lip off, I used a hammer and flattened out the lip. The result is a backing plate that still completely covers the rotor.

Pressing the rear axles from the drive flange is a real pain. I tried to do this, unsuccessfully, without heat. An acetylene torch made them easy to get out once they were heated.

Costs

$93.89..... Amazon.....................Yellowstuff Front Pads
$29.76 .... Amazon.....................Yellowstuff Rear Pads
$459.98 . FCP EURO................Zimmerman Front Rotors
$414.18 . FCP EURO................Zimmerman Rear Rotors
$750.00 . Ebay............................M5 Calipers
$254.19 . BMW Bridgewater ... M5 Drive Flange Hubs 33412229120
$235.79 . BMW Bridgewater ... Wheel Bearing Rear 33412282675
$21.48 ... BMW Bridgewater ... 2 Collar Nuts (Axle Nut) 33411133785
$28.24 ... BMW Bridgewater ... 8 Torx Bolts (Wheel Bearing Bolts) 33406765432


$2,287.51 BRAKES TOTAL

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That's a good-looking setup!

Looks factory.

Sleeper!

 

Looks great, do you have a close up picture of wheels and calipers already in the car? It would be nice to see them. Congrats!

 

M5 front brake installed

 

Indeed a very nice and clean look, thanks for sharing!

 

Here's a picture of the rear.

M5 Rear Brake Installed on E61


Everything remains stock with the exception of the rear axle flange. As a bonus when you're done you have replaced the rear wheel bearings.

Wheel offset math went like this:

ET43 (stock) - 20mm (M5 hub difference) = ET23
I went with ET35 wheels, so poke was increased by 12mm (ET23 + 12 = ET35)
Change from 8" wide wheel to a 9.5" wheel = +38 mm.

With the ET35 wheel most of the added width went to the inside. Looks like I could have gone ET30 without rubbing. I went conservative because I was nervous about having to deal with rubbing.

I've spent almost as much money on the mods I've done as I paid for the car, but I'm really loving this car. The confused looks I get from drivers of fast cars that just got destroyed by an old man in a station wagon is priceless.

I got this to replace a Tahoe as a bike hauler and to put a canoe on the roof. (Honey, now that I lowered it, even you can reach the roof.) The plan from the start was to mod it, encouraged to buy a wagon by my son and lurking around this forum, I spent about 6 months looking for the right car. It came along in this low mileage, one owner car from Atlanta.

Initially, I was surprised and disappointed by the poor handling and body roll. Now the car has been transformed into a very polished, incredible handling, stopping and fast machine... and it looks sweet to boot.
With suspension, tire and wheel mods, maintenance complete and the engine mods almost complete, (I plan to add a larger FMIC.) I've just about doubled the initial cost of the car.

Brakes…………. 2400
Cosmetic…….. 750 (black grills, mats, clear bra, tow hook license plate bracket.)
Engine…….….. 2100 (JB4, OCC, DPs, Data Cable)
Coilovers ….…. 2250
Wheels/tires …. 2950
Suspension……. 1165 (complete front end refresh, M5 rear sway)
Maintenance……. 1400 (every fluid and filter, plugs, valve cover gasket and walnut blaster tools)

 

Wow, well, all that money put in the wagon shows, it looks great! I like the story behind getting the wagon.

 

Nice install ! I take it most of the e61's in the states are 4x4's? When I did my install I took Evans build as a guide and replaced the rear hub flanges for the m5 ones, but once they were out on the bench they were identical , wasn't an issue as I put new bearings in anyway

Also how do you find the yellow stuff pads? Mine are very vague until they get some heat into them then they bite better, need some that have a good bite from cold