I'm pretty confused right now. I need to get some real brakes, real soon. I need a 4 wheel kit that can stand serious abuse, preferably around $4000.
Here's what I have heard:
Stop Tech- cook fluids too fast?
AP- great, expensive, bolts snap off the rotors/bells from heating/cooling
Rotora- Knight_White was having some spongy pedal issue last event
Megan- Scott from VRT was happy with them, but they don't have a solid history (a gamble)

I would like to go with the Stop Techs for the price and R&D done, but I need to know from users whether they would buy them again given the chance. I got Scott's opinion, and want some others. Rotora's seem to be priced right also. The car is a daily driver that will be driven to track events. Anyone?

 

What about Endless?

I want to find a set that won't heat spot after a few 150mph runs down to 50 or so.

 

I have the 350brakes.com Wilwood 6pot front and 4 pot rear for the past three years. I track my car 3 times a month in a year. I have only slight knock back feeling in turns. I do not need to pump the brakes. I have gone through two sets of rotors and five sets of racing pads over the past three years. I also run this with cooling ducts for best performance in those 103 degree days in Califorinia. My car is still NA. The rest of the car is a T2 setup but still my daily driver with complete interior.

I purchased this from Russell in Texas and he has provided parts on demand and help as I have needed it. I have never had any problems with the calipers.

I highly reccomend this kit.

 

AP Racing with the bigger racing hats and sleeved allen bolts.

I was snapping the rear allen bolts previously, now it runs very nicely with the above set up.

Cooked the rear StopTech BBK seals with 14" slotted rotors with less demand than was putting on the APRacing, running the infield at Cal Speedway. Same fluid (Motul 600 RBF), same braided SS lines. Occasional track days without real hard racing brake technique and the StopTechs are fine. But go to thresh hold braking, especially with some trail brake technique that keeps the heat buildup going, and my experience is they are not presently up to it.

 

Wilwoods look interesting, and will fit on a 17" wheel. Price is right. No dust boots to melt. They look kind of small. Thanks for the info. BTW, it's 350zbrakes.com

How much am I looking to spend on a 4 wheel AP kit with upgraded rotors? That and replacement part costs seem up there. Endless are $$$$$$$$$.
Nice to meet you, Ed.

 

12AutoX, nice meeting you. Yes brakes are the single most important part of tracking these cars, and you never know what a particular brand of brakes will do untill you test them, then test them with more than twice the power of an NA car.
I have pretty much rung-out almost every brake kit out there, and have found the weak spots in most all of them.
AP's are great (one of the best) but expensive (about $4500+, not to mention the $1200 or so added cost of the racing rear rotor hat upgrade. Stop Techs (as mentioned by Eagle1) are good street brakes, but come up a bit short on the track with added power. The Rotora's seem a bit soft and spongy (not the best pedal feel out there). The Endless I haven't tested, but seem to be a great BBK (VERY EXPENSIVE, for what you get). The Willwoods are a good break, a little small for me, and although a stand up company, they seem to not have had any technalogical upgrades for quite a few years. The Megans have held up for alot of abusive track days (lately) have great f/r praportioning, are very quiet on the street, great on the track (held up to the most abuse, so far), and are very inexpensive ($3400 for the complete set including SS brake lines, pads, etc.) The choice, IMO, is a no brainer

 

Ya know, the SCCA T2 guys race the snot out of the factory Brembo setup and seem to do just fine. Being the skeptic that I am (and having road raced ITS 240Zs with solid front rotors and rear drums), is a BBK really needed for a 30 minute open track session?

 

The Nissan Brembo's are great for track use. We combine them with carbotech pads and dont have any issues with our T-2 car. We use a more aggressive pad on front than rear as you dont want any rear lockup. Make a run thru the salvage yards and you might find some brembos. Good luck tracking your car.

 

I just checked ebay and there is a set on now. Type in search....350Z brembo brakes and you will find them. Ignore the red Brembos advertised as thats not what you want. Look only at the gold ones off the track car 350Z.

 

This weekend at Buttonwillow was really the first time that I have had any issues with my Rotora brakes. I think the problem is not in the BBK upgrade - it's maybe a leak or maybe old fluid or something. I ran these brakes just a month ago at the SAME track with NO issues. I just need to to track down the problem.

Mike of VRT drove my car, as has Chris, and they both loved the feel of my Rotora brakes.

