Let's get DBA to make the best E30 Brake Discs!

#1

Hi Guys.

Some of you may know that there is an E30 Racing Series in Australia, in Victoria.

Like the UK Production BMW Cup, US Spec E30, and NZ BMW E30 Series, we are allowed to upgrade other areas of the brakes (lines, master cylinder, guide bolts), but we are only allowed to use original size brake pads & brake discs (260x22mm front).

Those of you who drive, track, or race E30s will know that there is not a lot of choice out there if you want to run original size brake discs. ATE, Brembo, RDA etc make slotted or drilled variants of what are normal brake discs, not really designed for motorsport/high load use. Anyone who as seriously punished a set of brakes will know that most aftermarket designs don’t have anywhere near the longevity as proper performance discs.

And that leads me to the the focus of this topic.

I had a discussion today with the Sales & Marketing Director of Disc Brakes Australia (http://www.dba.com.au). DBA make a number of different variants of brake discs for all sorts of different cars, and make motorsport versions (4000 & 5000 Series) to suit factory applications on specific vehicles. They are the control brake disc supplier to the Yokohama V8 Ute Series in both Australia and New Zealand, and these manage to pull up an 1800kg V8 beast!

http://www.dba.com.au/2006/products_4000.asp
http://www.dba.com.au/2006/products_5000.asp

DBA has recently been expanding into the USA, and now Europe, opening themselves up to more and more vehicle specific fitments. DBA currently has a number of products meeting TUV approval standards. You can read testimonials from all over the world on their website: http://www.dba.com.au/2006/testimonials.asp

DBA currently offers a standard or slotted front brake disc for the 1983-1991 E30 318-325. They do not currently make a 4000 (single piece) or 5000 (2-piece) series disc in our application.

My contact at DBA advised me that at 2 years ago, at an automobile show in Europe, he received some interest from some owners of Alfa Romeo Montreals. They were seeking performance discs after Brembo had discontinued that line of products. Once enough information had spread, and enough interest was generated amongst Montreal owners for DBA to produce a 4000 series disc to their specifications, and DBA now continues to produce and supply that disc around the world. So this means that if enough worldwide interest can be generated, DBA can produce discs for that interest profitably.

So let’s all (AUS, NZ, UK & USA) generate that interest for our cars - and never have to worry about front disc supply again. Let’s get a proper, motorsport specific brake disc made for our cars - because we all know the E30s are worth it!

The DBA minimum production run for a 4000 series 6x6 Slot E30 front disc would be 100 sets i.e. 100 left discs and 100 right discs. You don’t need to order them, just display significant interest that the product should be made.

To this end, I have setup an email address where you can send an email specifically requesting that DBA produce these discs:

dba4000rotorsfore30s@hotmail.com

I will make these emails available to DBA to demonstrate how much demand there is for a product like this.

So please, let people around the world know through other forums, club meetings, chat rooms, Facebook/Myspace, however you can, and tell them to get emailling!

Cheers guys, and hopefully we can see some discs turn up soon!

#2

DBA4000s are very good replacement discs. The “kangaroo paw” vanes certainly would be an inprovement over the stock straight vanes.

I’ll get with my DBA supplier and see if I cant help with the process also.

#3

Any idea about price. quality + competitive price almost always = business

#4

No idea on price at the moment - would be very reasonable for a motorsport oriented disc. And my price (AUD) with our smaller demand would almost certainly be more than the price in the US.

#5

Actually… I dunno how popular these would end up being now that I think about it. First, the E30 rotors are small, so any added cooling vane upgrades would probably provide minimal improvement.

Second, the cost of DBA4000s would likely be around the $200-250USD/pair range. Im basing that estimate on the rears, which are available. Not sure racers would want to pay 5 times the cost for them over generic blanks.

What do you guys think?

Eric
http://www.brakeswap.com

#6

magnetic1 wrote:

The trick to succeeding with a 5X markup is to write PORSCHE on it.

#7

Eric-
FWIW there is no way I will pay that much for rotors when the OEM ones I have now work fine, especially when there is no proof that these would provide better performance or longevity.

#8

magnetic1 wrote:

[quote]
What do you guys think?

Eric
http://www.brakeswap.com[/quote]

Forget about it Eric, I would have trouble buying them even if they were only double the cost and someone would have to prove to me they lasted longer and honestly I doubt there would be that much difference.

#9

That’s kinda what I figured too… :slight_smile:

#10

WARNING - OLD THREAD REVIVAL!!!

Thought I’d give you guys an update on how this worked out. You can follow the story on the European Car Club Forums thread here: DBA 4000 Series Rotors for E30s. Will get you guys some pictures as soon as possible.

