BMA Wheels

18" shown without Lockplate
Available in 15" - 20"
Sandwich mount shown
4 & 5 stud fitment inc Centre Lock

Source: http://www.imagewheels.co.uk/pages/wheels_cast.html

brake performance

Well that depends on what sort of brake "performance" you're talking about.

Stopping distance: Depends mostly on your tires. Brake upgrades won't change this much.

1977 Frnt Calipers

Fade resistance: Depends partly on rotor cooling and partly on pad compound. Vented rotors and good pads will help with this. Calipers have no effect.

Pedal feel: The pedal will take less force but longer travel to achieve the same brake torque with the Volvos compared to the 323i calipers. You may want to change the master cylinder to a larger bore to make the travel shorter again. Once you do that there is probably no difference in the feel.

The size of the pad area only effects how long it takes to wear the pads out. It does not effect the braking torque and probably has minimal effect on the feel.

http://www.massivebrakes.com/kits/e21/front/300/32/

Basically you need vented rotors, good pads, and good fluid. Caliper choice is 1/10 as important as any one of those. Front 323i calipers are identical to '77 320i calipers, and their only advantage is that you are able to run a vented rotor.

Braking torque can be a consideration, however, how much does brake torque matter once they've been locked up if you don't have ABS None. Once you start running bigger&stickier tires, it becomes harder to lock the tires up, so then more brake torque is needed. Until you get to that point, bigger brakes will just have a longer life and stay cooler (definitely advantages to both of those) and will likely have more un-sprung weight (not so much of an advantage).

1977 Front Calipers

Rotors need 2 things, mass to instantaneously absorb heat during a braking application (heavier is better), and some way to cool them before the next brake application (venting, possibly with air ducting/diverting). The stock non-vented rotors have very little of either of those things.

i do know that with stock vented rotors, calipers, hawk hp plus pads and ATE fluid, i can overpower the summer tires i'm running.

Pads: Hawk hps brake pads are about as good as it gets.

Torque is a measure of the turning force on an object and is greatly influenced by the length of the lever. the longer the lever the greater the mechanical advantage. therefore a bigger diameter rotor has more torque. i really don't believe pad size makes much difference with torque. (larger pads = longevity!)

Wilwoods brake calipers usually have a larger pistons (and several sizes are available) which does increase brake torque for a given line pressure, but you can always just press harder on the pedal instead. Wilwoods are also much lighter which is kind of a big deal since they are unspung weight (attached to the movable part of the suspension). But yeah, any brake upgrade that uses the same rotors is mostly for cosmetics/bragging.

there is a good discussion over on the forums regarding the upgraded girling calipers...its worth reading...it can be found here...

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=308282

Quote of the month

there are two kinds of people who own old Bimmers, BMW mechanics, and those who wish they were.

old school bavarian motor works

Tool Kit for iS models

Complete Tool Kit

flywheel

This is a VAC Motorsports Aluminum flywheel (extreme lightened) for a bmw m10 engine...amazing, but not practical.

as the above but with the pressure plate

model a ford

these cars are like an old lover that won't leave me alone...i really like model 'A's'...i have already been wondering what kind of car i want to do next...and believe it or not i have considered a model 'A'...

brake ducts

You are looking at one Porsche 944 924 968 Brake cooling kit. 

post-modern 320

323i

"This is my 323i which has been refinished in the original Brazil Brown. I have removed the markers installed when it was converted, and have replaced all  rubber and moldings with Original BMW . Original BMW Motorsport front spoiler and 15/6 and 15/7 BBS wheels.  After ordering 2 Alpina spoilers and having them arrive damaged, I decided to go with the Motorsport spoiler , However, I may try one more Alpina as well. Current plans are to have the BBS wheels refinished in body color with polished lips. Although replacement with Alpina wheels has been contemplated."

Notice the BMW Motorsports Front Valance

Source:  http://www.323i.net/

320i windshield wipers

driving the car back home from california jonathan and i ran into a rain storm and the wipers seemed to turn slower than typical...i would like to either put on a new motor...(doubtful)...or have the old motor rewound and have new brushes put into it...there is a place on rt. 65 that still does this kind of work...