E39 M5 brakes

[Neil.D]

Guys,

Just looking at doing a little 'housekeeping' with the M5.

I was going to look into the brakes first. Not going to get a BBK but thought about some Goodridge braided hoses, some decent fluid and some Pagid pads.

Does anyone have any recommendations on this subject, where to buy etc?

Thanks,

Neil.D

[belleair302]

Neil, two choices. Eithe contact CA Automotive who are not a million miles away and have a chat, or speak with Gerry or Simon at Phoenix Motorsport in Camberley Surrey about a caliper rebuild, new hoses, pads etc. Their work is amazing and the improved performance often puts a BBK to shame.

[ATM]

belleair302 said:

Neil, two choices. Eithe contact CA Automotive who are not a million miles away and have a chat, or speak with Gerry or Simon at Phoenix Motorsport in Camberley Surrey about a caliper rebuild, new hoses, pads etc. Their work is amazing and the improved performance often puts a BBK to shame.

I like the car in your profile.

[belleair302]

^^^^Thank you^^^^

[puntograle]

As part of regular servicing, I was also recently going to change my pads, fluid, and hoses.

I have hesistated now after reading on some posts that braided hoses are not as long lasting as rubber hoses and can leak/perish and therefore should be changed regularly. Is this true or a myth??? If true then I may not put them on after all.

Also, apparently Goodridge do not do hoses for the E39 M5 and Thorney sent me some Earl's branded ones instead. Again, any experience of getting Goodridge hoses or of Earl's?

Thanks.

[belleair302]

You DO need to be careful with braided hoses which do deteriorate and can rust at exposed points. If kept clean....take off the wheels when you clean your car and protect the exposed areas you should see a few years of life before they need replacing. Fluids will need replacing every year if driven hard.

[gavm5]

I have just bought a set of Goodridge braided hoses for my e39 M5 from CA automotive as listed on thier website.
When they arrived they were in a sealed bag with Goodridge name on but the sticker said for e39 540i.
I contacted CA automotive who told me that almost all e39 M5 purchasers telephone with same question and yes the hoses DO fit.
Will attempt the fitment this coming weekend.

Edited by gavm5 on Tuesday 24th February 19:09

[Trellis]

gavM5 - please update on how they feel after - I'm thinking of doing the same - but only want to bother if they deliver better pedal feel/strength

[Toilet Duck]

puntograle said:

I have hesistated now after reading on some posts that braided hoses are not as long lasting as rubber hoses and can leak/perish and therefore should be changed regularly. Is this true or a myth??? If true then I may not put them on after all.

I've heard this before as well but I really don't understand. My background is in motorbikes, and the first thing many owners do (including myself) is change the lines to stainless braided ones. Instant improvement in braking feel and consistency. I believe they also last longer than rubber ones, as the rubber ones eventually perish. Stainless ones do not rust as the line is covered by a plastic or similar coating. One thing to be aware of is that cheaper stainless lines use zinc fittings at the ends which over time can corrode (this is on some bike lines anyway). You should always pay the extra and get lines with stainless banjo bolt fittings. I've done over 60K miles on an all weather work bike with stainless lines fitted and they show no sign of wear/problem. As with any line/hose, you just need to make sure they don't rub as that will inevitably cause a line failure, but this isn't such a problem on cars compared to bikes.

[puntograle]

Guys, thanks for the responses.

I also note that the Earl's hoses that Thorney eventually sent out were with zinc fittings and will therefore return them and go the CA automotive route.

belleair302, I am not sure I will be committed enough to take the wheels off every now and then when washing the car...is it just a precaution?

Thanks.

[belleair302]

Once or twice a year...not every week or two. Otherwise pop down to your local tyre place and get them to do the job for you!

[gavm5]

Trellis said:

gavM5 - please update on how they feel after - I'm thinking of doing the same - but only want to bother if they deliver better pedal feel/strength

Ok, sorry for dely in posting but took a little while longer to get round to doing the job than I thought it would.
I have just replaced the front ARB's, Inner and Outer TCA's with Polyflex bushes, fitted front H & R springs to get rid of the god awful gap between front tyre and wheel arch (drops car no more than 1/2 inch and purely cosmetic, always thought the rear ride height to be spot on) and fitted rear ARB Polyflex bushes along with Goodridge braided hoses.
Now I know that a lot of feel could be down to the placebo effect - new parts fitted so car obviously feels better, but once I had the M5's chassis 4-wheel aligned the turn in is noticably sharper and the high speed brake wobble has completely gone.
The brake pedal is also firmer, but this could be down to new fluid but at least I am safe in knowing that the 8 year old rubber hoses have gone.
The brake hoses were easy to replace, however the bushes were a PITA as the old ones require pressing out the arms and I like to do the work myself but luckily there is an engineering shop nearby which has helped me out in the past.
Overall, very pleased and no less comfortable as H & R say that the spring rate remains same as from factory just lowers a bit.