BIIIIIG Brakes

Can't argue at the reasoning if it were a good deal. I'd have done the same.


But people need to get over this whole thing about the more pots you have being better.
It's not always the case.

Ideally, you need the smallest set of discs and callipers you can get away with to give you the performance you need...that way you get the performance plus save on unsprung weight.

Cayenne 6 pots for example with 350mm discs are complete overkill on a small hatchback, and likely to perform less well than a decent 4 pot set up from a genuine braking specialist (like AP or Brembo) as well as weighing a lot more and helping to ****** up the meagre handling there once was.


Also consider who is making the callipers and what form of dirt shielding is included.
Buying pukka competition callipers and running them on a road ca ris a hiding to nothing as they are generally not well enough protected to survive the salt and crap of a UK winter...the road based kit will be though.
But who wants a 'road' kit when a 'race' kit sound soooo much cooler?


If it were me, I'd want a solution from a major braking specialist, with road suitable callipers that are matched to the master cylinder...


Unless you can pick up a kit for peanuts...then all bets are off. Probably.
 
S3Alex said:
Absolutely right.

I've made the same point on this thread already,but a decent set of race oriented 4 pots from a company such as AP Racing will outperform any number of 10 pots from some of the companies mentioned.

Again just personal experience,and that of the race engineer who fitted them,but I would trust these far more than T-O for instance.
Click to expand...

I'd be looking at what's used on high performance road cars that have fantastic brakes, and much of the trackday stuff...and making my mind up from there.
That leaves two obvious choices for performance over bling: AP or Brembo.
 
Yeah...I was there both days.

I finished about 50:50.
Took a few scalps (RS2, 997 C2, BT A3, R32 etc) but also received a beating from a few of the Club GTI lads (BT Mk4, Mk1 GTI and A3 quattro).

Doing constant 4.8-5.0 secs 0-60s and early to mid 13s for the 1/4.
 
Ess_Three said:
I'd be looking at what's used on high performance road cars that have fantastic brakes, and much of the trackday stuff...and making my mind up from there.
That leaves two obvious choices for performance over bling: AP or Brembo.
Click to expand...

I'd used Alcon brakes on a 440bhp Sierra,with 4 pot calipers,and that was a pretty decent setup for what was a very fast car(in a straight line :)),and then a set of AP Racing 350mm discs with their 4 pot calipers,and standard rear discs and Pagid pads to stop a rather faster Escort.

The advice for both setups was from a chap who built and raced cars,amongst which were RS200s and touring cars,so I took his word for it and wasn't disappointed!
 
audi upgrades
Ess_Three said:
Yeah...I was there both days.

I finished about 50:50.
Took a few scalps (RS2, 997 C2, BT A3, R32 etc) but also received a beating from a few of the Club GTI lads (BT Mk4, Mk1 GTI and A3 quattro).

Doing constant 4.8-5.0 secs 0-60s and early to mid 13s for the 1/4.
Click to expand...

You've got all those cars?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :blink:
 
You're kidding right, I had 3 mk3's which consisted of 1 gti & 2 vr6's, fun is the lighter word for them, also had a Jetta vr6 which is same platform, certainly build up your arm muscles with the power of the front wheels in those days.
 
In those days no way, they were cool back then & **** load of power
 
N8KOW said:
Nice one? Why a mk3 though? Aren't they meant to be poorer of the Golf generations? :undwech:
Click to expand...

Some would say so.
Not much heavier than a late Mk2, stiffer shell, wider track etc...so once fettled you end up with a car that can out accellerate TTs/S3s, out corner them and out brake them. All in a car badged as an 8v...a car known to be slow, heavy and ill handling.
Great fun...

Looks are personal...I prefer the Mk3 looks to any other GTI.
Plus it was the last of the proper engines (Mk3s) that didn't involve a laptop to do anything or sound like a Dyson.

The fact that it's one of only 150 16Vs helps too...and one of perhaps 4 in the same spec as mine (5 door, silver, no sunroof, air-con).
 
