I’d imagine they may have sent the wrong bracket. They will take care of it quickly if there’s an issue. Let me know if I can help at all.
ProdigyWerks Big Brake Kit
- Thread starter John@DBV2
- Start date
Appreciate it! Was gonna ask you about your install experience but it looks like you've got a 135, bit different carrier design. Fingers crossed.
As an update, I did manage to sort out most of the issues I had, but I gotta say, waiting on revised hardware from Taiwan over and over was not a pleasant experience (first the front bracket, then the rear bracket, then some obscure bolts for the rear bracket). None of their provided lines fit the E90 chassis, and while the stoptech kit I had fit the AD-6 in the front, oem-style lines do not fit the CR-4 and force a piston in. I may get some lines custom-made eventually, but I've done enough brake line work to last me for quite a while at this point.
Were I to do it again, I'd pony up the extra cash for a big name BBK or just throw on some new lines, rotors and pads and call it a day.
Were I to do it again, I'd pony up the extra cash for a big name BBK or just throw on some new lines, rotors and pads and call it a day.
Waiting on anything overseas is so damn slow it is crazy and the cost to air just sucks. I can only imagine your pain.
This is what I recommend to everyone, buy a used BBK. A used BBK is 2500-3000 for a kit that cost 6k new and the HOLD their resale value VERY well they basically don't devalue past that from my experience.
Assuming you trust the reliability and your personal safety of a 'knock off' or 'no name' BBK is it worth the potential extra hassle to save a few bucks? You spend just a bit more and get a used BBK kit used by actual race teams all over the globe that is rebuildable with readily available parts in the States made to fit your exact car.
Do they make carbon ceramic discs in stock 1m/m3 replacements ?
That's what I after at an affordable price.
That's what I after at an affordable price.
To their credit, they did "overnight" (customs aside) the brackets to me, though it seemed like they were fabricating them off the cuff and that added a week or so each time. They insisted they'd sent me the correct bolts as well, but did offer to refund me for the cost of sourcing my own before just sending me a set via standard post.
Hardware issues aside, while it's easy to tell which pad shape their fronts use, the only info I've gotten from them on the rears are "W220" pads, which is quite a few shapes. Tracking down pad dimensions can be a challenge, turns out!
While I'm quite happy with the fronts now that they're on, I might eventually look into the f30 retrofit or something with better serviceability.
edit: also, they ostensibly have a new jersey presence, but they wouldn't respond to messages until about 1 or 2 am est. No other communication issues though, just clearly their sales are based in TW.
I think they only make them in 380/390mm x 32mm sizes. Email 'em and ask though, they seem to do a lot of custom work.
Hardware issues aside, while it's easy to tell which pad shape their fronts use, the only info I've gotten from them on the rears are "W220" pads, which is quite a few shapes. Tracking down pad dimensions can be a challenge, turns out!
While I'm quite happy with the fronts now that they're on, I might eventually look into the f30 retrofit or something with better serviceability.
edit: also, they ostensibly have a new jersey presence, but they wouldn't respond to messages until about 1 or 2 am est. No other communication issues though, just clearly their sales are based in TW.
I think they only make them in 380/390mm x 32mm sizes. Email 'em and ask though, they seem to do a lot of custom work.
Last edited:
Most of the P cars, Mercedes, guys etc. remove the carbon rotors because of their cost to replace and just use metal rotors. The argument is the little gain you get with the carbon is not worth the cost to replace. So the guys who track their cars swap em out on day 1 apparently. At least this is what I have read in numerous places.
The words affordable and carbon rotor I don't think ever occur in the same sentence. I would be very wary of an inexpensive carbon rotor that I planned to track on. The brakes and tires are all of what is stopping you from the wall after all. I may just be overly cautious but this is why I also don't trust BBKs that are not very well know: AP, Brembo, ST, etc. My life is worth a lot to me
https://www.autotrader.com/car-news/cars-carbon-ceramic-brakes-are-going-be-used-car-plague-267318 <--check it
"Mercedes-Benz started offering carbon ceramic brakes as an option on the E63 AMG and the E63 AMG Wagon -- and not just any option, but an option with a sticker price of just under $13,000. Mind you, the base price of a 2014 E63 AMG Wagon was only $103,400. This single option was nearly 13 percent of the car's entire price."
"According to several people on the AMG forums, they received a carbon ceramic brake rotor and pad change estimate of somewhere between $15,000 and $18,000 when the time finally came to do the work."
"a 10-year-old AMG Mercedes is worth maybe $20,000 to $25,000 -- and nobody in that realm is going to want to spend another $15,000 just to change the brakes. "
Feel free to drop the coin but I think you will be disappointed regarding the bang for your buck.
Any difference in brake bias that you noticed? All that BS like not knowing what rear pad it really is is damn annoying. It's something you know they know in the factory, or you would hope. I mean you will likely just take them off and figure it out yourself but shit like that and bolts missing brackets etc. makes me wonder the quality of the actual caliper it'self. It does not scream "I've got my shit together as a professional company'
I don't track my 1m anymore but would like some nice carbon ceramic rotors for it so when I wash my car and store it for an extended period of time they don't rust and pit the rotors.
Not a huge difference in bias that I've noticed, with street pads and oem-size rotors this wasn't a huge upgrade performance-wise. Will see how it shakes out after I break in new rotors/pads on the rear this weekend.
My plan was to order a few promising sets off ecs/amazon and return them unused, but I'm pretty burnt out on brakes now, and I'd rather put my limited wrenching time towards my growing pile of other, less painful parts.
Are the rears not simply a copy of the AP Racing 5xxx series? I know originally Prodigy was just using China AP replicas until they got their own 'look' cast. I'm pretty certain they still use the same AP pads and overall design, just different aesthetics.
Marty,
You have bigger pockets than me if you can afford $3000+ a rotor not to have to deal with some rust
I doubt there is enough of a market for carbon disks in all honestly just too old of a platform now. Hopefully I am wrong?
Oh nothing like a company stealing a high quality design from an English company. I swear China just wants to put everyone else out of business. ZERO regard for patents or anything. Scum.
You have bigger pockets than me if you can afford $3000+ a rotor not to have to deal with some rust
I doubt there is enough of a market for carbon disks in all honestly just too old of a platform now. Hopefully I am wrong?
Oh nothing like a company stealing a high quality design from an English company. I swear China just wants to put everyone else out of business. ZERO regard for patents or anything. Scum.
The fronts are the CP7040D54 pads, they might have used the 5xxx series stuff with one of the other 4 pots but I never came across that info while looking for info on the CR-4 pads. Checked the CP5XXX pads on hawk's site, none of the 17mm deep ones looked like the right size.
Last edited:
Now if only they had a rear electric brake solution
Filippo
As awesome looking as the Z4 is(especially yours) it must be annoying all the small differences I see you post about. Like I would have just assumed a BBK would bolt up minus some custom SS brake lines.
Link to PB brakes solution? Never heard of them.
If it's https://pbbrakes.com it's just another Taiwanese company that is making brakes with YUGE markup. I see no difference between PB, ProdigyWerks, or Dickass Brakes except for better marketing and perhaps a slight US presence for ProdigyWerks. Why pay for the advertising? Just get the Dickass ones.
The other problem with the Z is that it is the "hairdresser's car"
The number of us willing to open the hood on our own is pretty small.
The number of us willing to open the hood on our own is pretty small.
Similar threads
