BBK Comparison thread: Brembo vs. StopTech vs. AP Racing

[Z1Performance]

Originally Posted by imag

Yeah, it's basically between AP and StopTech. The only concern I have about the AP kit is that it was basically pieced together for this application - I haven't seen any testing on the resulting stopping distances. StopTech usually does a pretty good job on their testing before putting out a kit, although I'm not sure they did much in this case.

I also thought it might be good to have a resource thread for people to refer to in the future or on web searches. The weights, for instance, would be worth getting in one defined location. I actually thought you would care more than anyone about a factual comparison.

Bullitt - I totally appreciate the post. I'd personally shy away from that kit because I my guess is that it's more for show than anything (8 piston calipers are, from what I've read, totally unnecessary). That said, I think you're right that the information belongs on this thread.

A big brake kit's job is not to stop the car shorter. If you want to have shorter distances, take weight off the car, or increase the grip of the tire

I've owned BBK's by every worth while manufacturer out there, so I'll offer some constructive advise

1. some kits offer a variety of useful options that you are allowed to select from the get go. Such as various hat mounting methods, various disk sizes, various pad compounds.

2. serviceability - every kit at a certain point will need pads. Every kit will need rotors. Those rotors may (or may not) come with the new hardware you'll need to attach to the hats. This should all be part of your decision process. You don't want to find out that that bling blang bbk you got is impossible to find pads for. Doesn't seem like a big deal now, but it can be in 2-3 years down the road. My current cars have an AP and Endless kit on them. It's nice to know I can call any number of firms and have a plethora of pad compounds to choose from.

3. you're not going to fnd white papers on these products for a variety of reasons.

4. The top tier firms all offer similar quality kits from an engineering standpoint. ALL of them test the kits and produce them specifically for the platform. It's the lesser brands out there that take the one size fits all approach. Stoptech focuses their marketing on this point and it's a very valid point - we're big Stoptech fans here. That being said, several other firms take that same approach to the development side of things as well