Having had the big brake kit for the last 18 months I've never been fully happy with my investment and have struggled to understand the benefit versus the amount it cost. Bear in mind I went from all standard, to Mintex1144s all round then straight to the BB kit at the front with the Ferrodo 2500 pads. I was also running part worn Hankook RS2 tyres with the 16/17 wheel combo. I was expecting to stop quicker and harder, only to find that with the Ferrodo pads, my tyres and abs off, I was locking up in a blink. With abs on stopping was good but didn't feel any better than with 1144s and my 2 pots, in fact it seemed like there was less initial bite - what a disappointment!
I moved to RS14 pads on the front and RS15 on the rear, changed tyres to KU31s and things started to get a bit better, but again the braking force didn't seem a jump better than when I had 2 pots. Last week I changed to R888 tyres and it was only this weekend at the Nurburgring that I finally 'got' the point of my investment and am now actually happy with it. The brakes were faultless and worked in perfect harmony with the 888s, the Pagid RS14/15 combo and the softened off nitron suspension. Despite doing three laps back to back there was no hint of fade at any point, I was able to confidently brake late in certain safe places, there were no lock ups as the pedal feel was spot on and within 15 minutes the discs were cool to the touch.
LESSONS LEARNT:
Lesson 1. A Big Brake kit will NOT make you stop any quicker or give you eyeball popping braking! End of story. I thought it would and that's where I was going wrong.
Lesson 2. Be clear on what you want and what you're expecting from your upgrade - my expectations were wrong from my own lack of education hence why I was originally disappointed. The things to consider are...
i) Do you do a lot of track work? Then build up progressively on the mods to see their effect.
ii) Will you do more track work in the future? There's little point in going the full monty until your increase your track time and find the need to uprate in stages.
iii) Will you only be doing road driving? If you don't intend to go on track there is absolutely no point in going for a 4pot system, other than it does look very cool.
iv) Will you mainly be doing road driving with the occasional track day? Even standard brakes are ok for a track, uprate the pads and Bob's your mothers brother.
v) Do you want to stop quicker? That's not the brakes, it's mainly tyres that do that bit, so get some 16/17 combo wheels and a set of semi slicks like R888s or A048s along with any half decent pad and your stopping distance will shortern.
vi) Do you want better pedal feel? A 4 pot system may help here
vii) Are you getting brake fade a lot? A 4 pot system with larger, ventilated discs will definitely help, larger discs on their own might do the job.
Lesson 3. Its all about the whole braking system, rather than single components and there needs to be balance
Lesson 4. To get balance you need to consider tyres, pad compound, front/rear brake balance, suspension settings, discs and calipers all working together
Lesson 5. Modify your braking in stages
i) Change your fluid (at least annually), doesn't have to be 5.1, DOT4 could well be enough if you change often. Then if you need more...
ii) Try Mintex 1144s first. Then if you need more...
iii) Try more aggressive compounds from the likes of EBC, SBS, Pagids or Carbonne Lorraine. Then if you need more...
iv) Try bigger, alluminium belled discs. Then if you need more...
v) Try a 4 pot kit like the AP Big Brake kit - but don't forget that you may not be enamoured with the Ferrodo pads that come with it (which are ok ish) so put in Pagids or similar
vi) Get an ABS cut off switch (I was used to slamming on the brakes but with the extra force of the 4 pots you don't need to press anything like as hard and I found that difficult to adjust to, I realised I wasn't very good at modulating and have had to spend quite some time learning how not to lock up the fronts, especially on standard road tyres)
Conclusion: Off the track 4 pots (of any make) is an irrellevance. By gradually uprating your braking in stages you might get to your own perfect setup without the need to go to the extra expense of a kit. For all I know I might have got the same result by stopping at allu belled discs with standard 2 pots - I'll never know and I could have saved myself some money. However what I do know now is that for mere mortals like myself on track, when pushed hard, the Big Brake kit is the daddy, it gives confident, consistent, fade free braking and is a joy to use. Very pricey, but now at last I understand it and what to expect from it, I'm glad I went for it but I really would advise that you don't jump straight into it like I did unless you're very clear about what you want and will get.
Safe stopping out there.
Brought to you by dw1 productions with the letters 'BB' and the numbers '£1699'
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