"These entries are part of a Special Series on the development of the M3 V8's Bespoke AP Racing Clubsport Brake Kit. 

This 2nd entry covers my unboxing and craftsmanship impressions on the specific components of front axle kit."
-Matt

The custom painted finish

What I consider a must have with brakes has nothing to do with the mechanics of brakes: it needs to look good. 

Many caliper designs are atrocious, and most manufacturers don't bother with custom finishes - instead looking to streamline production with most popular, cheaper finishes. 

We didn't skimp on this step, and offers a truly custom experience for M owners.

I personally opted for a replica of the original M3 GTS design: gloss black with the traditional M logo. 

The logo is positioned under the clear coat for clean aesthetics. The paint work is immaculate: their team uses a high temperature paint with automotive 2 component, hardened clear coat. Any dust spec is wet sanded and polished.

The AP hardware is left untouched: the fluid hard line, the pins, the clips - they're all standard AP metal finishes. 

The rotor bells.

We designed and machined a rotor bell optimize for weight and functionality.

They spec'ed 202x T6 aluminum for the bells. It's material science verbiage to describe an aluminum grade that is approximately 30% stronger than the industry standard 606X semi-billet aluminum.

 

We machine the bells with extra openings for better cooling within the center of the rotor.

The bells feature openings for the OEM wheel bearing pins which are used to center the rotor before it is tightened. The tolerance used is 0.2mm to insure easy placing, but also no slack.

The brackets & lines. 

The adapters are what integrates the caliper to the spindle. They are a crucial component in brake feel: extra weight here will change the feel. We further optimized for performance through strength and lightness by selecting 7075 T6 billet aluminum.

This material allows for further machining with the objective of reducing weight as possible while keeping the strength extremely high.

We used custom made high temperature braided brake lines with rubber adapters. They are designed for the OEM brake line holder giving you a more consistent pedal pressure under hard use.

You can see how the adapters are mounted on the caliper below. 

 

 

Up next: we chat on the AP Racing hardware selection.