Race car prepping

[pug'n 0]

what kinda pad size do you end up running? i may have a set of suitabel lockheed (AP) 4 pots to move on fairly cheaply...... probably a tad small

'actual size' scan of a pad or basic dimension would tell me....

[conrod 1]

I think you may get AP's for $400 to $500 each caliper if you do a bit of legwork and phone around for a deal. And I would go for second hand AP's if budget is a bit tight, that is what I am doing on my car- with a new seal kit they will work good as new( and yes, I am on a budget!)Anyway, its your car, your money and your call, that was just my 2 cents...........

Lockheed AP is a cast iron road car caliper probably, not really what we are looking for.

Edited March 24, 2006 by conrod

[Queen of Beemas 0]

Just heard from the lads that Andy's brakes got owned and he went off at the hair pin...should be an interesting story when he's back...hehe...

No ones hurt and car is not damaged, they're getting new brakes to get back on the track!

[*sic 1]

sup pamela

lol i had a feeling something was gonna happen with the brakes today, all this spam on here...

[Guest Spargo]

Haha it was awesome, i got a mint foto of Andy and I getting past by people while we were beached on the grass!

Great fun. 170 through Jenian homes pwns my face.

[Guest Andrew]

stopping with the handbrake from 180 is the win

[conrod 1]

The gearlever delivers a similar result- ask me how I know! If I remember correctly the thought process was something like "Ohhh sh*t!"

[Guest Andrew]

Yeah I called the guys at racebrakes regarding the wilwoods - they did suggest they were sh*t, but a hell of a lot better than the stock ones.

Hmm they were thinking DBA rotors and mintex pads once again.

[smokenbaby 0]

Don't waste your ime with DBA rotors. They are only a road disk after all and will not last the distance. That is what I used on my RX7 and they were a good dick but I only got 2 race meetings out of them before they cracked. The only plus side of them was I only paid $100 each for them from BNT. That made it cheap enough to replace regularly.

If you want a RACE rotor but want to keep the price down, I would suggest Coleman rotors.

Or if money isn't a problem go with the AP disk. But make sure you get a RACE disk not a Road disk.

Nothing worse than brake problem. Especially while trying to pass someone only to loose the pedel and beach it.

[conrod 1]

If you want a RACE rotor but want to keep the price down, I would suggest Coleman rotors.

Or if money isn't a problem go with the AP disk. But make sure you get a RACE disk not a Road disk.

My friend with the Orange Torana, who you know Andrew, will happily sell you a cheap set or two of Coleman rotors and a BIG pair of Wilwood calipers, mind you the discs are all rooted -I think he has two or three sets that lasted not one meeting before buckling. In less than one year he spent the SAME amount of money throwing rubbish brake parts at his car, as it cost to pay for the new AP calipers and rotors, not to mention he has not had any braking issues since fitting them, and his car is the fastest stopping car in the class now. Perhaps a lighter and lower powered car like your BMW will not be as hard on brakes as his car is, but I'm sure the old cliche "you get what you pay for" applies here.

post note: It probably looks like I am pushing the AP barrow a fair bit here, but the same comments would also apply to Alcon and Brembo who also make excellent brake products.

Edited March 26, 2006 by conrod

[E30-323ti 66]

I'd say the discs & pads are more important than the calipers in terms of how the package functions.

Sure the Wilwoods flex more than AP's or Brembo's etc... But they still work fine.

If your warping/cracking sh*t disc's all the time it doesn't matter what calipers you have.

For example alot of the NZ V8 tourers run AP discs at ~$600ea because the Wilwood ones are sh*t and crack/warp alot quicker, but the rules specify they have to use wilwood calipers.

But on the other hand, if you are running discs bigger (thicker) than what you need you won't have a problem other than more unsprung weight.

[*sic 1]

They were good dick but I only got 2 of them before they cracked. The only plus side of them was I only paid $100 each for them That made it cheap enough to replace regularly.

lol. :jap:

[smokenbaby 0]

Sorry, 2 thumbs today, bad hair day and lack of mental power due to flu.

Ment to say “2 discs.......”

[Guest Andrew]

So what do I do now?

hah

[E30-323ti 66]

My 2c on a cheap brake upgrade.

2pc rotors something ~300x30mm (dia. to fit under your 15's) and a superlite IIA or SL4 caliper (pads are much bigger area & thicker than the dynalites).

Are you doing the rear too?? If so go for a similar dia rotor to the front 19-20mm thick and dynalites on the rear.

Size the pistons to match the existing and the bias should be pretty close, an inline adjuster could be used to fine tune things.

Racebrakes are helpful in sourcing the parts but have no idea about sizing them.

Do some research on the net and you can find out how to do it, useful to know!!

Still not cheap by any means, but about as cheap as you can get!!

edit:

Just found my spread sheet that I did my calc's on.

A dynalite rear with 1" pistons & SL4 front with 1.37" piston are the roughly same proportions as the stock brakes, but both are smaller thus having the effect of larger master cylinder (firmer pedal).

Then you have to take into account the disc size & pad area.

As a rule, if you keep everything proportionally the same size the brake bias will not change dramatically.

Edited March 27, 2006 by E30-323ti