[Old Boy]

How common do you think the M Performance brakes are on G30 cars, or even on any and all BMW vehicles ?

My sense is that we could be talking about one in a thousand BMW vehicles that is retrofitted with M performance brakes, i.e., 0.1%. Perhaps not even that ?

In fact, I do not recall ever seeing a BMW with red calipers. Even the blue calipers are not that common in the general BMW vehicle population in my city.

[CLABRO]

The M Performance brakes are extremely uncommon for our G30 cars and all BMW's in general. I'm not sure there's a way to get an accurate number because the people I've seen get them- 2 here on the forum) have got them aftermarket or after they had their car for a period of time so there's really no way of getting accurate statistics.

I'd say 0.1% isn't a bad guess.

The M Sport Brakes on the other hand are more common and a little easier to accurately track.

According to BMWVinCheck.com (a fellow forum member made this website where you can compare your cars options with other BMWs), shows M Sport Brakes are equipped on 4% of 530i vehicles and on 11% of 540i vehicles in the US (similar results outside the US). And then for all BMWs in general, M Sport Brakes are equipped on just 1% of all BMWs they have data for which equates to only 362 out of 39,897 BMWs.

The only caveat to that is the rather small data pool they have collected data on. It's a relatively new website I believe and they only have data on about 200 G30 vehicles so while it doesn't give concrete statistics, it's a solid tool to glance at and cool website nonetheless.

https://www.bmwvincheck.com

@Pupsaiden is the member who made the website. He's always looking for feedback and open for ways to improve his site. Big shout out to him.

[Old Boy]

Thank you Clabro, your view and statistics kind of line up with my gut feel.
Either "blue" or "red" M brake kits are quite expensive, and the performance benefit of such upgrade is probably very modest at best. Granted, one must not discount the visual appeal of colour calipers/bigger rotors.

I have been trying to get my BMW dealer to share with me the number of "red" retrofit kits they sold and/or installed in the past couple of years, but they just would not do it. Proprietary info, I guess.

[Dobie Dog]

Here is a .1%er

https://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1623409

I am just stupid enough to do this to my car at the first hint of brake issues.

[Old Boy]

Originally Posted by Dobie Dog

Here is a .1%er

https://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1623409

I am just stupid enough to do this to my car at the first hint of brake issues.

Yes, I had seen that......he actually lives in my neck of the woods.

Dobie Dog, I must be even stupider than you, because I am contemplating a retrofit even before my car has completed the break in.

[Dobie Dog]

Originally Posted by Old Boy

Dobie Dog, I must be even stupider than you, because I am contemplating a retrofit even before my car has completed the break in.

Fools love company! How much more sexy would this be with reds??

[Superjackson]

I don't think many people get the red brakes at all because it's really not worth the tiny gain over the blue brakes imo. The m performance brakes use the same brake pads and still only have 4 pistons in the front. For a little more money, you might as well get 6 or 8 piston big brembo kit with even larger rotors and a more accessible brake pad size. Also a good choice is to just put the f90 m5 brakes(much better performance than blue and red) onto your car for about the same price as red brakes.

[Old Boy]

Originally Posted by Dobie Dog

Fools love company! How much more sexy would this be with reds??

That car of yours is a ripper already. All it needs now are dimpled rotors and red calipers, and then you will have arrived.

[Old Boy]

Originally Posted by Superjackson

I don't think many people get the red brakes at all because it's really not worth the tiny gain over the blue brakes imo. The m performance brakes use the same brake pads and still only have 4 pistons in the front. For a little more money, you might as well get 6 or 8 piston big brembo kit with even larger rotors and a more accessible brake pad size. Also a good choice is to just put the f90 m5 brakes(much better performance than blue and red) onto your car for about the same price as red brakes.

Yes, those are also might be viable alternatives to the M Performance brakes, although getting 6 or 8 piston front calipers from Brembo would likely results in a much more expensive upgrade than the M performance brakes. I guess I need to dig out the specs for M5 brakes.

[Old Boy]

Please correct me if I am wrong here, but to me it looks like F90 M5 standard brakes are the blue caliper M Sport type. Now, the standard rotors there might be dimpled, or not, can't tell. (BMW offers optional carbon ceramic brakes for M5, I guess for those folks who have money to burn.)

Therefore, I don't see how would standard M5 brakes be better than standard M550i brakes, as they are both the M Sport design, that is, if I am right about M5.

[clee1982]

if you don't track I would think cabon ceramic is overkill, how much is replacement cost on those puppies...?

[Old Boy]

Originally Posted by clee1982

if you don't track I would think cabon ceramic is overkill, how much is replacement cost on those puppies...?

I believe as an M5 build order option, BMW CCBs cost about $7k US. Perhaps people who track their vehicle can justify that expense on a rational basis (kind of).

However, if doing a CCB retrofit on an existing brake system, I reckon the price becomes obscenely high.

[Superjackson]

Originally Posted by Old Boy

Please correct me if I am wrong here, but to me it looks like F90 M5 standard brakes are the blue caliper M Sport type. Now, the standard rotors there might be dimpled, or not, can't tell. (BMW offers optional carbon ceramic brakes for M5, I guess for those folks who have money to burn.)

Therefore, I don't see how would standard M5 brakes be better than standard M550i brakes, as they are both the M Sport design, that is, if I am right about M5.

Originally Posted by Old Boy

Please correct me if I am wrong here, but to me it looks like F90 M5 standard brakes are the blue caliper M Sport type. Now, the standard rotors there might be dimpled, or not, can't tell. (BMW offers optional carbon ceramic brakes for M5, I guess for those folks who have money to burn.)

Therefore, I don't see how would standard M5 brakes be better than standard M550i brakes, as they are both the M Sport design, that is, if I am right about M5.

The m5 standard brakes might look similar to m sport blue brakes but they are 6 piston instead of 4 and use 395mm rotors vs 374mm on the m sport ones. The standard m5 brake pad is larger in area and the pad compound should also be a lot stronger and more fade resistant than the ones that come with blue or red brakes. It is actually a pretty huge upgrade and might actually be overwhelming if you don't also get wider front tires.

[Old Boy]

Originally Posted by Superjackson

The m5 standard brakes might look similar to m sport blue brakes but they are 6 piston instead of 4 and use 395mm rotors vs 374mm on the m sport ones.

Thanx a lot. Looking at wheel photographs, it would seem that standard M5 brakes front rotors are similar, if not identical, to G30 M Performance Brakes front rotors: both are 395mm and dimpled. However, as you've said, there is a difference in 6 vs. 4 piston calipers.

In all this it would be of great help if I could find technical specs for different brake models.

[maxm6]

I have a 2020 M550 with M performance brakes. I love the look of the blue caliper. The braking capability of these is incredible. So much better than any recent BMW I have owned or driven. Nice pedal feel and able to haul it down from the non-legal speeds without any drama. In my opinion, well worth the cost.

[hlothery]

My 2019 M550 has the blue M Sport brakes, which appear to be the same brakes I had on my 2016 M4. They perform and look very well, but i do not track the car. The CCBs they had on the M4s and M5s we drove at COTA in July took a real beating, and continued to perform. They are worth every penny if you track.

[SteveinArizona]

The only reason to pay for mperformance brakes is if you are tracking your car. After repeated uses on a track, the regular or MSport brakes might begin to fade on you whereas the mperformance brakes will hold up well.

I don't have the mperofrmance brakes but from what I have read, they will actually be a tad worse on regular roads.