Articles

As a company we take pride in developing parts based on facts and sound engineering principles and we see it as a necessity to share that knowledge with the community.

How to Choose Brake Fluid

Choosing brake fluid, especially for racing or track days, has turned into the latest "what's the best oil" debate, with lots of players in the market offering many variants. As with oil, a lot of misunderstanding is reposted on the internet as gospel, so a breakdown of the factors that go into brake fluid performance is helpful before making your choice. Click to read our partner's technical article on the topic before making your selection.

Is it Worth Upgrading my Brakes for the Track?

Many brake upgrades are chosen for aesthetic reasons, and no one should fault that choice: a properly assembled big brake kit enhances the car's safety, after all. For track use specifically, consumables can become the largest expenditure over a season and lifetime of car ownership. A proper big brake kit offers not only more repeatable and consistent braking performance, but can also make financial sense as the number of sessions or races on the components grow. Click to jump to our partner for a helpful breakdown.

The AP Radi-CAL Story

The AP Radi-CAL prototype first saw action in a clandestine test run in NASCAR in 2007, with a legendary driver behind the wheel of a legendary team's car. The CAD and FEA-driven design, with never-seen-before asymmetry optimized for dynamic instead of static load, proved such a noticeable improvement over the existing setup that the team made the unparalleled call to run the new calipers in the race that week, after a single day of testing. This lead to a long-running and impressive resume of the caliper series winning at various levels of professional motorsport. Click for more of the backstory and design details.

Do I Need Brake Ducts on my Track Car?

We've seen a proliferation of aftermarket brake duct offerings for track-focused BMWs lately, and have looked into ducting from M Sport/M5 bumpers into the brakes ourselves. However, as with so many modifications, it pays to examine the actual effects versus the intended goal - like an aftermarket air intake that may well gain sound, but also feeds warmer air to the intake tract and loses power. To help you choose your brake ducting (or lack thereof) wisely, hit the link.

S38B36 & B38 Variable Resonance System

We’re diving into the variable resonance system that’s integrated into the intake plenum of the S38B36 and S38B38 engines motivating the E34 M5. Click to jump to the article.

S38 Inconel Myth Part 1

Part 1 of your favorite Asses tackling the myth that’s permeated the E34 M5 community, which is that the S38B36 and S38B38 headers are constructed of some grade of Inconel. This myth gained wings after internal marketing material from BMW that mentions the “special steel” construction of S38 headers was circulated online. Get started here with analyzing the S38B36 header and a few material standards.

S38 Inconel Myth Part 2

Part 2 where we again scan the S38B36 header section, a few standards, and most importantly a S38B38 header section sourced directly from the Bavarian Halls of Valhalla. We also decided to take some measurements to help you decide if BMW did a good job upgrading the header for the S38B38 compared to the S38B36. Lets get to it.