BBK Comparison thread: Brembo vs. StopTech vs. AP Racing

[imag]

Originally Posted by Mike

Factory sport calipers:
Front
11.0 bare, 13.0 with pads
Rear
5.6 bare, 7.0 with pads

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

For reference the OEM front rotor is 29 pounds.

Thanks guys. If I knew how to rep, I'd give you both one...

It looks like the kits save ~25 lbs of unsprung weight on the front alone. That's pretty sweet...

[ChrisSlicks]

Originally Posted by imag

Thanks guys. If I knew how to rep, I'd give you both one...

The unsprung weight savings will be nice.

To give rep click the little scale icon on the bottom left of the post, in between the green dot and the triangle report abuse icon.

[imag]

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

The unsprung weight savings will be nice.

To give rep click the little scale icon on the bottom left of the post, in between the green dot and the triangle report abuse icon.

Nice - thanks! I was trying to click on the green dot...

[IvoryG]

I have weights for some BBK's when I was researching them. I lost the wilwood specs but they were the lightest I found.

Stock Akebono:
Front caliper: 11lbs
Front rotor: 29lbs
Rear caliper: 6lbs
Rear rotor: NA

Alliance BBK:
8 piston caliper: 6.50lbs
6 piston caliper: 5.95lbs
14" rear rotor: 21.75lbs
15" front rotor: 21.00lbs

AP Racing:
Front 6 piston caliper: 7.3 lbs
Rotor weight, assembled: 20.3 lbs
Rear 4 piston caliper: 4.7 lbs
Rotor weight, assembled: 22.8 lbs

Stoptech BBK:
Front 6 piston Calipers: 8.5lbs
Front 380x32mm rotors with hats mounted: 21lbs
Rear 4 piston calipers: 8lbs
Rear 355x32mm rotors with hats mounted: 19lbs

[ssqpolo]

i would choose AP cuz travisjb did....and he's a real racer!!! =D

[ChrisSlicks]

Originally Posted by ssqpolo

i would choose AP cuz travisjb did....and he's a real racer!!! =D

I did too, not just because of Travis but subconsciously that probably did have some influence I guess

The only concern I had over the AP are the dust boots used on the front calipers (the CP7041 caliper). Under extreme heat these dust boots have been known to get cooked, but that was in a different car. I'm confident that it should hold up well under HPDE driving. There is the more heavy duty CP5555 caliper but that would add significant cost to the kit.

[Mike]

every dust boot will cook under extreme use. Even though I track heavily (80% of my miles are track miles) I went with the front brembo upgrade because in addition to my desires, I also have a budget, plus the APs wouldn't fit my wheels.

The brembos do the job.

[ChrisSlicks]

Originally Posted by Mike

every dust boot will cook under extreme use. Even though I track heavily (80% of my miles are track miles) I went with the front brembo upgrade because in addition to my desires, I also have a budget, plus the APs wouldn't fit my wheels.

The brembos do the job.

The AP full kit is cheaper than the Brembo full kit, or at least it was when it was on sale.

Are you sure it wouldn't fit? You have an angle grinder don't you
j/k The kit fits most 18" wheels, yours must bit a little thicker than most.

[imag]

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

The AP full kit is cheaper than the Brembo full kit, or at least it was when it was on sale.

Are you sure it wouldn't fit? You have an angle grinder don't you
j/k The kit fits most 18" wheels, yours must bit a little thicker than most.

Brembo upgrade is cheapest.

AP kit is next.

Full Brembo GT set is above AP.


Mike: 80% of your miles are on track? Does that include driving there and back? You must live close to the track and not use your car for anything else... or am I missing a joke.

[travisjb]

Imag, rep coming for a great thread !

AP Racing, Brembo, Stillen (and fine Vivid 'Racing' too!) - great contributions and I have to say thanks for fact-based debate and sharing some hard data

Not sure I can add much to this discussion other than these few points:

- I've been running the AP Racing BBK front and rear for a few months and I couldn't be happier... no more fade, great pedal feel, improved control, full confidence
- Stillen has been over the top ready to support this kit and has some great technical staff standing by to help you dial it in and select the right pads etc
- the overall price really wasn't that bad - install is a snap and as may have been mentioned you should be able to get some bucks for your stock kit... my personal viewpoint is that brakes is the last place to 'go cheap' - please don't base your decision on a few hundred bucks of price difference
- here's a link to my original review a few months back if you haven't seen it AP Racing Big Brake Kit Installed!

[Mike]

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

The AP full kit is cheaper than the Brembo full kit, or at least it was when it was on sale.

Are you sure it wouldn't fit? You have an angle grinder don't you
j/k The kit fits most 18" wheels, yours must bit a little thicker than most.

Truthfully, the brembos didn't fit either, I just didn't have a template for them to check in advance, and yes, an angle grinder does work wonders!

Originally Posted by imag

Mike: 80% of your miles are on track? Does that include driving there and back? You must live close to the track and not use your car for anything else... or am I missing a joke.

I just drove it from atlanta to VIR and back, but I have been trailering. My friends sold their trailer though Now my track wheels are in South Carolina at a friends house, since they don't fit in the car. I'm going to get a hitch on the Z and a small wheel trailer so I can actually drive it on the road more, to and from events. The 6 hour drive was much nicer in the Z than in the Tahoe pulling the Z.

We have 4 cars between two of us, plus I'm on call for the airline and they don't call me, and for my other job I work from home, so I really don't use the Z for anything but track days right now, plus maybe the occassional run out to lunch or something

[ChrisSlicks]

I agree that cheap really shouldn't be one of the criteria, but if you can get a deal on what is known to be a quality kit then that is a different story.

Both the Brembo GT and the AP Racing appear to be quality kits, but ultimately the decision came down to the fact that I could run 18" wheels with the AP but couldn't with the Brembo GT (although you could with just the Brembo front caliper upgrade as Mike did).

[AP - Chris_B]

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

The only concern I had over the AP are the dust boots used on the front calipers (the CP7041 caliper). Under extreme heat these dust boots have been known to get cooked, but that was in a different car.

I've only dealt with this issue a handful of times, but not in the last year or two. Currently, all AP Racing road car calipers are being shipped with seal material technology that was used in professional racing just 5 years ago. Due to increased sales volumes, AP was able to improve the material and swallow the cost increase. If anyone experiences an issue, they should contact their AP distributor. All caliper seal kits available now are the latest seal material.

Chris

[ChrisSlicks]

Originally Posted by AP - Chris_B

I've only dealt with this issue a handful of times, but not in the last year or two. Currently, all AP Racing road car calipers are being shipped with seal material technology that was used in professional racing just 5 years ago. Due to increased sales volumes, AP was able to improve the material and swallow the cost increase. If anyone experiences an issue, they should contact their AP distributor. All caliper seal kits available now are the latest seal material.

Excellent news, just what I wanted to hear. It's great having the company reps here, you guys are on the ball!

[azndummie]

looking at the size of the tiny pins on the rotor hat for the alliance kit makes me scared LOL