Big Brake Kit
XYZ Racing Hollow Front Brake Kit — Bmw 5 SERIES E 28 520 (1981-1988)
SKU: XYZ-BRK-BKF-BM-01-B-FRONT
- IncludesFront axle pair (2 discs + 2 calipers)
- PositionFront
- Disc Ø330–444 mm
- Caliper pots6 / 8 / 12-pot
- Lead time10–15 working days
Fits Bmw 5 SERIES E 28 520 (1981-1988)
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Caliper render for this kit:
The E28 520’s front brake hardware was correctly specified for a two-litre M20 on the road in 1981, no more and no less. Four decades later, that same hardware on any surviving E28 is a liability: seized guide pins, fatigued piston seals, and rotors worn past minimum thickness. The 520 might be the lightest-engined variant in the E28 range, but the chassis loads its front axle hard in the braking zones that matter on a back road or a classic track day, and the car’s natural balance only shows itself when the hardware at each front corner is actually working.
The XYZ Racing Hollow Front Brake Kit for the BMW 5 Series E28 520 replaces that front-axle hardware with a single, spec-complete unit: a left and right pair of front calipers and matched front discs, ready to bolt on. Choose your pad compound to suit how the car is driven, pick a caliper finish, and set the disc style. Every choice is made at the configurator above, so the kit arrives built the way you want it.
What this brake kit does for your 1981-1988 Bmw 5 Series E 28 520
The E28’s MacPherson strut front suspension transmits braking forces directly through each front corner’s geometry, and the 520’s rear-wheel-drive layout means front braking quality is felt acutely in the chassis. A degraded caliper announces itself as a nervous, unweighted front end under trail-braking, not just an extended stopping distance. New hardware eliminates the uneven clamping and guide-pin stiction that accumulates in high-mileage classic calipers, restoring the progressive pedal feel that makes the E28’s inherently neutral balance exploitable. The two-piece floating disc design keeps the friction ring free to expand as it heats, so the rotor stays true and the pedal stays consistent. The three pad compounds serve genuinely different ownership patterns: Street is the quiet, low-dust road default; Sport adds bite and heat range for fast roads and the occasional track day; Racing is the full track compound for classic motorsport days where the front axle sees sustained high braking energy. The hollow-vane disc moves heat off the swept face faster than a solid casting, which keeps whichever compound you choose inside its working window for longer.
About the Hollow Front Brake Kit
The XYZ Racing Hollow Front Brake Kit is a complete front-axle replacement, engineered as a ready-to-fit system for a specific application rather than a piecemeal modification. The caliper body is hollow as standard, which trims rotating and unsprung mass at the front corners and sharpens steering response over a heavier OE-style unit. For owners pushing the E28 hard at classic sprints or circuit events, the optional Hollow Racing caliper upgrade removes the dust cover, is rated to 1000C, and carries a two-year warranty. Disc style is your choice of drilled or slotted at the same price, and the centre bell can be upgraded to a two-tone anodized finish in five colours, or to titanium, at checkout. Caliper finish runs from the included painted colours, Red, Yellow, Gold, Black, and Anodized Black, at no extra cost, with a Custom Color in any Pantone available for an upcharge, plus premium polished-forged finishes in Titanium, Polished Gold, and Polished Silver, and candy finishes in Teal, Blue, Red, and Orange. This is a front-position kit, covering the front axle only.
Fitment for the Bmw 5 Series E 28 520 (1981-1988)
This kit is built for the BMW 5 Series E28 in 520 trim across the full production span from 1981 to 1988. The E28 520 ran the M20B20 inline-six throughout its production life without meaningful front-axle dimensional changes, making the kit applicable to all years in the range. Verify your chassis designation before ordering, as the heavier-engined E28 variants, including the 525i, 528i, 535i, and M535i, used different front-axle specifications in a number of markets.
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Set your compound, caliper colour, and disc style using the options above, and the kit is built to that spec when you order.
What’s in the kit
Front axle kit — supplied as a complete bolt-on assembly.
- 2×Two-piece floating discs — 330–444 mm: you pick the exact diameter with the "Disc size" option
- 2×Lightweight aluminium centre bells
- 2×Forged aluminium calipers — 6 / 8 / 12-pot
- 2×High-stiffness mounting brackets
- 2×Braided stainless steel brake lines
- 4×High-performance brake pads (1 set)
- 1×Fitting hardware & tools pack
Choosing your spec
Every kit is built to order around the choices you make above. Here is what each option actually changes, so you can spec yours with confidence.
Brake pads — Street, Sport or Racing
Every kit ships with a full set of high-performance pads; the compound is your call.
Street is the right default for fast-road driving — a strong, progressive cold bite with low noise, low dust and long disc life. Sport raises the working temperature and adds bite and fade resistance for hard road use and the occasional track day, while still behaving on a cold morning. Racing is a track compound built for sustained abuse: huge fade resistance and bite once heat is in it, at the cost of more noise and dust when cold. Match the pad to how hard you actually use the brakes — there is no benefit to a race pad that never gets up to temperature.
Caliper grade — Hollow vs Hollow Racing
Hollow is the standard caliper on every kit: a hollow-body forged caliper, lighter than a solid one, fitted with a dust cover and backed by a 5-year oil-leak warranty. For most fast-road and spirited track use it is all the caliper you need.
Hollow Racing is the track-grade upgrade. It runs the same hollow body but without a dust cover (so there is nothing to melt at sustained high temperature), uses a twin-metal piston that isolates heat travelling from the disc to the oil seal, and is rated to 1000°C. Available 286–380mm (front). Warranty is 2 years on oil leaks and 10 years on appearance. Built for professional racing and repeated track days.
Caliper colour & finish
Painted colours (Red, Yellow, Gold, Black, Anodized Black) are included at no cost. Want an exact match to your car? Custom Color (+£150) paints the calipers to any Pantone code you supply (15–20 day lead time).
Polished Forged finishes are the flagship: a forged caliper given a mirror-polished surface treatment that shifts colour with the viewing angle. Beyond the looks, the polished surface dissipates heat better, resists rust and stands up to the weather. Choose Titanium (neochrome, +£350), Polished Gold (+£300) or Polished Silver (+£250). They look their best paired with a titanium centre bell. Care: clean only with a dilute neutral cleaner or water.
Candy colours (+£200) use a deep candy-paint and polishing process for a mirror-reflection, boutique finish — pick Teal, Blue, Red or Orange (shown below right).
Centre bells
The centre bell is the CNC-machined aluminium hat that joins the disc to the hub. The standard anodized centre bell is included. The Two-tone bell (+£200) adds an anodized accent ring — choose Red, Yellow, Orange, Purple or Silver right here at checkout. The Titanium centre bell (+£500) is a forged titanium bell (bolts not included) that finishes off the polished-forged look.
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More XYZ products for the Bmw 5 SERIES E 28 520 appear here as the rest of the range publishes.