BBK Maintenance: Best Practices

JMK007 · 06-10-2013, 10:00 AM

It seems like the E90 M3 crowd has a lot of experience with BBKs. So, I thought I would start this thread on the best practices for maintaining a BBK.

Like many of you, I have purchased a BBK (Stop Tech ST-60 front, ST-40 rear, in black) for moderate track usage and want to maintain them as much as possible. What are the Best Practices / Dos and Don'ts for maintaining BBKs year round? For those who drive their cars with BBKs in northern climates (with occasional salty roads), what do you recommend in terms of frequency and manner of cleaning? Even in warm weather climates, how do you monitor and maintain your calipers to preserve appearance and functionality?

Thank you in advance for your advice...

jacobe92 · 06-10-2013, 08:47 PM

Don't put your hand brake on after a track session for your rotors are still very hot.

JMK007 · 06-11-2013, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacobe92

Don't put your hand brake on after a track session for your rotors are still very hot.

Yes - learned that one years ago. I'm really looking for information specific to maintaining the calipers.

GewoW · 06-11-2013, 03:12 PM

I've run the BBK (AP) thru 2 Montreal winters...no issues. Look great

JMK007 · 06-11-2013, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GewoW

I've run the BBK (AP) thru 2 Montreal winters...no issues. Look great

Did you do anything special to keep them looking good and working properly? I've heard only use soap and water; no wheel cleaners.

GewoW · 06-11-2013, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMK007

Did you do anything special to keep them looking good and working properly? I've heard only use soap and water; no wheel cleaners.

nothing. just some brake cleaner whenever bleeding the brakes to remove that. otherwise nothing other than car washes

Alan292 · 06-11-2013, 07:39 PM

dont use p21s wheel cleaner on stoptechs. at least on mine, they totally ate the color coating

not sure if they changed how they apply color to the calipers but better safe than sorry!

BimmerRob08 · 06-12-2013, 01:19 AM

I used to use the regular off-the-shelf wheel cleaners and after a short amount of time plus the South West hard water, those cleaners such as Formula1 and Maguire's that have acidic agents in them, completely destroyed my paint on the APracing BBK I have. It didn't really stain the coating, it pretty much etched it and looked like hard water stains. I tried everything to clean them. Had to get the calipers and hats repainted. Then later repainted the front calipers myself due to brake fluid damage. Now they look nice. I use Sonax wheel cleaner only with no issues.

Keep them clean OP, and also once in a while you might need to run some hard racing pads and do some cold hard braking and that will clean off any brake pad transferred material stuck on the rotor face which can produce some vibrations. Other than that, they should be pretty maintenance free for the most part.

JMK007 · 06-12-2013, 08:32 PM

Thanks for all the recommendations. Just got the Stop Techs installed today. I will continue to check in on this thread for any further advice...

HoodR$CH · 06-19-2013, 04:44 AM

Do not use anything but soap and water to clean your calipers/rotor hats!!!!! The stopTech rotor hats will stain much easier then the brembo hats.

HP Autosport · 06-19-2013, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMK007

It seems like the E90 M3 crowd has a lot of experience with BBKs. So, I thought I would start this thread on the best practices for maintaining a BBK.

Like many of you, I have purchased a BBK (Stop Tech ST-60 front, ST-40 rear, in black) for moderate track usage and want to maintain them as much as possible. What are the Best Practices / Dos and Don'ts for maintaining BBKs year round? For those who drive their cars with BBKs in northern climates (with occasional salty roads), what do you recommend in terms of frequency and manner of cleaning? Even in warm weather climates, how do you monitor and maintain your calipers to preserve appearance and functionality?

Thank you in advance for your advice...

Proper warm up and cool down during track events.

Flush or change the brake fluid often to preserve internal seals and o-rings.

Use polymer or wax on the calipers after each track event will preserve the finish.

JMK007 · 06-19-2013, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HP Autowerks

Proper warm up and cool down during track events.

Flush or change the brake fluid often to preserve internal seals and o-rings.

Use polymer or wax on the calipers after each track event will preserve the finish.

Regarding wax on the calipers after each track event, are you talking about regular car wax (ie., Mothers, Meguiars)? I presume you wait until the calipers are fully cooled. Do you apply it any differently than you would normally when waxing your car? Thanks in advance...

HP Autosport · 06-20-2013, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMK007

Regarding wax on the calipers after each track event, are you talking about regular car wax (ie., Mothers, Meguiars)? I presume you wait until the calipers are fully cooled. Do you apply it any differently than you would normally when waxing your car? Thanks in advance...

Yes, allow the calipers to fully cool before you wash them, then apply wax...I like Rejex over wax. Google it.

The application of wax or polymer is no different than any other painted surface.

bigjae1976 · 06-23-2013, 03:58 PM

People wax their brake calipers? I just use brake clean AND titanium backing plates. They'll keep your red calipers looking red.

