My mechanic has ordered the necessary parts to make my M5 just like the Euro M5 with the correct ducts all the way from the front grill (where he drilled out the holes) to the inside of the fender well. As soon as the parts come in and he gets it all installed, I will post pics along with the part numbers.
These new ducts will fill the void left from the front grill to the beginning of the existent ducts to make a smooth constant flow of air directly to the brakes and rotors.
He did confirm why our US M5's came with the ducts in place but no cutouts... he said BMW Germany was concerned about extra brake dust on the front wheels and how we Americans might complain too much about it!!
Good stuff. Can't wait to see the pics. As for brake dust - I don't know how they think they improved things - my wheels look like hell 25-50 miles after a wash as it is. Can't GET much worse.
Andy, can you post part numbers when you get them? I have gone ahead and opened up the passage on mine as well as bent the backing plate back for more airflow directly onto the rotors. Do you know if they have a new backing plate available that has the opening in it? Thanks for your hard work and keeping us informed.
Search this site for a string on "mushy brake pedal" for a discussion of what other owners have done on brakes. One member went with the GT3 upgrade and was disappointed, and now has gone with Euro floating rotors, stainless lines, and aftermarket pads. I've done the lines and pads, and noticed an improvement at the track. I plan to do the Euro ductwork and Euro rotors this spring. While the Porsche big brake kit is impressive, it may not give you all you're looking for. Good luck!
I went with Mintex, because they were about the only aftermarket pad I found currently available for the Beast. I picked them up through Adirondak Imports (www.germanautoparts.com). I bought both the street ('red box') and race pads (C-Tech). The red box pads are slightly more aggressive than OEM, and put off MUCH less brake dust. The C-Tech formulation offers less fade (for track driving), better grab when at operating temp, and MUCH MORE (believe it or not!) brake dust (and squealing at low speeds) than OEM.
Another member, E55-->M5, has tried Carbotech Engineering in FL. They offer custom pad formulations, but at this time don't stock the M5 pad backers (meaning, you must provide some donor pads). They claimed to be stocking up, so you may want to give them a call. Search this site for 'mushy pedal' for their URL.
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