improving BRAKES without going Big Brake Kit?
 

so what's most cost effective way to upgrade your brakes without doing a whole BBK? changing to braided brake lines? rotors? pads? is that enough?

Pads and fluid should be your #1 upgrade. For spirited street driving, Axxis MMs or Ultimates are great, Hawk also makes an excellent pad. For fluid, you'll never need more than Valvoline Synpower. It's what we run in the racecar, and it is a superb fluid-- you won't find a higher boling point until you get to silicone fluids.

SS lines are a matter of user preference. I like a firmer pedal, so I will be upgrading those shortly.

Stock rotors should be more than adequate.

Dr Let me know when you need a good deal on stainless lines. I know how to get sets cheap and they are A1 quality. Dieselstation you will notice a difference with the pads and fluid and lines. i did all at once so i wouldnt have to bleed the system twice.

rotors?
 

How big of a difference would it be if i switched to stock size, but drilled and slotted?

Re: rotors?
 

do NOT drill holes in your stock rotor's if that is what you meen

or do you meen use slotted/drilled rotors on the stock calipers and pads? if this is what you meen, you will see an increase in stopping because the rotors will be able to release heat easiter, and allow brake dust to excape easier

Drilling actually decreases brake performance but lightens the brakes. For some reason, the drill holes keep heat better. For true braking performance go only with slotted brakes. Drills aren't bad though, anyone can do with the lightened brakes and the difference in braking distance isn't bound to be more than a foot or two.

Slotted or Brembo blanks
Axxis Ultimates or Hawk Brake Pads
Stainless steel brake lines
Motul RBF 600 or ATE Superblue racing brake fluid

stoptech sells a really nice kit for those not wanting to go the big brake route but still have a nice upgrade

their stage 2 kit consists of:

front and rear slotted or drilled rotors, oem replacement
front and rear SS brake lines
3 bottles of motul rbf600
front and rear axxis ultimate brake pads
reasonable price - we can offer it for $549 shipped

http://stoptech.com/categories/2/stage2-120.jpg

boxman, im interested in getting pads, lines and fliuds.

i went to stoptech's website and looked up the prices for the slotted rotors, lines, pads and fluids and it was cheaper to get the same parts seperately than in the stage 2 kit.

yeah I would be interested in buying upgraded brakes, lines and fluids but later tho..money is tight right now... "damm it"

I would just buy better performance pads

Re: rotors?
 

It would be a total a waste of your time and money to put drilled rotors on your car—almost as big a waste as a BBK going onto a street car.

I've said it before in other brake question threads: If a 3400lb NASCAR NCS car can do 160+ to 40 mph 90+ times (like at Watkin Glen) on solid (steel—not CF or ceramic) brakes then your tC can handle a few hundred 85+mph to 40 braking.

The single best upgrade you can do to increase stopping distance is to put better pads on your car. The next best thing: Stickier tires. Then, SS lines and better fluid.

I almost agreed with everything you said there, but the tires will be first and the pads will be second. Better tires are the ONLY thing that will stop you in a shorter distance. Better pads will let you stop in a shorter distance more times consecutively. They will also change the feel (initial bite, overall pedal pressure), but they won't allow you to stop any faster until you have better rubber under the car.

I can't think of a bigger waste of money than a BBK on OEM tires, or rotors with holes in them. Slots are OK, but still don't improve braking unless you are having trouble keeping the pads clean.

Last but not least, I'll take wheel compliance over heavy brakes any day. If I have wheel compliance, I don't need to slow as much as the competition because I can corner faster with my wheels on the ground instead of skipping over the tops of the bumps because my unsprung weight is too great.

Yep, I agree completely.

But, we are going to a BBK anyway, partly for track days, partly for show, not at all needed on the street, autocross or drags.

Sloted rotors up front with the Wilwood kit and powerslots in the rear for matching cosmetic upgrade and a bit of performance as well, great pads all around, we already have wide and very sticky tires:)

Rick

I just swapped out my oems for Powerslots (slotted only) and added ceramic pads for quietness and less brake dust on my wheels. After a decent break-in, I like the resulsts. Not really dramatic change but, seem s to stop a bit quicker, definatley quieter and less mees on the wheels. A good spent $500 in my book.

