Brake Upgrade

[cobrav8]

My question wasnt answered - anyone fitted the 8 pots for $2000?

[01txr]

No worries. $2K is about on the money for the PBR kit. I didn't realise you could get 4 pot APs for just over $3K fitted, so that may be an option too, but it's still 50% more plus the ongoing costs.

I've had the argument before about whether big brakes will pull you up quicker or not and I'm still of the opinion that, in a single application, they generally won't. Even the Brembo website confirms this, on the proviso that the lesser brakes are still strong enough to activate the ABS (and what brakes aren't these days?). The better braking systems are more about repeatability without fade and pedal feel, which can give the impression that they are stopping you faster (less pedal input required for the same braking force).

Tyres and suspension would play a far bigger role in a single emergnecy stop situation.

I can tell you right now in a single brake application my ap's would sh*t all over the standard setup.

Never made a passenger even look like they where going to hit the dash under braking with the standard brakes.

But with the AP's I have had a few that have scared me causing me to lift off the brakes so they didnt hit dash.

I have tested braking at over 200kph and can tell you that the standard brakes didn't even want to know about stopping.

When you say the brembo site comfirms it, was the test carried out on the same average tyre's.

If you fit a say like me a pair of ultra high performance tyre's that have great braking ability the standard brakes will not activate the abs unless you suddenly slammed the brakes on,

Which you could do even on slicks.

So what Iam saying is with the right tyre the big brake package it will out perform the factory setup hands down.

The reason I purchased the AP's was because the factory setup was the worst I have ever driven on. This was the First thing I did after purchasing car.

Looked into Brembo's but where more exspensive and replacement pads where ridiculess in price.

Car Purchased with 275rwkw.

Next was Exhaust then Pedders adjust fronts and sports rear susspension.

I have had v8 Falcons with over 500hp flywheel and have gotten away with a disk rear and pad upgrade which worked well, but this heavy falcon I would be still thinking the brake differance by just upgrading the pads would not be good enough for my liking.

I would have preferred to spend it on building a strong bottom end if I though a upgrade to pads or even upgrade to the bigger disk pbr caliper setup would be enough.

Totally agree with the suspension & tyre being most important as if you dont have the traction you cant use the braking abilities of the big kits.

What you get with the multi piston calipers is more braking pressure and more even pressure over the brake pad hence should work better.

Think about one large piston pushing on the pad then multiple pistons.

Can anyone tell me the pad contact area's on the factory pads,Brembo 4pots, brembo 6pots,AP Racing 4's and 6's.

Another thing would be piston volume, less volume less pedal movement more effort, more volume more pedal travel less effort also gives better feel.

The bigger the pad the better the braking ability.

Cobrav8 The 8 pots you are talking about I think are available for I think it was $1500 on ebay.

What you need to find out is if they are complied to be fitted to a BA/BF as the brembo's and AP's are.

You will need to know if pads are available and at what price.

Another thing would be the more pistons the more chance of piston seizing which would occur on poor piston to bore clearance's that could be on inferior quality parts.

I feel that the brakes are very important and the tried and tested part should be chosen.

Mind you these could be as good in every way a name brand is.

If you where to purchase them try to find out what materials are used and what maching process's and tolerance's manufactured to.

If all seems comparable to a name brand part or better than factory go for it.

Make sure you get full details, if they tell you the caliper is made out of billet find out what grade material is used, find out if the bore's are heat treated, sleeved with Stainless liners, as a soft bore will wear and leak's will be a problem.

Piston material as cheap metal will wear and pit quickly.

that's the advantage of using a name brand. these brake manufacture's compete for the market share so that means you get a well engineered product.

So you wont need to be concerned with materials or manufacturing of the name branded brakes.

I choose to go with the 2 piece ROH disks basically for cosmetic reason and could have saved $400 dollars by going with a one piece disk.

So around $2850 you could have a great front brake package.

I have seen full front & rear AP Racing packages for around the $4500 to $5000 as well.

I would not mind upgrading my rears to the BF vented disk setup just to give a little more braking power to the rear even though I dont require it.

In doing so may give better balance in a wet emergency situation.

Something very important to look at is if you upgrade rear brakes and dont upgrade front suspension you will have your rears locking up due to the weight transfer.

Make sure you get advise from a qualified brake specialist before doing changes as if you miss match parts you will end up worse off and be liable.

Keep in mind 1 small change can cause many problems and may make your car perform worse.

It doesnt matter if you buy the dearest and best parts, if it all doesnt match it wont perform.

The more research on changes the better, dont cut corners.

Think about what your change can do, like the stress it will put on the next part inline eg big brakes will require better tyre's which inturn will require a stiffer suspension, from there you will have added stress on suspension joints and chassis points.

Sorry for long thread but hope it helps some.

[IH8TOADS]

I'm a realll noob when it comes to brake upgrades etc..