 

I'll chime in as a happy stoptech customer. I've run her hard for 2 full seasons on R compounds with no issues (but pad knockback which is a platform issue, not a bbk issue). I don't think it's necessary to run an upgraded caliper in the rear as long as you get the right pad. It took me two tries to get it right but landed on a pad that works.
I've got ducting up front (this is a must) and run titanium backing plates when my pads cross the half way point. I'll be rebuilding mine as a preventative maintence procedure this weekend (and adding knockback springs) and will report back if I see anything funny.
Of course I'm not running the high power levels that the VRT crew is running and haven't tried anything else on a track. I did drive Ray's car on the street and don't really remember the brakes, which probably means they felt good
WA2GOOD, it's good to hear from someone who's actually tried them all.. Why do you think that you were overheating the stoptechs but not the AP's? Is it rotor air flow design?

 

I hope nobody takes my post as a negative stabb at particular brake companies. I am just reporting what I have seen, felt, and experienced.

DaveH, Thank you. I do not realy know why the Stop Tech BBK failed, the failure (melt down) was in the rears. I did the magazine test on Eagle1's TT G35 featured in Sport Compact Car (and severall others). I am sure everyone has seen it. The SCC track test was at Streets of Willow. The car had The Stop Tech BBK on it front and rear. The test went well and although the brakes felt very spongy (despite bleeding them) they did hold up for that Mag. test. The very next time the car saw a track was at Cal. Speedway (the infield) and that is where the rear Stop Techs had enough and fried. Streets of Willow is not a track that is real hard on brakes like others I know of, so that is why I think they held up on Streets of Willow and burnt up at the next track.

 

Eagle 1s car is also 3800 lbs with driver and has 500+whp mind you. Thats a lot of pressure on a set of brakes. For an N/A aplication I believe either of the brakes mentioned above, with the exception of the old Brembos, will work fine. Having a track model I started out with the OEM Brembos before I did my build and found the limit to them as I progressed as a driver. My car had your basic bolt ons and some low-grade 235/18 R-Compound tires up front as well as Stoptech 2-Piece slotted rotors, SS brake lines, Motul fluid, and Cobalt race pads. WA2GOOD can vouch for me that the brakes were toast by the time they got my car for the initial build. The rotors were a nice shade of brown and all seals were shot. That was the limit for those brakes in my application.

Also, I have never boiled, cooked, or even felt the slightest bit of failure from the APs and also have never experienced the bolts breaking. My car is approx 3400 lbs with driver, 550whp, and has 285/18 Hoosiers up front. I brake late, and I brake hard with no problems.

 

I'm going to second Dave's endorsement of the ST's. I've put 20-something track days and 55-60K road miles on them over the last 2 years and they've performed flawlessly. As a daily driver I want dust boots, they extend the service life of the seals. I've been through a pile of pads but just replaced the front rotors, rears to follow soon enough. I'm also replacing the dust boots and seals as off-season preventative maintenance. The dust boots are petrified and ripped a bit, but otherwise everything's good. In my opinion they build a very good product at a good price point, and have excellent tech support direct at the factory. No Complaints Here.

 

hmmm - I have Rotor's and have never had a spongy feel in the brake pedal. Sounds like air in the system to me. I have numerous track events on my Rotoras with no issues on track and I have a TT set up with 440 rwhp and I brake late and hard also. The only problem with the Rotor's is the brake pad selection, other than that I am really happy with my set up.

For any BBK (track Brembo's included), you are going to get pad knockback due to hub flex!

 

I've had great results from my OEM Brembo's but my car is under 3000 lbs. and I don't push it as hard as some on here. If I was to upgrade, I think the Endless would be my first choice and they happen to have a 6-pot front Racing 4-pot rear setup in stock. Retail is normally $7200 but they are having a Holiday sale and I PM'd you the pricing.

 

Scott, when we talked brakes at Fontana several weeks ago you mentioned "burning up" the Stop Techs. What exactly was it that failed? Is it just the dust boots or the piston seals too?

 

On the Stop Techs that burned up, it was the whole rear caliper assembly, the seals and dust boot were toast, even the fronts showed heat and stress marks. The whole set had to be completely rebuilt.

 

Thanks for all the input. I am likely going to go with the Wilwoods. The pros are: Cost, 13" rotors= less rotational mass and pad knockback, possibility of running 17" wheels, no known complaints.
I was hoping to get a screaming deal on some Endless brakes, but that isn't working out. AP's are expensive. Not enough info/history on Rotoras and Megans. (And you guys got sponsored... I would try them if that were the case.)
Since I am planning on staying NA for a couple more years at least, weight management/agility is going to be my strong suit. I can work on driver skill, aero, and some minor suspension tweaks in the next year or two. Autocrossing on R compound tires will be another upgrade for this year and another steep learning curve. Should be a good year.