06-10-2013, 10:00 AM	#1
JMK007 Second Lieutenant 67 Rep 210 Posts Drives: 335 M Sport, RWD Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Chicago, IL. iTrader: (0)	BBK Maintenance: Best Practices It seems like the E90 M3 crowd has a lot of experience with BBKs. So, I thought I would start this thread on the best practices for maintaining a BBK. Like many of you, I have purchased a BBK (Stop Tech ST-60 front, ST-40 rear, in black) for moderate track usage and want to maintain them as much as possible. What are the Best Practices / Dos and Don'ts for maintaining BBKs year round? For those who drive their cars with BBKs in northern climates (with occasional salty roads), what do you recommend in terms of frequency and manner of cleaning? Even in warm weather climates, how do you monitor and maintain your calipers to preserve appearance and functionality? Thank you in advance for your advice... __________________ SCCA & Midwestern Council W2W, '91 Spec Miata, '07 NASA TTD Champion, Midwest, '99 M3, '09 Midwstrn Council TT Champion, BS, '10 GTI, '10 &'11 Midwestern Council TT Champion, BS, ‘17 BRZ, ‘19
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06-10-2013, 08:47 PM	#2
jacobe92 Major 619 Rep 1,239 Posts Drives: 2016 Hell Rot F80 M3 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: California iTrader: (6)	BBK Don't put your hand brake on after a track session for your rotors are still very hot. __________________ 2016 Hellrot F80 M3\|JRZ RS Pro with Swift Springs 550/750 spring rates l AP Radical 5000R 9668/9449 lSpiegler SS LinesI DS1.11I Eisenmann DP\|MPE Catback\|18" Forgeline GS1R 18x10 et 22 and 18x11 et 44 NT01 275/35/18 and 305/35/18\| Forgeline GTD1 18x10et43 SquarelM Performance Lip/Splitter\|IND aesthetic mods\|Dinan Toe Link\|Fall Line mono ball conversion kit and upper link kit\| Aim Solo 2DL Smarty Cam\|Simpson Hybrid\|Stilo Offshore helmet.
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06-11-2013, 03:12 PM	#4
GewoW #thatsanicemovebro 202 Rep 3,920 Posts Drives: E92 M3 LSB/Black 6MT Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Montreal, Canada iTrader: (4) Garage List 2011 BMW M3 [9.34]	I've run the BBK (AP) thru 2 Montreal winters...no issues. Look great
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06-11-2013, 07:39 PM	#7
Alan292 Enlisted Member 0 Rep 41 Posts Drives: E90 M3 Join Date: May 2013 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (0)	dont use p21s wheel cleaner on stoptechs. at least on mine, they totally ate the color coating not sure if they changed how they apply color to the calipers but better safe than sorry!
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06-12-2013, 01:19 AM	#8
BimmerRob08 Major 110 Rep 1,311 Posts Drives: 2008 M3, Space Gray Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: KIKR (ABQ), NM iTrader: (0)	I used to use the regular off-the-shelf wheel cleaners and after a short amount of time plus the South West hard water, those cleaners such as Formula1 and Maguire's that have acidic agents in them, completely destroyed my paint on the APracing BBK I have. It didn't really stain the coating, it pretty much etched it and looked like hard water stains. I tried everything to clean them. Had to get the calipers and hats repainted. Then later repainted the front calipers myself due to brake fluid damage. Now they look nice. I use Sonax wheel cleaner only with no issues. Keep them clean OP, and also once in a while you might need to run some hard racing pads and do some cold hard braking and that will clean off any brake pad transferred material stuck on the rotor face which can produce some vibrations. Other than that, they should be pretty maintenance free for the most part.
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06-12-2013, 08:32 PM	#9
JMK007 Second Lieutenant 67 Rep 210 Posts Drives: 335 M Sport, RWD Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Chicago, IL. iTrader: (0)	Thanks for all the recommendations. Just got the Stop Techs installed today. I will continue to check in on this thread for any further advice... __________________ SCCA & Midwestern Council W2W, '91 Spec Miata, '07 NASA TTD Champion, Midwest, '99 M3, '09 Midwstrn Council TT Champion, BS, '10 GTI, '10 &'11 Midwestern Council TT Champion, BS, ‘17 BRZ, ‘19
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06-19-2013, 04:44 AM	#10
HoodR$CH Lieutenant 69 Rep 506 Posts Drives: AW E92 M3 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Track iTrader: (13)	Do not use anything but soap and water to clean your calipers/rotor hats!!!!! The stopTech rotor hats will stain much easier then the brembo hats. __________________ Brembo BBK\|BPM Tune\|HRE P43 SC\|BMW Performance Seats\|KWV3
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06-23-2013, 03:58 PM	#14
bigjae1976 Major General 1571 Rep 8,076 Posts Drives: 11 E90 M3 Individual Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Houston, TX iTrader: (22) Garage List 2004 BMW M3 [4.50] 2011 BMW E90 M3 [5.25] 2013 BMW 328i [5.00]	People wax their brake calipers? I just use brake clean AND titanium backing plates. They'll keep your red calipers looking red. __________________ 2018 F30 320iX Melbourne Red 2011 E90 M3 Monte Carlo Blue 2004 E46 M3 Imola Red 2000 E36/7 Z3 Steel Blue
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