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12GS
12GS GRM+ Memberand New Reader
5/8/23 12:57 p.m.

I made a post offering to help Nocones with an ABS install on his LMP360 project, and was quickly asked to make a post to help everyone on the forums with what I know about ABS and how to get it to work in a car it wasn't designed for, so here it is! I'll try to get everything I can think of into the first couple posts to keep all of the main information together, but I'm sure that I'll miss something. And feel free to ask questions if I wasn't clear on anything.

ABS is a scary thing to play around with for a lot of people. When it works, it's great. But when it doesn't work, it can be a real pucker moment, especially on high speeds on a racetrack. I think the scariest thing about it though is that it's a mysterious box that there is very little information on, and it's the thing between your brake pedal and the car actually stopping. That said, the MK60 (and its variants) are not as difficult to understand as one might imagine.

Teves (or Continental or ATE or whatever you know the manufacturer as) accidentally made the car hobbyists dream come true when they developed the MK60 ABS. In an automotive world where all of the electronics are so interconnected, they developed an ABS system that did not require any outside communication to it other than power (other than ABS/DSC specific signals which I'll talk about later). This is essential for us, because for many ABS systems, specific CAN messaging is required for the system to not go into a fault mode. That is not the case for the MK60. When running "standalone", the MK60 is perfectly happy and performs just as well as it did in the car it was designed for. Teves likely did this so that they could sell the unit to many different manufacturers without forcing those manufacturers into integrating the ABS, or having to design custom software for each vehicle that they installed it in.

So what is a MK60? The MK60 that most people know and love came in the 03-05 BMW M3s. There were a few different part numbers for those, but they are getting increasingly rare to find, and more expensive when you can. Most people use this model because it has software that makes it perform slightly better than the non-M3 variants, but there are non-M3 MK60s, and they still perform better than no ABS at all. They are also cheaper than the M3 units since they are less desirable. Prior to 03, these E46s came with another ABS variety called the MK20, which does not perform as well, and you probably don't want, so make sure you take a good look at what version you are getting. The MK20 and MK60 are visually different. They also use a different electrical connector. MK60s also came in other cars, like Minis and Volkwagen Automotive Group, but I haven't played with those, and don't know if their connector pinout is the same.

So first things first. How do you mechanically install an ABS system? Well its recommended that the ABS pump be rubber isolated so that it does not receive all of the vibrations in the car. This can damage electronics, as well as mess up the pump functioning properly. Stealing some pictures from Louis at GSpeed, since I am not around my car right now and he already had a writeup of his install on CorvetteForum (thanks Louis!) Note the orange rubber isolator that the pump is sitting on top of. You can use rubber isolators directly like this photo, or bolt the pump to a plate, and use the isolators to hold the plate up. Dealers choice.

Next, we have to hook up brake lines to the ABS pump. The markings on the pump are in German, so look at the pictures below for the translation to English (again, stolen from Louis ...). All of the ports on the pump are bubble flares (or DIN/ISO flares), and inverted (or double) flares (the norm on most cars these days) will not work. There are also 2 different threads on the ports. The two inputs (Front and Rear) are M12x1.0 thread. Two of the outputs are also M12x1.0 (Front Left and Rear Left), the other two are M10x1.0 (Front and Rear Right). I also recommend using 1/4" brake line from the master cylinder to the ABS pump, and 3/16" brake line from the pump to each wheel. If use smaller input lines, you may get weird results when ABS is applied as it can't source enough fluid from the reservoir effectively. One last note, you may have to get extra long tube nuts for the M10x1.0 ports. The ports are strangely deep, and some tube nuts will bottom out on the hex portion before the brake line seals in the bottom of the port.

Pressure sensors - There is some debate on whether the pressure sensors are required for a MK60. While they aren't required 100% for the MK60 to function, it will help reduce "ice mode", which is where the brake pedal is pressed, but the car doesn't want to slow down. There is a well known company that sells wiring harnesses that does not use pressure sensors or yaw sensors, and I have not personally heard of issues from that, but I like to be on the safe side when hurtling 120+mph into a corner. The pressure sensors need to be installed in the feed lines from the master cylinder to the ABS pump. One in the Front line, one in the rear line. These can be installed using some banjo adapters made by Atec, or you can install them using an adapter block that has 2 line ports and a pressure sensor port.

