[Motorsport_235i]

Hi
I just sold my 135i this weeknd and got the 235i out of the garage....i feel that the brakes on the 135i are better then my new car...
Like looks wise the 135i brakes are bigger...
Is it me or they in fact better?

[bimmerfile]

Originally Posted by Motorsport_235i

Hi
I just sold my 135i this weeknd and got the 235i out of the garage....i feel that the brakes on the 135i are better then my new car...
Like looks wise the 135i brakes are bigger...
Is it me or they in fact better?

I'm pretty sure it's you..

BTW, 235i brakes are better 'cause they let you know when it's cold outside.

[Mobil]

I know what you mean, OP...

While braking is great on our cars; its not progressive enough and you have to lean into it before you get that bite...It doesnt have the 'Sporting' feel to it...

With the size of the rotors and big calipers - you would expect it to be a bit more 'grabby'...

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by bimmerfile

I'm pretty sure it's you..

BTW, 235i brakes are better 'cause they let you know when it's cold outside.

Dat cold braking sound tho

[EEBreh]

The 1 series has 6 piston calipers and the 2 series has 4 piston calipers. However, our car goes 60-0 in something like 115 feet. The car is much better than 95% of the cars on the road...

[TheCaptain]

I know exactly what you mean OP, the 135 brakes feel much stronger than 235 brakes. Not sure what bimmerfile is talking about, but the difference is pretty significant. When you slam on the brakes in the 235 it's like "meh these brakes are pretty good" but when you hit the brakes in a 135 it's like "holy fukc this car stops fast."

Now, I'm not talking about actual stopping distances, and not sure if anyone has ever done a direct comparison with the cars on the same tires, but as far as how it FEELS, the 135 takes the cake. The 135 brakes were made by Brembo and are known as being some of the best brakes that ever came stock on a non-M bmw.

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by TheCaptain

The 135 brakes were made by Brembo and are known as being some of the best brakes that ever came stock on a non-M bmw.

The brakes on the M235i are Brembos too.

[Fugly M3]

despite the runflats...the 135i was definitely a very thrash-friendly car in stock form. I love the 2, but it's a bit squishier. Feels closer to my e92 than my e82. That's definitely not a bad thing...just different.

[pz619]

Braking distance is about the same, within a foot or two of each other. I think people are confusing initial bite with superior performance, when in reality they both perform the same action, you just require more movement of the pedal to achieve the same braking force. Which feels better to you is subjective. I prefer a more linear approach as it's easier to modulate the brakes. Other prefer immediacy of initial bite.

Tires are much more important than the disc size/initial bite when looking at stopping distances.

[xantdieselx]

OP is not wrong. BMW's were always known for two things brake feel and brake dust.

I noticed at least with my last F30 that the initial bite that BMW's were known for was gone. The brake dust was definitely less than previous BMW's but at the cost of braking feel.

My M235i is no different. Yes the car stops well but it is lacking in the initial bite department. I'm certain a set if pads and fluid change would make a world of difference but I didn't spend 50 k to change out parts.

Having owned a 135i I agree those brakes felt like you could stop the rotation of the earth with them.

[Motorsport_235i]

yeah like my 135i brakes even she they were used to almost ifnished were better then the 235i
but one thing that someone here said that caught my attention...
is that the 235i brake pedal is like longer u need to press more then the 135i cause the 135i u press a little and the sensivity was too short....so maybe its just a missperception we are having cause of that??
but the fact that the 135i is 6pistons and 235i is 4 clearly screams 135i brakes are better !!
are these M brakes the same on the M2 and M4?

[aerobod]

The number of pistons in the brake calipers is not directly linked to braking distance, more related to brake pad size and shape. The single piston calipers used in the E46 M3 and Z4M on average give shorter stopping distances, better brake feel and better fade resistance than the 6 piston calipers used in the 135i (based on almost 100,000km in both a Z4M including track usage and our current 135i).

[TheCaptain]

No, these brakes are not the same as what you find on an M car.

The previous post is correct, the single-piston M brakes are stronger than the 6-piston 135 brakes.

You can make the pistons in the brakes as strong as you want, so one super strong piston in the M brakes gets the job done. The idea behind 6-piston brakes is that they allow you to modulate the braking force more precisely.

[Motorsport_235i]

I need to go to bmw in 2weeks for oil change
Do you think i can ask them to adjust the pedal brake?
Like i want it to no go as deep as it is now...more like 135i

[jordantii]

Originally Posted by Motorsport_235i

I need to go to bmw in 2weeks for oil change
Do you think i can ask them to adjust the pedal brake?
Like i want it to no go as deep as it is now...more like 135i

In a word "no". What you are missing is the initial aggressive bite on the 135 vs the 235. This really has to do with pad material than anything else. Some bias play a part in this but not as much as the pad itself.

[mdputnam]

I've got both a 135i and a M235i. The M235i brake's seem inferior, not because of their design, but because of the computer control of the brake application and less than optimum performance brake pad material. If you want regular linear brakes I would suggest switching brake pads and recoding the brakes.

[SlickShift]

It's been a few years since I sold my 135i, but I don't remember the brakes being any better. I do notice the 235i brakes being a lot "grabbier" towards the end of the stop though. I might be the minority, but I think the bite and feel are just as good as the 135i and better than the Z4M I just got out of.

[XutvJet]

If you want your M235 brakes to have more initial bite, take the car out to a back road and do the following (i.e., rebed the brakes):

1) Accelerate up to 50mph and use very hard braking up to threshold (i.e., just when you feel ABS kicking in). DO NOT come to a full stop.

2) Continue driving and get back up to 50mph. Do the same braking process 4 to 5 times in succession.

3) Never come to a full stop while doing the above. Once you've done 5 to 6 braking events, drive around and let the brakes cool.


Once you done this, the brakes should be very responsive. I need to do this about every 6 months to keep the initial braking consistent.

[Motorsport_235i]

So you guys are telling me that bmw cannot do any adjustments for me at all?

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Motorsport_235i

So you guys are telling me that bmw cannot do any adjustments for me at all?

Nope. If you want better pedal feel or pad bite, you'll need to go with the aftermarket parts. The M235 brakes just as well, if not better with the 135. Feel is one thing. Performance numbers are another.

[Motorsport_235i]

There is no way that 235 has better braking stats then 135i brakes....i feel its not even close and im shocked that a 50k car has worse break then an older model

[SlickShift]

Originally Posted by Motorsport_235i

There is no way that 235 has better braking stats then 135i brakes....i feel its not even close and im shocked that a 50k car has worse break then an older model

According to C&D testing, the M235i stops marginally shorter.

70-0 mph
135i: 157 feet
M235i: 153 feet

Granted, the Michelin PSS on the M235i are probably better tires than the Bridgestones on the 135i.

Source:
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...-tested-review
http://media.caranddriver.com/files/2008-bmw-135i.pdf