Home / Now Shipping Radical Competition Front Brake Kits For The Bmw G80 G82

Now Shipping: Radi-CAL Competition Front Brake Kits for the BMW G80 M3 and G82 M4

02.10.2023

All brake kit options for the G80 M3/Comp and G82 M4 can be found here.

When it was first revealed, the polarizing look of BMW's G80 M3 (and G82 M4) seemed to dominate conversations surrounding the new platform. By any measure, however, the sheer performance on tap from its turbocharged S58 powertrain and excellent chassis is undeniably impressive, especially given that AWD Competition models tip the scales at close to 4000 lbs. To ensure these progressively longer, heavier, and more powerful M cars stop as well as they go, BMW has predictably resorted to giant brake discs and calipers on the front axle. This is most glaring with the Carbon Ceramic option, where overall disc diameter balloons to 400mm. While the standard M Compound iron brakes are slightly smaller at 380mm, you're still stuck with an abundance of excess unsprung weight. What's more, massive brake components dictate your choice in wheels and tires, and not necessarily in a good way. Road car manufacturers have been trending toward ever-larger wheel diameters for quite some time now. But for many of our clients who actually track their cars, shaving weight and saving money on tires (while also having more tire choices) is a higher priority.

For those looking to reduce unsprung mass while also adding the ability to run smaller, lighter track wheels/tires on the front of your G80 M3 or G82 M4, we are excited to announce our Radi-CAL Competition Brake Kits. Like other kits in our Radi-CAL product line, they feature the renowned AP Racing Pro5000R calipers paired with 372x34mm 2-piece floating discs. Proven over many thousands of track miles, our discs are highly efficient and able to absorb and shed heat far more quickly and effectively than the OEM units, while also weighing less and typically lasting longer.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF AP RACING BY ESSEX COMPETITION BRAKE KITS?

They shave approximately 18 to 20 pounds of unsprung weight from your M3 or M4's front axle
Allow you the option to run lightweight 18" track wheels and tires (use our wheel templates here to confirm fitment: CP9668 caliper / CP9660 caliper).
Dramatically increase your brake pad options. Radi-CAL calipers use some of the most common pad shapes on the market, and every pad manufacturer makes the shape in nearly all of their compounds
Allow you to move to a 25mm (1 inch) thick pad while still fitting behind the OEM wheels. Our CP9668/372mm system features pads that are a full inch thick. No spacer is required behind OEM wheels, and as noted, you'll be able to stuff them behind many 18" wheels (depending on offset and spoke clearance).
Even our wider CP9668 caliper package fits behind the OEM Style 826M 19" front wheels without a spacer
Every component designed to resist the heat of extended track sessions
Pistons sized properly to allow for seamless integration with OEM master cylinder and ABS system
Designed to work with OEM rear brakes

WHAT DO I DO WITH MY OEM BRAKE SYSTEM?

Option A: Shelve it in your garage

Our brake system is a significant investment, but it truly is an investment. Our brake packages typically change hands for 65-70% of their original MSRP on the used market. That means when the time comes to move onto your next ride, you can pull our kit from your car and get thousands of dollars for it. You'll have your pristine OEM brake system sitting on the shelf, so you won't have to go out and buy a bunch of OEM brake parts to prep it for sale. The OEM calipers and discs also won't look like they went through a war, so you won't have to worry about scaring off potential buyers because your brakes look ragged-out.

Option B: Sell your OEM brakes to another M3/M4 owner

Not everyone wants the ultimate brake package for their M car. Many just want something big that looks cool, fills up the wheel, or just anything more durable than the base setup. If you pass your giant OEM Carbon Ceramic setup down the road, you'll have several thousand dollars to offset the cost of our brake system. When it comes time to sell the car, you could either leave our system installed (one of the few potential mods that arguably adds value), or sell our kit and pick up a base brake package for peanuts on the used market.

As you should be able to see at this point, our systems provide a laundry list of advantages vs. the OEM BMW brakes. If you're serious about having the most capable, versatile, best-performing brake system on your M, you should give our systems a closer look.

BMW's original equipment discs measure 380mm across with a a thickness of 36mm and 30 directional cooling vanes. This substantial piece tipped our scale at 27.9 lbs. with a significant amount of wear, meaning a new example would be at least 28 lbs. By contrast, a typical AP Racing by Essex 372x34mm disc comes in around 22 lbs., saving over 6 lbs. of unsprung weight per front rotor.

It was a similar theme with BMW's front calipers, which weighed in at 11.38 lbs. without pads:

For this application, we offer AP Racing's Radi-CAL Pro5000R calipers in either the CP9660 (18mm thick pads) or wide-format CP9668 with 25mm thick pads. In either case, they are roughly half the weight of the OEM M Compound caliper.

CP9660

This featherweight 6 piston caliper comes in at just over 6 lbs. and provides much more clearance on the top/outer side compared to the OEM unit.

AP Racing by Essex Radi-CAL Competition CP9660 Brake Kit for BMW G80 M3 and G82 M4 including Competition models:

Saves approximately 20 lbs. of unsprung weight from the nose vs. the OEM Competition iron brakes
Clears 19" OEM Competition Style 826M wheels without a spacer
Features AP Racing CP9660 Radi-CAL Pro5000R 6 piston calipers
372x34mm, 72 vane AP Racing J Hook discs
Ventilated, domed back, stainless steel pistons keep heat out of the brake fluid and provide an ultra-firm pedal

Though significantly wider than its little brother, the CP6668 isn't much heavier at 6.6 lbs. (configured below with the included Quick-Change Brake Pad Spring Clip).

CP9668

AP Racing by Essex Radi-CAL Competition CP9668 Brake Kit for BMW G80 M3 and G82 M4 including Competition models:

Saves approximately 18 lbs. of unsprung weight from the nose vs. the OEM Competition iron brakes
Clears 19" OEM Competition Style 826M wheels without a spacer
Features AP Racing CP9668 Radi-CAL Pro5000R 6 piston calipers
372x34mm, 72 vane AP Racing J Hook discs
CP9668 calipers use a 25mm thick, commonly available brake pad shape
Ventilated, domed back, stainless steel pistons keep heat out of the brake fluid and provide an ultra-firm pedal

Both caliper sizes are available in our traditional Hard Anodized finish, as seen below. ***Note: the center hat portion of the pictured disc below is a prototype unit in bare, un-anodized aluminum.

New Electroless Nickel Plated (ENP) Caliper Option:

We now have the highly anticipated ENP finish option available for both caliper sizes as well. This jewel-like finish is incredibly durable and easy to clean.