DIY E46 320 to 330 Rear Disk Brake Conversion Process

OK thank you Paris

Wow. Great stuff paraclas. I have just gotten hold of 330 front and rear brakes for my 320 (Ihave the same care as u),and have been reading this thread. Was told the brakes was bolt-on, but not the handbrake apparently. I do not have the access and possibility to make that part like u did paraclas, and i was wondering which I part I need to buy, to get this to work?

Regards, Jan

Just to give an update, after 2 years of use my handbrake still works perfectly with this mod. Comparing the 2 reports from the vehicle inspection, one was done 01/02/2011 and the other one 29/01/2013, I was happy to see that the handbrake power values remained more or less the same.

The rear rotors have minimal to no-wear at all, whereas the previous smaller set did have 1.3mm wear within the same time frame. I kept the same brand of pads throughout the conversion (Axxis ULT), which appear to be very harsh on rotors.

Originally Posted by Vinland

Wow. Great stuff paraclas. I have just gotten hold of 330 front and rear brakes for my 320 (Ihave the same care as u),and have been reading this thread. Was told the brakes was bolt-on, but not the handbrake apparently. I do not have the access and possibility to make that part like u did paraclas, and i was wondering which I part I need to buy, to get this to work?

Regards, Jan

There's no ready-made part that you can buy unfortunately. Fabrication is needed, you can buy a set of 330 brake shoes, take out your used ones, or buy a used pair so that you can still drive, take them to a fabricator and have him mate them as my DIY.

Originally Posted by Vinland

Wow. Great stuff paraclas. I have just gotten hold of 330 front and rear brakes for my 320 (Ihave the same care as u),and have been reading this thread. Was told the brakes was bolt-on, but not the handbrake apparently. I do not have the access and possibility to make that part like u did paraclas, and i was wondering which I part I need to buy, to get this to work?

Regards, Jan

So for the rear swap to 330, you need 330:
1. Discs,
2. Calipers,
3. Carriers,
4. Lower Control Arms,
5. Axles,
6. Hubs, and
7. E brake shoes.

you should post up some pics when you do it.

Good luck

If 330i rear disks fit over other hubs & the caliper aligns with caliper mounting points.
Then Making custom hand brake shows is most cheap & cost saving measure to have 330i brake in the back/rear

Originally Posted by andrey_gta

If 330i rear disks fit over other hubs & the caliper aligns with caliper mounting points.
Then Making custom hand brake shows is most cheap & cost saving measure to have 330i brake in the back/rear

Correct on both; the disks and calipers are plug and play, even the handbrake ratchet mechanism. The one and only part needed are the brake shoes. Seeing how much they last and the lack of complicated design it is indeed the most cost effective solution you can do. To make them you need an angle grinder and a good welder.

I was looking at this old thread and it appears that all the photos are now missing. Are they still available any place else?
I have a 325xit that i swapped to a 330 some years ago. Since I swapped out the whole front sub frame the 330 front brake conversion was a no-brainer. I would now like to do the rears. It does appear that with the xi there may be some additional issues because the calipers are listed with yet another P/N.

What I gather is that the rotors, calibers and carriers will be bolt on and all I need for the e brake is to mfg the shoes which I anticipate will be pretty easy for me.

(BTW tried to PM paraklas but his inbox is full and not accepting messages.)

I might be wrong, I though xi's were the only non 330 you could do a direct rear swap without issue.

Originally Posted by zander271

I might be wrong, I though xi's were the only non 330 you could do a direct rear swap without issue.

After a careful check of all the p/ns it looks like it is true. even the backing plates are the same, so its going to be very easy. Purchased the rotors, calipers and pads earlier this week but I wont get to the job until some time in May.

Originally Posted by geri

I was looking at this old thread and it appears that all the photos are now missing. Are they still available any place else?
I have a 325xit that i swapped to a 330 some years ago. Since I swapped out the whole front sub frame the 330 front brake conversion was a no-brainer. I would now like to do the rears. It does appear that with the xi there may be some additional issues because the calipers are listed with yet another P/N.

What I gather is that the rotors, calibers and carriers will be bolt on and all I need for the e brake is to mfg the shoes which I anticipate will be pretty easy for me.

(BTW tried to PM paraklas but his inbox is full and not accepting messages.)

I will reupload as pdf here tomorrow, changing my hosting account

I have uploaded the DIY as pdf http://www.argyrides.eu/bmw/330%20Re...Conversion.pdf

I paraklas, i need your help, just sended you a pm

Thabks

Hey, impressive thread. Glad to see you reporting back years after the mod as well. The fabricated pads will likely last the life of the car.

Thanks!

I checked the brake shoe pads a few weeks ago and they are still with minimal wear as someone would expect from a parking brake shoe. Car passed the inspection last September which they test the parking brake clamping force, and it is more or less the same as always.

paraklas i used your instructions, and i did the same to my car thanks for your DIY

You can check it here https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...1075459&page=8

Great DIY. Trying to do the same project on my 320 E46. Sent you PM.

Have following questions. What if i do following:

1. Take adjusting screw from 330 and parking shoes from 330, assemble shoe
2. Drill same punched holes in correct places in 320 dust shield (have 330 dust shield so know the location)

I know hubs on 330 are larger, but isn't that parking shoes are braking against rotors, so it doesnt matter if hub is slightly smaller as long as parking shoes are fitted to correct punched holes to dust shield?

Originally Posted by F0rseti

Have following questions. What if i do following:

1. Take adjusting screw from 330 and parking shoes from 330, assemble shoe
2. Drill same punched holes in correct places in 320 dust shield (have 330 dust shield so know the location)

I know hubs on 330 are larger, but isn't that parking shoes are braking against rotors, so it doesnt matter if hub is slightly smaller as long as parking shoes are fitted to correct punched holes to dust shield?

I think the mechanics of doing this are much harder than fabricating a new shoe. It's not only the adjusting screw but also the ratchet mechanism that operates the brake. The dust shield's surface is not uniform/flat so you can't punch holes wherever the 330 shoe fits. Some of the holes are rectangle. Also, the steel wire will probably need to be relocated.

Making a new set of brake shoes is a piece of cake and they last many years.

Hey paraklas any way I can buy modified brake shoes for my 325? I wanna get 330 brakes all around