Ceramic brake pads are supposed to produce more brake dust than stock

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you ditch the ceramic pads in less than six months. :eyebrow: Between the squeeling, brack dust, poor stopping, and speedy wear rate.

First of all, slotted rotors are extremely noisey are their own. So getting the "quieter"—which they aren't— ceramic pads really makes no sense.

Secondly, ceramic pads absolutely suck on a road car. You have to get them soooo stinkin' hot in order for them to do what they were designed to. The only situation I could imagine they'd be remotely effective is in L.A. traffic :tap: The lesser amount of dust you are seeing is only b/c the pads aren't getting hot enough—If you really wanted to reduce brake dust you should have gotten EBC Green Stuffs for less than 25% of what you spent.

I suspect that the shorter stopping is actually all psychosomatic...Good luck with the new set-up.

Well, Ive been driving cars for awhile and heres is what I learned about brake pads

1 Organic- Cheapest cost, fastest wear whick =Most dust. Also a big no-no on slotted rotors.

2. Semi Mettalic- more expensive than organic, Harder composite material for less wear than organics, but squeling brakes is very common with these at low speed.

3. Ceramic- More expensive than semi-mettalics, harder than organics for less wear which means, less dust. the lack of metal composite keeps the pads from sounding like sandpaper in hard stops and no sqeaking at low speed.

Yes, slotted rotors will chew through pads faster I realize that. Oem pad are not an option for slotted rotors, the choice was Composites or Ceramics. I stick with my choice.
BTW the roads I drive daily require alot of braking before I get in to the heart of my daily commute in Californias second worst commute corridor, SF bay area.

Here is what Tire Rack says if you guys are intrested.



Additional Brake Tech Articles All About Performance Categories Brake Pad and Rotor Bed-In Procedures Brake Pad or Rotor Inspection & Replacement Brake Rotors and Track Use Brakes 101 Choosing Brake Components D3EA® Brake Testing Frozen Brake Rotors: Cryogenics 101 Getting the Right Fit: Brake System Upgrades The Finishing Touch: Brake Rotors Understanding How Brakes Work Why Ceramic Brake Pads?





We want our vehicle's brake system to offer smooth, quiet braking capabilities under a wide range of temperature and road conditions. We don't want brake-generated noise and dust annoying us during our daily driving.

To accommodate this, brake friction materials have evolved significantly over the years. They've gone from asbestos to organic to semi-metallic formulations. Each of these materials has proven to have advantages and disadvantages regarding environmental friendliness, wear, noise and stopping capability.

Asbestos pads caused health issues and organic compounds can't always meet a wide range of braking requirements. Unfortunately the steel strands used in semi-metallic pads to provide strength and conduct heat away from rotors also generate noise and are abrasive enough to increase rotor wear.

Since they were first used on a few original equipment applications in 1985, friction materials that contain ceramic formulations have become recognized for their desirable blend of traits. These pads use ceramic compounds and copper fibers in place of the semi-metallic pad's steel fibers. This allows the ceramic pads to handle high brake temperatures with less heat fade, provide faster recovery after the stop, and generate less dust and wear on both the pads and rotors. And from a comfort standpoint, ceramic compounds provide much quieter braking because the ceramic compound helps dampen noise by generating a frequency beyond the human hearing range.

Another characteristic that makes ceramic materials attractive is the absence of noticeable dust. All brake pads produce dust as they wear. The ingredients in ceramic compounds produce a light colored dust that is much less noticeable and less likely to stick to the wheels. Consequently, wheels and tires maintain a cleaner appearance longer.

Ceramic pads meet or exceed all original equipment standards for durability, stopping distance and noise. According to durability tests, ceramic compounds extend brake life compared to most other semi-metallic and organic materials and outlast other premium pad materials by a significant margin – with no sacrifice in noise control, pad life or braking performance.

This is quite an improvement over organic and semi-metallic brake materials that typically sacrifice pad life to reduce noise, or vice versa.

Stoptech has a great technical section on thier wabsite here http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/te...e_papers.shtml


Just a proper bed-in procedure can apperently make a huge difference and may make you reconsider spending money on upgrades. At least try that first. Theres also some good info on slotted vs drilled and the misconception of rotor warpage (which they say doesnt exist and have excellent explanatins for what it really is)

what does it come out to from there site and can you order from there???

nm about the price, i only added up the left rotor and not the right ones.

go to stoptech.com => online ordering