N8KOW said:
Quite rare then, you got a 911 GT3 man, i ain't gonna start arguing with you
Click to expand...

Mine isn't a GT3...I'd be dead if I'd bought one of those.

It's a Carrera 4S, with the optional Aerokit and 'GT3 style' wheels.
Wide body (to help accomodate the wider driver :whistle2:), 4wd and stability management to try to keep me out of hedgerows and fields.
 
Does anyone know if anyone on the site has used Alcon braking set up. Seem them on track cars, but seem quite hard to source any info on prices on the net. Brembo 4 pots I had on my last car were good, but did start to fade quite badly after about 10 laps. Might have been fluid as it was 2 yrs old.
 
Alcon stuff is top notch...but fading is often down to pad choice.
Most kits (road kits...like the Brembo kit) come with road pads.
Throw them away and fit some pukka competition pads for track work - Ferodo DS3000s for example - and they'll last all day.

Fresh fluid helps too...as does uprated fluid, not the basic road based stuff the makers fit.
 
I knew that porsche were made my brembo, as are audi RS brakes and mercedes AMGs, ess three? I've bought some SLK55 AMG 6 pots, they are brembos.
 
audi upgrades
Ess_Three said:
...and re-badged Brembos aren't they?
Same with Porsche callipers. Made by Brembo.
Click to expand...
I have heard that Movit calipers are actually Brembo`s but don`t know if it`s true or not. Cannot believe a small outfit like Movit would design and make thier own calipers.

N8KOW said:
I knew that porsche were made my brembo, as are audi RS brakes and mercedes AMGs, ess three? I've bought some SLK55 AMG 6 pots, they are brembos.
Click to expand...

Brembo`s are good but very heavy and wide compared to other manufactures.
 
For the power and weight of most of the A3's on here 4 pots and 320mm discs is plenty enough. A friend of mine runs a 520bhp rwd escort cos with 380mm Ap's and personally I think 380mm is overkill for that.
 
yea some of these 12 pots are great brakes, but they are mainly ained at the cars that weigh a lot, a 4/6 pot on 330mm discs would be fine, as said earlier, the more pots you have the longer travel. id recommend AP racing 4/6 pot with 330mm discs and fit a new master cylinder from AP and obviously get braided lines
 
Revo had some brakes in development but they seem to have gone quiet on that front since they have been moving offices. Don't think they will be cheap.

I read on Fourtitude news that Audi are doing a deal with Brembo and SGL group to make ceramic brakes more accessible to lower end models within 5-10 years. Fourtitude is down so can't find the link.
 
warrencox said:
Does anyone know if anyone on the site has used Alcon braking set up. Seem them on track cars, but seem quite hard to source any info on prices on the net. Brembo 4 pots I had on my last car were good, but did start to fade quite badly after about 10 laps. Might have been fluid as it was 2 yrs old.
Click to expand...

I ran these on a RWD Sierra a few yrs back.

Pretty good overall,but not in the same league as the APs I had on the Escort that followed the Sierra.

Being fair though,not in the same cost league either!
 
has anyone tried wilwood kits. i have seen them around but never heard anyones opinions on them! they don't look as high performance as AP
 
gixxer600k4 said:
has anyone tried wilwood kits. i have seen them around but never heard anyones opinions on them! they don't look as high performance as AP
Click to expand...

Not in the same league as AP or Brembo.
 
Not adding much to the mix, but these are the Alcon's I saw on a Seatcupra championship car back in 2004/5 season (support race for BTCC). Look like a nice set of Ohlins dampers in the background (drools....)

DSC_1158.JPG


and these are a sneaky peak of the Revo product running on their TT back at Audi driver in 2008 Castle Combe (squint hard and you'll see them):

web.jpg


Anyone know why this forum is slower than Lewis Hamilton lately, it's an absolute $h1tt£r to use.
 
Last edited:
aorry, sometimes there seems to be issues with photos loaded in my .Mac account

Loaded it into Google Picasa

revo-o.jpg
 
Warren what was that TT running? On that day it was eating most things on track, handling on it was a joke, it was just running rings round everything.
 
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