Adding ABS

[VolvoGLT]

MK60 ABS can be run standalone, and it has wheelspeed outputs (or CAN if you have an actually decent standalone)

Does this apply to all MK60 ABS or just the BMW E46M3 ABS? The MK60 ABS was used in a lot of different vehicles and the units (ECU and hydraulic block) can be found for around $200. Would be great if all MK60 ECUs could be flashed or are there differences between front-wheel, rear-wheel, all-wheel-drive units?

https://www.ate-brakes.com/products/hydraulic-parts/mk60-abs-control-unit/

EDIT: did some research and no, you can't use any other MK60 units other than the E46 M3 ones. Two reasons:

1.) The hydraulic block is car specific. VW for example has two diagonal brake circuits (front left and rear right, front right and rear left - so no front rear bias possible!). BMW has front circuit and rear circuit with a brake bias.

2.) All MK60 except the M3 units have a ROM chip whereas the M3 unit got a RAM chip. Can you change from ROM to RAM? Don't know...

 

[rb92673]

Happened to stumbled across this thread.

We race an 1989 780 and were having all sorts of braking issues locking up, flat spots on tires brakes fade etc etc..! Although we never experienced it ours did have an abs system at one point but parts of it are missing.

We are in the middle of upgrading to s60r brakes all round and I was about to rip out what?s left of the ABS. But now maybe I?m thinking I should reconsider! We were goin to go with a willwood portioning valve with the new calipers, rotors, MC & booster and call it good.

Is the ABS system really worth reviving? Are there big advantages to have it for racing?

What parts make up the system exactly. We still have the abs module & MC but that?s about it.. all wiring, sensors and ECU are gone ..

We are running a b230ft 16v with a stand-alone microsquirt.


Following ?

Lemons / Lucky Dog racer here with a 740 wagon. I can't answer your ABS question, but we do not get any fade and the only flat spot we have had recently was when our tie rods were both shot on our steering rack. We run stock calipers and they work very well.

To get there we used high quality fluid ATE Typ 200, Motul, etc. Race pads, specifically ST43s made by Porterfield, but we are trying R4Es as ST43s are hard to get right now. Centric blank rotors, not drilled. We had a hard time with air in the lines until we used a Motive power bleeder.

 

[Harlard]

Happened to stumbled across this thread.

We race an 1989 780 and were having all sorts of braking issues locking up, flat spots on tires brakes fade etc etc..! Although we never experienced it ours did have an abs system at one point but parts of it are missing.

We are in the middle of upgrading to s60r brakes all round and I was about to rip out what?s left of the ABS. But now maybe I?m thinking I should reconsider! We were goin to go with a willwood portioning valve with the new calipers, rotors, MC & booster and call it good.

Is the ABS system really worth reviving? Are there big advantages to have it for racing?

What parts make up the system exactly. We still have the abs module & MC but that?s about it.. all wiring, sensors and ECU are gone ..

We are running a b230ft 16v with a stand-alone microsquirt.


Following ?

Don't think the old early 90s systems are worth the trouble for racing applications. Ideally you would want the MK60 if you want anything relatively easy and off-the-shelf, that can individually control brake force in each corner.

 

[mck1117]

+1 for the MK60. We have one in our Lucky Dog 240, and it feels like cheating. We can outbrake just about everybody except for real E46 M3s. We've run both the unit from an E46 330i and an E46 M3 (neither flashed, just the M3 one set to the M3 CSL parameters). The 330i unit was good, and the M3 one is better.

Does this apply to all MK60 ABS or just the BMW E46M3 ABS?
EDIT: did some research and no, you can't use any other MK60 units other than the E46 M3 ones. Two reasons:

This is not quite true - all E46 hydraulic units are the same, M3 or otherwise. The other flavors of MK60 on other vehicles may or may not be the same. We currently have an M3 brain on a 330i hydraulic unit (didn't want to re-bleed when I found the M3 unit for cheap) and it works perfect.

 

[Harlard]

+1 for the MK60. We have one in our Lucky Dog 240, and it feels like cheating. We can outbrake just about everybody except for real E46 M3s. We've run both the unit from an E46 330i and an E46 M3 (neither flashed, just the M3 one set to the M3 CSL parameters). The 330i unit was good, and the M3 one is better.



This is not quite true - all E46 hydraulic units are the same, M3 or otherwise. The other flavors of MK60 on other vehicles may or may not be the same. We currently have an M3 brain on a 330i hydraulic unit (didn't want to re-bleed when I found the M3 unit for cheap) and it works perfect.

Cool! Care to elaborate more on your setup? Wondering whether you stripped back a BMW wiring harness and what your rear reluctor wheels look like

 

[mck1117]

Cool! Care to elaborate more on your setup? Wondering whether you stripped back a BMW wiring harness and what your rear reluctor wheels look like

I posted some of that recently in the mk60 thread here: https://forums.turbobricks.com/showpost.php?p=6283753&postcount=26

tl;dr I had SendCutSend laser cut me some wheels out of 3/16" steel, and pressed them on to the flat spot between the wheel bearing and the hub flange. Aluminum angle bracket for the sensor that shares the wheel bearing/axle retainer bolts.

 

[mck1117]

Oh, wiring harness, I spliced a junkyard harness from a regular E46. The pinout is the same enough (modulo DSC/sport buttons etc). Ran new wires for just about everything, but that's where I got the plug/pigtail.