Cars a BF, advice on a cheap yet effective brake upgrade would be most welcome

Try and look out for a 4 pot brembo front kit at fitted to the phoon. Just spend time looking maybe? Other option is DBA4000's, decent pads and stainless lines.....this will be an improvement but go the brembos for fade free braking.

My question wasnt answered - anyone fitted the 8 pots for $2000?

I am not aware of anyone that has. I emailed the distributor but got no reply.

[bugster70]

I can tell you right now in a single brake application my ap's would sh*t all over the standard setup.

Never made a passenger even look like they where going to hit the dash under braking with the standard brakes.

But with the AP's I have had a few that have scared me causing me to lift off the brakes so they didnt hit dash.

I have tested braking at over 200kph and can tell you that the standard brakes didn't even want to know about stopping.

When you say the brembo site comfirms it, was the test carried out on the same average tyre's.

If you fit a say like me a pair of ultra high performance tyre's that have great braking ability the standard brakes will not activate the abs unless you suddenly slammed the brakes on,

Which you could do even on slicks.

So what Iam saying is with the right tyre the big brake package it will out perform the factory setup hands down.

The reason I purchased the AP's was because the factory setup was the worst I have ever driven on. This was the First thing I did after purchasing car.

Looked into Brembo's but where more exspensive and replacement pads where ridiculess in price.

Car Purchased with 275rwkw.

Next was Exhaust then Pedders adjust fronts and sports rear susspension.

I'm open to debate, as always, but I don't think you're entirely correct on this one. First, from 'normal' driving speeds, I still don't think your APs would shorten the stopping distance from the stock setup in a single application. The story is quite different if you're doing 200kph+ because, at those speeds, the stock setup isn't capable of activating ABS. Your high performance tyres will indeed be making a difference to your stopping distance, but I very much doubt they'd be grippy enough to be able stop the stock brakes from being able to activate ABS (continuously) from normal driving speeds. The stopping experience may FEEL very different to stock with your AP setup, but I maintain that, in a single application, using the same tyre, suspension, etc, setup, they will not pull up quicker than the stock system.

Check out what Brembo has to say on the matter here.

I've done a fair bit of research into this as it was something that really interested and intrigued me (I too couldn't believe that the crappy stock brakes would pull up as quickly as a set of Brembos!) and I'm pretty confident I'm right on this one.

I do, however, totally agree that the factory brakes are abominable and desperately need upgrading. Your AP setup is a far, far superior system that should never ever show signs of brake fade and you've done the right thing by complementing them with some good tyres.

[zakxr8]

Hi

I picked up BF FPV set up front 4 pot Brambos & 355mm rotors & rear 1 pot PVR 328mm rotors. You can get them for around $2000 used but in good condition & I added braded hoses. Gave them a good test last week & was very happy with the set up. They are easy to fit but you can get it done as cheep as $50 per corner at any brake shop.

Ups, that was PBR. Rotors are cross drilled, when they wear out (or crack) will replace them with DBAs

[6speedxr6t]

Hi Guys

I'm looking to upgrade my brakes within the next couple of weeks and was wondering who has done what, how much, who fitted them and any other recommendations that you might have.

Would love to research this but I've got a 2 yr old on one knee and a 4 month old on the other

Any input will be much appreciated

Coops

There is a guy in Sydney's west selling the John Bowe Performance - SR Brake Package upgrade for about $5900. Fitting will be extra. I have this kit fitted and it is a great feeling when you put your foot on the brake pedal. I do a few track days and would not have anything less.

[Guest]

There is a guy in Sydney's west selling the John Bowe Performance - SR Brake Package upgrade for about $5900. Fitting will be extra. I have this kit fitted and it is a great feeling when you put your foot on the brake pedal. I do a few track days and would not have anything less.

sounds great 6speed but this package would be superfluous to my needs I believe as I'm just an enthusiast really and don't plan on anything more than the occasional cruise when I'm in town (no track days or strip runs).

thanks for the input

[XF Falcon]

This is all too hard hehe

I'm looking to upgrade my brakes too. Being a BF I already have ~320mm rotors up front and back, but I really want bigger rotors (mainly for looks) plus at the same time I need new front rotors cos mine are pretty warped. High speed braking is absolutely terrible.

I looked at the DBA 5000's and it looks like they don't come out for our cars. I like the look of the 2 piece rotors too.

[IH8TOADS]

http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.ph...mp;#entry669713

Keep an eye on it if you're interested and have a BA

[EZ2CME]

This is all too hard hehe

I'm looking to upgrade my brakes too. Being a BF I already have ~320mm rotors up front and back, but I really want bigger rotors (mainly for looks) plus at the same time I need new front rotors cos mine are pretty warped. High speed braking is absolutely terrible.

I looked at the DBA 5000's and it looks like they don't come out for our cars. I like the look of the 2 piece rotors too.

I have the same problem as you with my brakes. Depending on the upgrade you are looking at doing I just bought DBA4000 rotors with ferodo formula pads. I should be getting them sometime this coming week and will install them next weekend. I'll let you know how they compare to the standard BF brakes.