Any real benefit to swapping 550 rear brakes onto a 535?

Mike Atkisson · 12-01-2021, 06:13 PM

I have a 2012 535i that I am fixing up after it hit a pole. I picked up a 2011 550i as a parts donor. 550 had no engine, trans, or dash electronics, but complete other than that.

I already swapped the complete front subframe onto my 535. As a bonus, this gained me the front 550 brakes.

Is there any real benefit to putting the 550 rear brakes on my car?

Hoa · 12-01-2021, 07:22 PM

You get slightly larger rotor and caliper. If you already did the front, might as well do the rear.

If you want to do a bigger brake upgrade, you can use 7 series 374x36 rotors and M5 carriers and pads.

Unspec · 12-02-2021, 09:53 AM

I'd do it to keep the brake bias the same.

addy27 · 12-03-2021, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoa

You get slightly larger rotor and caliper. If you already did the front, might as well do the rear.

If you want to do a bigger brake upgrade, you can use 7 series 374x36 rotors and M5 carriers and pads.

Just to clarify, for rears, you meant 370x24 rotors from 7 series, since 374x36 size is for the front. Pads are the same for 550i and m5 in the rear.

Hoa · 12-03-2021, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by addy27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoa

You get slightly larger rotor and caliper. If you already did the front, might as well do the rear.

If you want to do a bigger brake upgrade, you can use 7 series 374x36 rotors and M5 carriers and pads.

Just to clarify, for rears, you meant 370x24 rotors from 7 series, since 374x36 size is for the front. Pads are the same for 550i and m5 in the rear.

Oh yeah! Got it mixed up lol

lucid21 · 12-11-2021, 04:35 PM

By swapping out just the fronts you most likely altered the brake bias of the car--hard to say which way without knowing specs on the pistons and other variables but probably more to the front. If so, you may have actually decreased overall braking performance because you may not be utilizing the available and safe rear traction for braking. It would make sense to swap the rears as well.

I posted more on this type of thing here: https://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1865136

12-01-2021, 06:13 PM	#1
Mike Atkisson Private First Class 24 Rep 181 Posts Drives: BMW 540ix Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Tucson, AZ iTrader: (0) Garage List 2014 BMW 435i [0.00]	Any real benefit to swapping 550 rear brakes onto a 535? I have a 2012 535i that I am fixing up after it hit a pole. I picked up a 2011 550i as a parts donor. 550 had no engine, trans, or dash electronics, but complete other than that. I already swapped the complete front subframe onto my 535. As a bonus, this gained me the front 550 brakes. Is there any real benefit to putting the 550 rear brakes on my car?
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12-01-2021, 07:22 PM	#2
Hoa Major 672 Rep 1,510 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: May 2010 Location: GA iTrader: (10)	You get slightly larger rotor and caliper. If you already did the front, might as well do the rear. If you want to do a bigger brake upgrade, you can use 7 series 374x36 rotors and M5 carriers and pads.
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12-02-2021, 09:53 AM	#3
Unspec Colonel 1380 Rep 2,637 Posts Drives: 2015 BMW 535xi Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: DMV iTrader: (1)	I'd do it to keep the brake bias the same. __________________ 2015 BMW 535xi Bootmod3 Stage 2 \| ER charge pipe \| ER Catted DP \| Remus Exhaust \| Gplus FMIC \| KW V3 \| Turner Monoball thrust arm bushings \| Wallet regrets ISTA VM Setup/Tutorial
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12-11-2021, 04:35 PM	#6
lucid21 Private 32 Rep 72 Posts Drives: 2014 6MT M5 Comp Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Massachusetts iTrader: (0)	By swapping out just the fronts you most likely altered the brake bias of the car--hard to say which way without knowing specs on the pistons and other variables but probably more to the front. If so, you may have actually decreased overall braking performance because you may not be utilizing the available and safe rear traction for braking. It would make sense to swap the rears as well. I posted more on this type of thing here: https://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1865136 __________________ 88 S14 M3 (NASA GTS3 racecar) / 11 6MT 550i M Sport / 14 6MT M5 Competition / 15 X5 50i M Sport (tow vehicle)
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