i'm being told that after i install the JCW BBK that i need to have some coding done. specifically to the DSC module (assume this is for traction control as the car will want to know of the different type of brakes that the car has installed).

personally i'm trying to avoid taking it in for that coding. and especially since i code most things myself...wondering if anyone knows what this code should be or what else needs to be done. i've seen the service instructions but it just says to add the retrofit coding and nothing more via the SSS.

 

It's not something you can code with e-sys. You need the proprietary BMW software. I had mine done at a certified BMW/Mini tech shop. Maybe someone else has a different suggestion, but this is what I found. The Mini tech saved me a few bucks on the BBK too.

 

it's a code...shouldn't *need* to be done @ the dealer. i'll do some more investigation. unfortunately, there is nothing online, so either what you say is true OR noone has taken the plunge to give it a shot.

i'm doing the install myself this weekend too...doesn't look difficult at all. poking around realoem to find the proper torque specs.

 

found the torque specs needed. huge thanks to ECS Tuning for putting this together. while it may not be for our car exactly (it's for the GP2), you'll notice that the the front and rear calipers are identical to our new JCW BBK kit. i'm confident in using these torque specs.

GP2-R56-BBK-Install

 

I'll be doing the GP2 in the next few weeks. Typically torque specs are based on the fastener size.

 

it's crazy how i haven't seen any threads of anyone doing the install themselves. other than locating torque specs, this is a very simple install. i'll be tackling this first thing in the morning.

good luck with your install!

 

Thanks for using the DIY thats for the R56-R59 MINs, we even talk about the coding, mostly it dials back the DSC and ABS so they dont kick on too early in heavy braking.

Good luck on the installs, when you drive it the first time to bed in the new pads its going to be night and day over Cooper or Cooper S brakes.

 

thanks! i just noticed the little blurb about the bbk flash. unfortunately, you say the same things as vettesvet. that i need to head to the dealership to have the flash done. i happen to have a friend that is a tech @ a service center and already offered to do it...i'm just a fan of DIY work and wanted to tackle that last bit. looks like i'll have to give in and go see him.

seriously, great work with the write-up. you have everything documented to a T. i would not be so comfortable in taking on this task w/out that PDF. thanks again for the support.

 

Welcome , Here is the F56 JCW BBK Set up attached.

 

Timestamp:
started @ 9AM, took me 2 hours to do the rear passenger as the caliper bracket bolts would not give in. they finally did and i figured out a trick to to get them out easier.
rear passenger done in 45 minutes
front passenger took 2.5 hours due to the fact that this was my first time messing with a 4-piston caliper so i was very slowly making sure that each step was the right one.
front driver took 45 minutes.

the rest of the time was spent doing a VERY VERY annoying brake bleed. it just didn't seem to want to bleed. i used up 1.5 Liters of brake fluid before the bubble finally stopped. buddy of mine told me that what i could have done was remove the bleeder screw all together and backfill the caliper and then connect the brake line. ah well, it's done and i'm fully bled.

took the car out and did 10 pulls from 40mph - 15mph @ medium force and then followed up with about 10 pulls from 60/80mph down to 10mph @ hard force. by the end of this i could smell the pads. to me, this is my sign that a) the pad material has transferred onto the rotor b) the rotor has worn off it's new layer and c) the pads are bedded to the rotor.

let her sit for an hour and drove around. the bite/grip of the brakes were significantly better. it seemed to grab more as i drove more. parked her again for 5 hours and just did another half hour drive and the brakes feel great. i'm very very happy with this...and just as important, it looks real nice. oh yeah, while i was at it, i did a stud conversion as well.

 

Looks awesome, Marco. The brakes are on my next to do list. Are you planning to get it reprogrammed anytime soon? Maybe try it first on the track without reprogramming and report back if the ABS or traction control is causing you any problem?

 

my buddy the tech said he'd program it for me so i'm heading to the dealership on monday. he always said he could, i was just being stubborn and wanted to do it myself. as for testing it out @ the track before programming....eh...i assume if i don't then the ABS/DSC will over-brake the car and slow me down.

but thanks, i love how it looks and as the document says, it only stops harder and harder the longer i break it in. it says to drive it about 130 miles before it's fully broken in. i just did about 40 tonight

 

Good job MP. Looks great! And you'll appreciate them more each day.