Yaw sensor - Again, there's some debate on whether this is needed, but I always err on the side of caution with brakes. The yaw sensor needs to be mounted with the mounting tabs up, and the connector towards the front of the car. See pictures below

Next, lets talk wheel speed sensors. The MK60 uses a 2 wire active wheel speed sensor. This means that old passive (variable reluctance or VR) sensors will not work with the MK60. You can recognize the VR sensors if you put a multimeter across the sensor in AC Voltage mode, spin the hub/wheel, and see voltage greater than 0VAC across the sensor. Again, this type will not work. 

There are quite a few OEM sensors that are known to work with the MK60, but figuring it out is mostly trial and error. We can talk about testing if anyone has any questions about a certain sensor. I have heard OEM 370Z sensors work. I also know that '09+ C6 Corvette sensors plug in and work directly. There are many others, but I don't know them off the top of my head. Most people, if their OEM sensors (if their car came with sensors) don't work, use E46 M3 sensors. These sensors can be identified by the blue connector on them. The gray connector sensors that look the same will not work.

You will also need a reluctor wheel for most setups. The reluctor wheel can be pretty much any tooth count, as long as there is the same number of teeth for all 4 wheels.

When mounting the sensor, it must be VERY close to the reluctor wheel. I think the spec is generally around ~1mm away from the teeth, but make sure that the teeth will not contact the sensor. A tiny bit of variation of distance is not a problem, but when you start getting 2-3mm away, the sensor may stop picking up the signal.

 

Next up, wiring!

12GS
12GS GRM+ Memberand New Reader
5/8/23 12:57 p.m.

Ah, wiring ... Wiring isn't as scary as some people think it is. If I can figure it out, you probably can too. There are a couple ways you can go about it -

  • Method 1 - Junkyard method. You can run to a junkyard and cut pigtails of connectors out of E46s and use butt splices to connect the old OEM wiring to your new wires to add length. I recommend a good crimp vs using solder as solder gets brittle and can crack and cause intermittent connection issues in an automotive environment. Also make sure that all connections are well isolated with heatshrink or electrical tape so that you don't end up with any short circuits.
  • Method 2 - Build a fully custom wiring harness. This honestly isn't as daunting as some people may think. You really just need 1 tool to be able to effectively crimp pins/contacts onto wires (I use this one - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071KFLY43/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I recommend just buying the MK60 connector kit from Tulay's (https://tulayswirewerks.com/product/teves-mk60-abs-connector-kit/). If you want to save a little bit of money, you can research and find the part numbers for all of the pins and connectors, but it's not very easy, and even with the part number the parts can be hard to find. Also, Kevin Tulay seems like a good dude in the couple times we've interacted, so I want to support him.
  • Method 3 - You can pay someone to build you a wiring harness. This definitely isn't as GRM as the other ways, but if you have the cash and aren't super confident in your abilities, this is always an option. Doug Wardell with RacingHarnessTechnologies is the big name for these swaps. I also sell harnesses at a slightly cheaper price than Doug if someone needs help, but I'm not trying to make it a business.

One other note if you've never done wiring before - All connectors are marked with a pin number/letter somewhere on the connector body (It can be difficult to read and/or identify sometimes, but it's there. Also, every pin may not be marked, but enough are marked to get the gist of it). So when the below chart says use pin 32 of the main MK60 connector, check the back of the connector and voila, pin 32 is marked clearly.

Most of the above chart is self explanatory. I crossed out some things that aren't very useful. The CANbus wires that I crossed out can technically be used if you have a lot of other E46 parts installed and connected to the CANbus also, but otherwise, you might as well just leave them out. You can also leave out the handbrake and DSC switch wires in a standalone application.

The OBD2 connector only needs 12V, Ground, and the TXD pin from the MK60 to communicate properly. You don't necessarily need the OBD2 port, but it's useful for diagnosis as the MK60 can throw codes and you can use the OBD2 port to read them using a cable like this - Amazon Link. You don't have to use this one specifically, but it needs to support BMW KLine.

Pins 8, 10, 12, and 14 are digital wheel speed outputs. Not sure why 12 and 14 aren't marked on this picture, but pin 12 is Front Right and pin 14 is Front Left. DO NOT connect the signal directly from the wheel speed sensors into a datalogger or other system. You will mess up the signal and break the ABS. You want to use these outputs from the ABS instead.

Pin 9 is the brake fluid level switch signal. If you have one of those on your car, connect it up. If not, just connect this pin to ground so that the ABS thinks the level is always full.