Basically took me another 2 years to get enough interest (and enough effort) and potential customers lined up to organise production of a batch of 50 rotors (25 pairs) in the 4000 series. Retailer we were going through went bankrupt a few weeks ago, just as the pallet of rotors were machined and ready to ship. Luckily I have developed a VERY good relationship with the guys at Disc Brakes Australia, and managed to negotiate their release personally - i.e. I bought 50 rotors. Have since allocated them all to customers, and shipped out this week. Worked out at only A$180 per rotor, which is pretty much the same USD amount with the current AUD/USD exchange rate, but you guys would always end up paying less (f**kers and your economy). If anyone is interested in evaluating a set, I have one pair (2 rotors) that I can ship over at cost to generate some interest in the USA. DBA is looking for long term production estimates, and have some additional rotors on hand if I need to get my hands on more.

The rotors also came with DBA’s new proprietary slot pattern, which (along with an insight into DBA’s Sydney manufacturing plant) can be viewed on this Mighty Car Mods video from 7:45 to 9:00:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx9plJ5gmNg&feature=player_embedded[/video]

[quote=“djs325” post=52114]Jealous of you guys and your cheap rotors!

And I’ve just got DBA to commit to making a test batch of 4000 series rotors for the E30 front - and they’re cheap at A$175 each (approx US$165 at current exchange, but that’s before you get the “We’ve got over 250 million consumers” discount).[/quote]

#11

Let’s see…we do not wear rotors out, we crack them out.
Heat dissipation is the problem, or is it metalurgy?I do not know diddly about rotor metalurgy, but the material used would have to not crack to be of value (read price premium) to me.

Is that what the DBA rotors bring, or just fancy grooves in the rotors. Need more info.

RP

#12

In my experience it is always the outer side of the rotor that cracks first. That suggests that the cause of the cracking is thermal induced stresses from the inner and outer faced of the rotor seeing a high temperature gradient. Changing to cooling so as to equalise the temperatures should help if that’s the case. But because rotors are so cheap I’m not motivated to try to do anything about it.

#13

The 4000 series use a different grade/mix of iron, and are fully cast & machined in Australia. They use ‘Kangaroo Paw’ ventilation rather than straight vanes. They have also been heat treated (I believe both heat and cryogenic). They also come with heat monitoring paint on the side. The slot pattern was a new development that sets DBA apart from others cosmetically, but they have also had good reports from the V8 Ute series they use as a test bed (4000lb 450hp modern day El-Caminos, more or less).

If you click through the ECCA thread there is more info and links.

[quote=“Patton” post=56087]Let’s see…we do not wear rotors out, we crack them out.
Heat dissipation is the problem, or is it metalurgy?I do not know diddly about rotor metalurgy, but the material used would have to not crack to be of value (read price premium) to me.

Is that what the DBA rotors bring, or just fancy grooves in the rotors. Need more info.

RP[/quote]

#14

Thanks, djs325 for the info.

Looks like a decision on cost versus time to change 'em out when the cheap ones crack.

RP

#15

To put things in perspective, the current retail pricing (not what most of us would pay anyway) on DBA’s website for the E30 street rotors (Chinese blank, no slots) is A$92, slotted street rotors A$275 (a bit out of whack I know).

For the 4000 series rotors for a Subaru WRX, no-slot is A$225, slot is A$300. So to be able to supply the E30 rotor at A$180 each to end user isn’t a half bad effort.

We’ll see how people go with life, and I will report my findings. Again, I have a spare pair lying around somewhere that I can arrange to freight to the US if anyone is interested in being a trendsetter…

Ranger? Got your thermal imaging camera and notebook lying around?

[quote=“Patton” post=56105]Thanks, djs325 for the info.

Looks like a decision on cost versus time to change 'em out when the cheap ones crack.

RP[/quote]

#16

Here’s a quick look at how they turned out. Not too shabby looking!

#17

These rotors look cool and all, but $17/rotor is current price point…

#18

And many or most of you are probably ok with paying a small amount of money for a disposable Chinese rotor.

Recommended retail on 4000 series rotors on Tire Rack for the E36 M3 is US$160 per rotor, for the 05-09 Mustang GT is US$195. So to get a batch of just 50 made and then sold out at A$180 each is no small feat considering.

Unfortunately we (Australia) don’t possess the sheer scale of economy that you have, so we can’t get rotors that cheap at retail/end user level. Couple that with the fact that Australians take the survival of a domestic manufacturing industry VERY seriously; and a healthy dose of patriotic fervour, you can see why I’m very proud that this product was able to come to market (albeit after a very elongated gestation period).

#19

A smackdown from halfway around the world? That’s gotta be a SpecE30.com record!!

The rotors sound like tremendous pieces of engineering. Unfortunately, $200 is the price point that most of these guys want to pay for a junkyard engine.:laugh:

#20

A smackdown from halfway around the world? That’s gotta be a SpecE30.com record!!

The rotors sound like tremendous pieces of engineering. Unfortunately, $200 is the price point that most of these guys want to pay for a junkyard engine.:laugh:[/quote]

Exactly.

Even I dont sell many SE30 rotors anymore. Even with free trackside delivery, my rotors at $30 each are almost twice the “$17 going rate”.