 

Well done... I know early days but do the brakes feel any different regarding brake pedal feel compared to the std. brakes?

Wanting to know if there is a difference in this area or if the different master cylinder/booster of the JCW is the part that contributes to brake pedal feel rather than the actual caliper change.

 

Stainless lines will also improve the feel over the stock rubber ones. I've had mine for a month now and don't feel the need to change the master cylinder.

 

Which stainless lines did you guys ended up with? Quick search in google gave me: NM, Hel's, and Huey. NM being the priciest by quite a margin.
Did your kit have OEM-like grommets and fittings?

 

I was placing a big order with NM when I ordered mine from them, so I got a little price break. Included everything needed. Quality parts and I would't hesitate to recommend to a friend. This something that'll last the life of the car. Cheaper than a set of blackout trim rings and a heck of a lot more useful.

 

if you're doing something like what i did, then it may be ideal to do the brake lines as well. i was on a budget. i bought the BBK, bought lower control arms, and bought the stud conversion kit...i stopped myself there so i didn't do the brake lines

IMO, i don't think i need the brake lines yet. the car is 2 years old. still fairly new in regards to the age of the brake lines. i did some research on SS brake lines and if you do google it, the majority out there is that it's not NECESSARY for newer cars. if you replace an old line with a new line, you'll feel the improvement, whether SS or OEM. i'll probably replace it in 2 years or so.

as for feeling a difference, i can confidently say that yes even though i did just the BBK and have OEM lines and an OEM MC, i feel a huge difference in the braking power. at first no, but the rotors still had the silver finish and the pads weren't broken in. once i did that (as i said a few posts up) the car felt much better. i can only assume it'll feel even better as i continue to break her in. will i do the MC? yes..but probably not until next season. i think this will hold me off for now. i only have 2 track events left in the season.

btw, this is the NHTSA requirement for brake lines for any car in the US:
S5.3.2 Expansion and burst strength
The maximum expansion of a hydraulic brake hose assembly at 1,000 psi and
1,500 psi shall not exceed the values specified in Table I (S6.1). The hydrau-
lic brake hose assembly shall then withstand water pressure of 4,000 psi
for 2 minutes without rupture, and shall not rupture at less than 5,000 psi

 

Thanks for the info, guys. I'll probably get the stainless lines just so I could install everything all at once and save time.

For those hitting the track with the JCW brakes, please share your experience.

Marco, on your next track day you'll be using the stock JCW pads right? Let me know how that goes. Does any vendor currently have track-oriented pads for the JCW calipers?

 

i'll be running oem pads for the street and carbotech pads for the track. specifically, i'll be running xp10's, which are strictly a track pad. when on the oem calipers, i was running xp8 and i cooked them (i hit over 1200 degrees, which is the limit for xp8's). while i imagine that the xp8 COULD have worked on the new jcw calipers, i opted to move to the xp10 simply because i already decided that they would be a track-only pad (xp8's can be used for street but still annoying).

as far as i know, carbotech is/was the only aftermarket vendor that has pads. when i reached out to EBC in march, they had a product ID but production had not started yet. the same was for most manufacturers....then again it's 4 months later so i could be completely wrong.

 

Pagid rs are also available

 

you are right. i actually saw that last week when my buddy got them for his M3...but damn they are $$$

anyway...update time...took it to the dealer yesterday where my tech friend did the sport brake retrofit update. not sure if it was how he did it, but it ended up updating the entire DME...i say that because it reset the entire car (radio presets, removed my "coding" that i had done, etc...). i even tried to code it back and realized that my e-sys was out of date so i had to get new cafd files to be able to get back in.

nothing stands out because the update only affected ABS and DCS so i'll notice it when it kicks in. what i do hope is that the overall car update hopefully fixed this drivetrain malfunction error that pops up once a month. we'll see.

and to end this with a picture, my Carbotech XP10 JCW pads arrived...

 

just an observation. instead of the normal green mode and temperature icon, these 2 pictures show up on my display...i'm not sure if that's because of the cars update or because of the sport brake retrofit. does anyone else have these displays?

 

The new cluster display style is from your new DME software, Marco. Looks much better than the previous version IMO.

 

I noticed the new temp display after I got my tuning kit fitted so I assume they must have updated my software version at the same time.