Pins 1, 16, 32, and 47 are all 30A circuits, so they need fairly large gauge wire. OEM is ~14awg (it's german so they use weird metric wire, but it's roughly 14awg), so that's what I recommend using. I've seen some other off-the-shelf harnesses use smaller wire, but I personally wouldn't risk it. Pin 1 and 32 both need to have their own dedicated 30A fuse. 16 and 47 can be tied together at ground. The rest of the wires can be 20awg or 22awg, whichever one you want to use.

Pin 44 is the Malfunction Indicator Lamp (or MIL) pin. This basically pulls to ground when the MK60 is in a good state, and goes to open if  its in a fault state and won't function properly. This can't handle high current lights like incandescents, but a 12v LED should be fine directly off of it. You can also use a MOSFET or something like that as a switch to drive a higher current light if you want (which is what some off-the-shelf harnesses do for you).

Lastly is pin 41, the brake light switch. I've seen some people say this isn't necessary. It may not be, but most people recommend its hooked up. You need to make this one so that the pin is connected to ground when the brake pedal is pressed, and is an open circuit when the pedal is not pressed. There are a few ways to go about this. Let me know if you need help with that.

Otherwise, make sure that the things that are marked with a * on the chart are twisted with their pair. This will help reduce noise on the line and will make sure the ABS performs properly.

I wrote this up quick, so I'm sure I missed something. Let me know if you have any questions.

12GS
12GS GRM+ Memberand New Reader
5/8/23 12:58 p.m.

So to start confusing you further, there are more versions of the MK60 than just the one I talked about above. Again, a similar version of the MK60 in the E46 came in other cars, such as Z3s, Minis, and others, but I honestly have not messed with any of those variants. There's a high likelihood that the wiring is similar, but probably not identical, for all of those MK60s.

You may also hear people talk about a MK60E1 or MK60E5. These were a later variant of the MK60 that came in newer cars (most notably the E9x chassis BMWs). I'm not going too deep into these here, but these are able to be used standalone, and (for now) have a much cheaper initial price than the E46 stuff. I'm not going too deep into these options because I can't speak to how well they actually perform in real life yet, but I have heard they are good.

The MK60E5 came in 6 and 8 cylinder E9x BMWs (some of these models came with a Bosch ABS instead of the Teves, and those are completely different. Avoid the Bosch for standalone use), as well as some of the Z4s (Z4 is very different and I'll talk about it briefly below). Again, the M3 model has different programming, and will perform slightly better than the non-M version.

The MK60E1 came in 4 cylinder E9x BMWs, which were never sold in the US market, but you can still purchase them on Ebay from Europe.

These variants had internal pressure sensors, and because of that, don't require the external inline pressure sensors to be hooked up. The MK60E1 has 1 internal pressure sensor on the input side of the system. The MK60E5 has 5 internal pressure sensors (1 on the input side, and a pressure sensor for each output). I have not done back to back testing between the E1 and the E5, but the E5 is believed to work better due to its ability to read the output pressures and compensate using that.

So other than the pressure sensors, what's the difference between the E46 MK60 and a MK60E1 and a MK60E5?

The MK60E1 is very similar to the E46 MK60. The wiring is different, but not extremely different. It does require a different harness (or a modified harness) to use. You cannot just plug in a E46 harness and expect the MK60E1 to work. The wheel speed sensors that work on the E46 MK60, also work on the E1. This means that 370z sensors work, C6 ZR1 sensors work, and E46 M3 sensors work. This is currently in my car, and I will hopefully test on track soon, but I'm waiting on my ECU to be repaired before I can actually test it.

There are "Motorsports" flashed versions of the E1 floating around. These are supposed to be even better, but again, I haven't tested this.

The MK60E5 is a different animal. The wiring is very similar to the MK60E1, but the wheel speed sensors are completely different. The E5 requires a magnetic encoder ring instead of the standard toothed tone ring. It also requires use of the E9x wheel speed sensors. These sensors send out a special signal to differentiate direction of rotation of each wheel. This means this ABS is not as plug and play on as many cars, but if you're willing to do some fab work, this can be installed just like anything else. There are a couple people out there working on a solution to be able to use other sensors with the E5, but none of those solutions are available to the public yet. Hopefully one day.

The MK60E5 that came in the Z4 is different again. This version of the E5 is almost a cross between an E46 MK60 and an E9x MK60E5. It has the 5 internal pressure sensors but uses the old E46 wheel speed sensors. The wiring is again different, and it requires much more equipment to make it happy. It's not quite as standalone ready as the other options, but if it were, it would be the best option. All the benefits of the E5, without having to use the special wheel speed sensors. There is atleast one person that has made this work, but I'm not sure what all it entailed, so bear that in mind when considering this option.

