Now: R32 Gtr Brake Upgrade Discussion

[Sydneykid]

Could'nt agree more

I have just bought some Semi Slicks, will concentrate on suspension next.....brakes are costing me nothing, work is paying (salarys sh*t so have to have perks!)

Ended up getting the Brembo's, they are slightly cheaper than the AP and the disk size was bigger 355mm vs 343mm although the AP Caliper is a 6 piston jobbie, and the Brembo only a 4, there is also a 3 week wait to import either of them.

Sorry I don’t understand, are you saying that they would buy brakes but not suspension?

cheers

[Sydneykid]

Some detail that a lot of people forget....oh and I recommend you look into RS73s group but for RDA discs.

Car & Driver did a test a few years ago ...Test Car was a WRX (US Spec which only uses two piston sliding caliper, not as good as Nissan 4 spot or later Model WRX 4 pots)

So tested kits were, std car, std car with upgraded pads and fluid, Brembo F50 Kit, Brembo Lotus Kit (Similar to as fitted to GTRs, 44/38mm pistons), Stoptech it and Prodrive Kit (Alcon)

Stopping Distances 70mph - 0 , 3 Stop

Brembo F50;_____________ 185 / 183 (Average / Best)

Brembo Lotus; ______________ 200 / 196

Prodrive; __________________ 198 / 194

StopTech;__________________ 187 / 186

Stock; ____________________ 205 / 196

Stck with pads and fluid; ____187 / 184

The above figures are all in feet, one stop difference between pad and fluid upgrade to crappy sliding caliper brake setup and massive Brembos is 1 ft...lol 30cms:( And over 3 stops the average is 2 ft...lol 60cms:)

So you can see the one stop max of the upgraded pads and fluid is damn good when you consider the $$$ to % difference.

Stopping Distances 100mph - 0 , 25 Stop

Brembo F50; _____________ 299 / 288 (Average / Best)

Brembo Lotus; ______________305 / 294

Prodrive; __________________ 308 / 295

StopTech;__________________ 297 / 290

Stock;_____________________ 340/317

Stck with pads and fluid;_____316/299

Not the world of difference you would be led to believe by the "you need 6pot caliper 343mm rotor crowd."

Specs of the kits:

Rotor Weight (pounds) Size in inches (diam / thk)

Brembo F50;.................15.8......................... .13.1 / 1.3

Brembo Lotus;..............12.9.......................... 12.9 / 1.1

Prodrive;......................16.5...........................13.0 / 1.1

StopTech;...................13.9..........................12.9 / 1.1

Stock;.................. ......14.2..........................11.6 / 0.9

Caliper Weight , Piston Size, (mm)

Brembo F50;..........8.6 pounds...........40 / 44, Leading / Trailing

Brembo Lotus;.......6.8.......................36 / 40

Prodrive;...............9.1..................... 34.9 / 41.3

StopTech;.............9.3.....................36 / 40

Stock;.................10.8.................. .43 / 43

...and COST!!!

Brembo F50;.......................US$2,995

Brembo Lotus;.....................US$2,595

Prodrive;.............................US$1,999

StopTech;...........................US$1,695

Stock with pads & fluid;....... US$130

Fantastic article, wasn’t it? Proven, real world testing that shows after pads and fluid, tyres and suspension upgrades are the best ways to increase braking performance.

cheers

[GTRgeoff]

Yep, takes all the wank factor out of it. 25 big stops can't be sneezed at. Seen the other thread on R32 V-specs I posted this in as well mate? maybe a comment on V-spec diffs if you have any experience but Paul down here has had some very strange goings on with his R33 with active diff, especially interesting was when the diff place opened it up (another thread entirely.

[T04GTR]

rda are made in korea or taiwan lol

[T04GTR]

thats good. f50 brakes aka 355mm and big reds are a good package.

ive got f40 brakes on the front of mine (343mm disc) and there way to small. they can overheat really badly on the track. but thats my fault for using generic brake fluid lol

the white brembo writing on the caliper is now a nice shade of brown. just to give an idea of how hot they get. pads are fine. just fliud boiling is an issue.

[tacker]

My RDA rotors seem to be doing ok. Had 3 good outings on them with 3 big stops from 220KMH, 3 stops from 140 and some piddly 5 from 100 or lower during a 2 minute lap and 10 laps per session and 6 sessions a day. Small amount of fade but still kept pulling the old girl up.

[tacker]

Should mention the car is a light as possible. Not sure what the weight of a stripped out R32 GTR would be.

Also i have some 18" RS+m enkei wheels which are very light not sure if that helps with the braking performance

[PSI_GTSII]

My Brakes arrived today Should fit them up this weekend all going well as trackday at Barbegello on the 28th September, will give honest opinion then on there performance

They are physically Massive, and will look great behind my wheels...although I kinda like looking at them on the kitchen table for now!.....not sure what the Mrs will think when she gets home however

[Roy]

Personally i rate the AP and Alcons as beign better calipers then the Brembos, but i am only going on ppl that have replaced old Brembos with new APs so?????

Whats with those hats? Im sure Brembo know what they are doing, but would that hat design cause turbulence around the inner circumference of the rotor when what you really want is all the air to pass up and through the vanes?

At the end of the day they are a great kit and im sure im splitting hairs, im sure you will find they work great, if they didnt Brembo would have shelved that kit by now

[PSI_GTSII]

Yeah to be honest I actually prefered the AP racing Calipers and discs, and had this discussion with the guys in the shop as to which way to go as they were very similarly priced, Brembos were chosen purely as they were factory Fitment on GTRs...and as my car is never going to be a stripped out racer I decided to stay with the factory look

Not sure with the Hats and there design but can see what your saying.

[Ronin 09]

how thick are the rotors, PSI?

[GTRgeoff]

Actually that won't cause undue turbulence but will facillitate air movement out and away from the disc over both the inner and outer surface.

Damn nice kit though.

[Roy]

But dont you want the air up the guts of the rotor through the vanes?

[GTRgeoff]

Yes, but air has mass and therefore momentum so if it is able to continue to maintain velocity it will be more efficient at cooling and will utilise all available paths to escape rather than stagnating in a dead end with only the vanes to run out.

[Beer Baron]

make sure you get them on the right way, from those pics they appear to be curved vane rotors and the way you have them dummied up has the caliper on the wrong side of the rotor, or the rotor on the wrong side (depending on which way you want to look at it lol). you are probably aware of it, but it would be a hell of a mistake if you weren't!

lovely looking brakes but way too much money imo.

[Roy]

Hmm. I dunno. Never seen a race car with such a setup. AP and Alcon look a bit different. But DBA & Brembo seem to use the design...but i have no idea why

[GTRgeoff]

not sure what the Mrs will think when she gets home however

You are a dead man walking

[r33_racer]

Interesting article. We got a alcon kit front and rear only 4potters, big 4 pots front and little 4 pots rear. We run full slicks and before our braking was only very average, now not even the little clubmans, super sport 400kg motorbike engine powered things can outbrake us. But being a 1000kgs heavier we just cant accelerate through the corner like they can

I believe the only difference between the 6potters is bigger pad, better wear and less fade again, but they cost more. But big brakes with a good suspension setup surely will yield better results then std brakes with a good suspension setup...would it not? Weve found it like that so far.

[phunky_monkey]

Beautiful looking piece of kit mate, I want...

[GTRgeoff]

Ahhhh, another with a brake fetish