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Megan Big Brake Setup. Any Comments?

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Old Oct 9, 2008 | 10:43 AM
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Default Megan Big Brake Setup. Any Comments?

I am looking into purchasing a bbk and I came across the Megan setup. So far they seem to be the best bang for the buck and I was wondering if anyone had this setup on their Z and if they had any comments about the performance of the brakes. Any omments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
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Old Oct 9, 2008 | 10:48 AM
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I doubt they put much R&D into their setup, and I would imagine their manufacturing methods are suspect. But hey, its only your brakes
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Old Oct 9, 2008 | 03:27 PM
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I'm not sure how much R&D they need since I highly doubt they actually manufacture their own calipers, they probably just rebrand some big name brand like a lot of companies out there.

That being said I've never owned one of their brake kits or anyone elses for that matter so I can't really comment other than I haven't heard anything negative about them or anyone crashing in flames because of one of their products.

Last edited by vanos954; Oct 9, 2008 at 03:30 PM.
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Old Oct 9, 2008 | 03:45 PM
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Originally Posted by vanos954
I'm not sure how much R&D they need since I highly doubt they actually manufacture their own calipers, they probably just rebrand some big name brand like a lot of companies out there.

That being said I've never owned one of their brake kits or anyone elses for that matter so I can't really comment other than I haven't heard anything negative about them or anyone crashing in flames because of one of their products.
If you want some good info on megan brakes ask Canadian on g35driver.com, pm him, he is a good friend and has the 6pot/4pot racing and loves them. They are cheap, if they break, they break...
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Old Oct 9, 2008 | 03:46 PM
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Originally Posted by m3inaz
They are cheap, if they break, they break...
BAD IDEA.

Show/street/play Megan should be fine.
Time after time abuse, may want to look into something more proven.

Also. NO pad selection. The megan pads you get are all you can get.

Also- Canadian is on here, unless he got banned again but I don't think he did.
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Old Oct 9, 2008 | 04:09 PM
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Brakes are the most important aspect of your car, do not skimp on cheap brakes.

IMO I would keep your stock calipers and upgrade to a more aggressive pad rather than using a low-end brand 'BBK'.

-Stoptech, Brembo, and AP would be better options.
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Old Oct 9, 2008 | 04:40 PM
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Originally Posted by stuntman
Brakes are the most important aspect of your car, do not skimp on cheap brakes.

IMO I would keep your stock calipers and upgrade to a more aggressive pad rather than using a low-end brand 'BBK'.

-Stoptech, Brembo, and AP would be better options.
Just because the price is low doesn't mean they are low quality. Scott Bush has tracked the hell out of those, and said they work great. Why pay twice the price for a name when realistically they probably won't see the track regularly if at all. They are more than adequate for a DD.
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Old Oct 9, 2008 | 04:50 PM
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Originally Posted by fallenromeo
Just because the price is low doesn't mean they are low quality. Scott Bush has tracked the hell out of those, and said they work great. Why pay twice the price for a name when realistically they probably won't see the track regularly if at all. They are more than adequate for a DD.
I am not commenting on Megans specifically since I don't have personal experience with them, but I have tracked tons of similar companies products and their is a huge difference between pedal feel, caliper rigidity, resistance to knock-back, etc... between a quality well-engineered caliper and a cheap caliper.

Please tell me the racing background of said company, and maybe some justification that they have the engineering and R&D capacity to produce a quality, funtional, and safe product?

Brembo, AP, Alcon, Performance Friction, and you could argue StopTech, are all reputable companies who have racing background, experience, and R&D. A caliper is not a billet or cast hunk of metal machined for pistons and fluid lines that's bolted together (2pc, let alone monoblock), their's a lot that goes into the design of a good caliper to withstand the heat of the environment it will work in, as well as to reduce caliper flex especially under heavy abuse as well as reduce knockback.

Last edited by stuntman; Oct 9, 2008 at 05:20 PM.
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Old Oct 9, 2008 | 05:03 PM
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Originally Posted by fallenromeo
Just because the price is low doesn't mean they are low quality.
Yes, but like most of my toys, I prefer not made in Taiwan.
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Old Oct 10, 2008 | 08:00 AM
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mainly the bbk is gonna be used for daily driving but it will also be used for the occasional track/drift day on the weekend. i would assume they would be fine for dd but my concern is will they hold up to the abuse of tracking them.
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Old Oct 10, 2008 | 08:33 AM
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https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-susp...t=megan+brakes
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Old Oct 10, 2008 | 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by stuntman
Brembo, AP, Alcon, Performance Friction, and you could argue StopTech, are all reputable companies who have racing background, experience, and R&D.
You could argue Stoptech? What does that mean exactly... I'd like to hear this.

Also what does the rigidity of the caliper have to do with pad knockback? The wheels hub causes pad knockback. The caliper isn't even under braking when knockback happens.

Please explan.

As far as megan calipers are concerned... The most important thing to look at with a BBK as long as it not a total POS is how hard is it to get replacement parts or get the caliper rebuilt. Give the company a call and see if you can get a tech rep on the phone and see if he can answer questions. Pad selection is important. If only one pad is available then definetly get something else.

If you are HONESLTY going to see the track with these brakes then get something else.
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Old Oct 10, 2008 | 11:55 AM
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Originally Posted by JETPILOT
You could argue Stoptech? What does that mean exactly... I'd like to hear this.