Questions?

AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter)
AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UberDork
5/8/23 1:49 p.m.

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

Olemiss540
Olemiss540 HalfDork
5/8/23 1:56 p.m.
Caperix
Caperix Reader
5/8/23 6:58 p.m.

Very good write up.  I have heard some of the m3 modules are more desirable as they can be flashed to the "race" software used in the euro CSL.

Any experience with the newer mk60e5? They have the pressure sensors built into the module & could be more easily adaptable.  Continental sells a race abs based of this setup, but I do not know if it is able to be flashed onto any of the factory modules.

wvumtnbkr
wvumtnbkr GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
5/8/23 7:33 p.m.

Hmmm....  looks like my biggest hurdle is going to be getting actual wheel speed sensors on an 87 rx7.

 

Thanks for the write up!  This is awesome!

Mr_Asa
Mr_Asa UltimaDork
5/8/23 7:42 p.m.

Awesome.  I've been wondering how I could do this since I upgraded the truck's front rotors and they came with sensors and reluctor wheels

MadScientistMatt
MadScientistMatt UltimaDork
5/8/23 7:42 p.m.

Interesting! I presume the equal tooth count on all four wheels assumes equal tire size and you would need to use a larger tooth count if one end had larger tires?

codrus (Forum Supporter)
codrus (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
5/9/23 2:38 a.m.
wvumtnbkr said:

Hmmm....  looks like my biggest hurdle is going to be getting actual wheel speed sensors on an 87 rx7.

Looks like you can get hubs and axles with tone rings on them, so the biggest challenge is probably fabricating the brackets to hold the BMW sensors in the right position relative to the rings.

wvumtnbkr
wvumtnbkr GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
5/9/23 6:59 a.m.
codrus (Forum Supporter) said:
wvumtnbkr said:

Hmmm....  looks like my biggest hurdle is going to be getting actual wheel speed sensors on an 87 rx7.

Looks like you can get hubs and axles with tone rings on them, so the biggest challenge is probably fabricating the brackets to hold the BMW sensors in the right position relative to the rings.

Huh.  I see that now!  I learned something new today about 2nd gen rx7s.

GIRTHQUAKE
GIRTHQUAKE SuperDork
5/9/23 10:44 a.m.
codrus (Forum Supporter) said:
wvumtnbkr said:

Hmmm....  looks like my biggest hurdle is going to be getting actual wheel speed sensors on an 87 rx7.

Looks like you can get hubs and axles with tone rings on them, so the biggest challenge is probably fabricating the brackets to hold the BMW sensors in the right position relative to the rings.

Would you mount them to the hubs, like alongside your break calipers?

12GS
12GS GRM+ Memberand New Reader
5/9/23 12:07 p.m.
Caperix said:

Very good write up.  I have heard some of the m3 modules are more desirable as they can be flashed to the "race" software used in the euro CSL.

Any experience with the newer mk60e5? They have the pressure sensors built into the module & could be more easily adaptable.  Continental sells a race abs based of this setup, but I do not know if it is able to be flashed onto any of the factory modules.

Yes, there is "race" software out there for certain part numbers of the M3 module (part numbers that end in 817.3 and 813.3). The CSL parameters can actually be put onto any M3 part number. The non-M3 units cannot take "race" or CSL programming.

I have a bit of experience with the MK60E5, and was going to talk a little about that in the third post when I get there, but not planning on going too deep into that one at this point.

12GS
12GS GRM+ Memberand New Reader
5/9/23 12:12 p.m.
MadScientistMatt said:

Interesting! I presume the equal tooth count on all four wheels assumes equal tire size and you would need to use a larger tooth count if one end had larger tires?

Most tone rings that I have come across are around a 48 tooth count (some are more, some are less, but that seems to be the average). You could technically use a 47tooth front and a 48tooth rear and be able to handle a difference of 2% tire diameter front to rear, but you likely won't see any kind of performance benefit in it. You would probably have to custom machine a 47tooth tone ring, as every one I've seen has been even numbers of teeth. The ABS can handle a small amount difference in front and rear wheel speed and not get upset. Now if you were trying to put this on something like a top fuel dragster where the front wheels are half the diameter of the rears, then yes, you probably do want to do something like that. wink

12GS
12GS GRM+ Memberand New Reader
5/9/23 1:33 p.m.