Also what does the rigidity of the caliper have to do with pad knockback? The wheels hub causes pad knockback. The caliper isn't even under braking when knockback happens.

Please explan.

As far as megan calipers are concerned... The most important thing to look at with a BBK as long as it not a total POS is how hard is it to get replacement parts or get the caliper rebuilt. Give the company a call and see if you can get a tech rep on the phone and see if he can answer questions. Pad selection is important. If only one pad is available then definetly get something else.

If you are HONESLTY going to see the track with these brakes then get something else.
Caliper rigidity affects pedal feel, modulation, consistency, and in some cases knockback. The location of the caliper can also affect knock-back, despite the flex in the wheel/hub bearing being the cause of the problem.

In what has been called the fastest Time Attack Z in the country, moving from caliper X to caliper Y has greatly affected pedal feel, brake modulation, and yes knock-back. The differences were caliper rigidity and location on the rotor.

A more rigid caliper (switching from caliper Y to caliper Z) also reduced knock-back in the Ford Mustang FR500Cs that race in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge GS class.

These are 2 examples of others where a more rigid caliper has greatly affected very many important characteristics of the braking systems.

I have driven many time attack cars with various brand calipers and some of which had terrible knock back (not just 350Z, but cars that aren't known for knock-back problems), poor pedal feel due to flexing calipers, and poor modulation characteristics. Some were on the verge of dangerous. Even with some of these lesser products, they 'held-up' to track use and I have won some competitions with less than adequate calipers. That dosn't mean they are good or acceptable by any means. I've also had others fail on me.

Brakes aren't pieces of metal machined for pistons and fluid lines that are bolted together, a lot more engineering goes into a proper caliper than you might think. People's opinions and ranking of products tend to be relative to what they have personally tried.



0.02
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Old Oct 10, 2008 | 12:26 PM
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Originally Posted by iStan
Yes, but like most of my toys, I prefer not made in Taiwan.
what computer are you using to write this message? im sure many of components come from taiwan, if not, lesser-developed countries in SE Asia
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Old Oct 10, 2008 | 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by stuntman
Caliper rigidity affects pedal feel, modulation, consistency, and in some cases knockback. The location of the caliper can also affect knock-back, despite the flex in the wheel/hub bearing being the cause of the problem.

In what has been called the fastest Time Attack Z in the country, moving from caliper X to caliper Y has greatly affected pedal feel, brake modulation, and yes knock-back. The differences were caliper rigidity and location on the rotor.

A more rigid caliper (switching from caliper Y to caliper Z) also reduced knock-back in the Ford Mustang FR500Cs that race in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge GS class.

These are 2 examples of others where a more rigid caliper has greatly affected very many important characteristics of the braking systems.

I have driven many time attack cars with various brand calipers and some of which had terrible knock back (not just 350Z, but cars that aren't known for knock-back problems), poor pedal feel due to flexing calipers, and poor modulation characteristics. Some were on the verge of dangerous. Even with some of these lesser products, they 'held-up' to track use and I have won some competitions with less than adequate calipers. That dosn't mean they are good or acceptable by any means. I've also had others fail on me.

Brakes aren't pieces of metal machined for pistons and fluid lines that are bolted together, a lot more engineering goes into a proper caliper than you might think. People's opinions and ranking of products tend to be relative to what they have personally tried.



0.02
I don't believe any of that to be true. I run Stoptech ST-40 front brakes and have no issues with pad knockback while some people do have issues with the same claiper. My setup is about as extreme as you can get. I have 275/305 R-compound tires, 16/14K ZEAL coilovers and I drive my car extremely hard at the track so if anyone would have knockback issues it would be me. I believe it is directly related to the wheel bearing. Idon't see how caliper flex has anything to do wit hthe issue considering the caliper is not even being used when the knockback occurs.

And what was your issue with Stoptech? You didn't answer that.
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Old Oct 10, 2008 | 01:32 PM
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For those that are curious...

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_knockback.shtml
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Old Oct 10, 2008 | 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by JETPILOT
I don't believe any of that to be true. I run Stoptech ST-40 front brakes and have no issues with pad knockback while some people do have issues with the same claiper. My setup is about as extreme as you can get. I have 275/305 R-compound tires, 16/14K ZEAL coilovers and I drive my car extremely hard at the track so if anyone would have knockback issues it would be me. I believe it is directly related to the wheel bearing. Idon't see how caliper flex has anything to do wit hthe issue considering the caliper is not even being used when the knockback occurs
Okay




Last edited by stuntman; Oct 10, 2008 at 09:06 PM.
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Old Oct 10, 2008 | 05:45 PM
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Brakes are like opinions: everybody has them, some are better than others
OR
Brakes are like opinions: personal experiences dictate feelings about both
OR
Brakes are like opinions: some people don't know when to stop

(this was for humor; don't get mad, please)
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Old Oct 10, 2008 | 10:44 PM
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Originally Posted by stuntman
Okay



Good.... then were in agreement?


Last edited by JETPILOT; Oct 10, 2008 at 10:50 PM.
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Old Oct 10, 2008 | 11:06 PM
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Originally Posted by JETPILOT
Good.... then were in agreement?

I love this car.
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