Updated post 2 with wiring information. Also, how do you get notifications about a thread on this forum? I'm new to posting here, but I can't find that feature.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
5/9/23 1:40 p.m.

Click the eye just below the thread title to get notifications. And thanks for putting this together!

Matthew Kennedy
Matthew Kennedy GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
5/9/23 5:40 p.m.

Sensors: I used the sensors for a 2010 Nissan Armada on my Volvo 240 mk60 ABS swap as they're $18 each and very small. Single M6 through bolt so they're easy to make a custom bracket that fits inside the rotor.

 

Matthew Kennedy
Matthew Kennedy GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
5/9/23 5:43 p.m.

Two more pieces of wisdom that made the swap work great:

1. You can put a regular mechanical bias valve (the $50 wilwood one or whatever) in the line from the master to the rear input on the ABS controller. The mk60 will theoretically complain if the pressure split is too large F/R, but for smallish differences in pressure it works fine.

2. These M10/M12x1 bubble to -3AN adapters exist. Screw them in to the ABS controller, then run regular AN brake lines to your calipers. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/EAR-592032ERL

Matthew Kennedy
Matthew Kennedy GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
5/9/23 5:46 p.m.
12GS said:

Lastly is pin 41, the brake light switch. I've seen some people say this isn't necessary. It may not be, but most people recommend its hooked up. You need to make this one so that the pin is connected to ground when the brake pedal is pressed, and is an open circuit when the pedal is not pressed. There are a few ways to go about this. Let me know if you need help with that.

As far as I know the brake switch is required - I can hear a valve click in the ABS unit when I change the switch state, and at first I had the switch logic inverted and it gave some very weird behavior.

12GS
12GS GRM+ Memberand New Reader
5/9/23 6:01 p.m.
Matthew Kennedy said:
12GS said:

Lastly is pin 41, the brake light switch. I've seen some people say this isn't necessary. It may not be, but most people recommend its hooked up. You need to make this one so that the pin is connected to ground when the brake pedal is pressed, and is an open circuit when the pedal is not pressed. There are a few ways to go about this. Let me know if you need help with that.

As far as I know the brake switch is required - I can hear a valve click in the ABS unit when I change the switch state, and at first I had the switch logic inverted and it gave some very weird behavior.

I know a few people that have had their logic inverted for years and haven't had any issues, that's why I'm not certain its necessary ... I still always hook it up.

obsolete
obsolete GRM+ Memberand Dork
5/9/23 7:08 p.m.
12GS said:

I know a few people that have had their logic inverted for years...

Me too, man, but that's got nothing to do with brakes...

Thanks a lot for this thread. I think the biggest thing I've learned so far is that a non-M3 Mk60 is still worth having. I had read some stuff about them in the past, and everyone's attitude seemed to be that it was only worth it if you got one from an M3, and the prices on those are solidly non-grassroots, so I never pursued it any further.

Looking forward to your post about the different variants. Looking at Car-Part, 325i, 330i, and Z4 all seem to interchange, but I am sure there are some more nuances there...

Matthew Kennedy
Matthew Kennedy GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
5/9/23 7:10 p.m.

Don't get the Z4 one, it's weird. The other 2003-5 E46 ones are all fine.

 

We ran the unit from a 330i for a few races before I found somebody parting out an M3 and bought the controller for cheap. It does seem like the M3 programming is more aggressive right at the limit and faster to respond, but not much. The 330 one certainly worked great compared to no ABS at all, or even most other factory ABS I've driven.

Olemiss540
Olemiss540 HalfDork
5/9/23 7:34 p.m.
Matthew Kennedy said:

Don't get the Z4 one, it's weird. The other 2003-5 E46 ones are all fine.

 

We ran the unit from a 330i for a few races before I found somebody parting out an M3 and bought the controller for cheap. It does seem like the M3 programming is more aggressive right at the limit and faster to respond, but not much. The 330 one certainly worked great compared to no ABS at all, or even most other factory ABS I've driven.

Pretty sure some later z3 models had mk60 as well. Using a brake master from a z3 3.0 with integrated pressure sensors in my mk60 swap.

12GS
12GS GRM+ Memberand New Reader
5/15/23 12:53 p.m.

Bumping to the top. I updated the 3rd post with variant info.

Andy Hollis
Andy Hollis
5/15/23 6:38 p.m.

Will this work for a car that has one of the rear wheels off the ground a lot (FWD) on corner entry trailbraking? 

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