Yes, I believe only front backing plates require modification... I'll ask robert (redlinewins) to come in here and verify/comment

I believe rears provide more contact patch than stock... pads are bigger... I'll ask Josh to comment further on this one

AP Racing is one of the best brake systems out there imo.
looking good travis :D

Wait ... 18'' forgestars are lighter than the stock 19's? ...

By roughly 2-3 lbs. depending on offset/size.

Another item you might want to factor into the AP's price is pad and rotor costs. When I switched from the factory brakes on my 93 RSA to the Porsche Turbo Big Red setup I went through fewer pads and rotors per season. Those costs add up quickly.

Good point.... I haven't done the math on that but expecting it to be longer intervals and higher cost per interval... too soon to tell how it nets out but hoping it is a lower cost

hey travis. glad to hear the bbk completely eliminated your brake problems. can you explain a little more about how it's doing this? from the specs, it doesnt look like the kit is that much bigger than the sport brakes which are already pretty huge (14.25" vs. 14"). from comments made in other threads, it seemed more of an abs/ brake assist problem than with the actual calipers/ rotors/ pads themselves. would the 1/4" increase in rotor size make that much of a difference in heat dissipation to prevent the problem?

i'm kind of hesitant to do a bbk b/c of the cost, but if that's the only way to solve this problem, then i guess i dont have a choice.....

will respond more later, but it is the area of pad contacting rotor and the heat dissipation qualities of the materials not just the diameter of the rotor to look at... more later

Great job on the brakes :tup:

I have seen many brake systems come in and out of our warehouse and AP Racing has always been one of my favorites.

Keep up the great decisions :tup:

-Hunter

One thing to notice on the stock rotor versus the AP racing rotor is the fact that the AP kit uses a different internal vane structure that acts like a fan to draw the air from the inside of the rotor to more aggresively assist in the brake rotor cooling.

The stock rotors do this too but on a much smaller scale than the AP's. Couple this with the much larger mass of the stock rotor and yes they take longer to heat up but once they are hot - they will stay hotter longer making it more difficult to dissapate the heat.

Also as Travis points out - there is more pad contact with the rotor on the AP's - therefore there is less heat built up during brake pad application.

I'm sure someone with an engineering degree can come in here and explain better than us - but overall these are the contributing factors.

Oh - and I have the 370z sport akebono's on my 06 M45 :) Lovin every minute of em :)

Ken

Kinda-almost, the larger mass doesn't perform better because it takes longer to heat up per se, it performs better because the heat is spread across a larger area and because the larger surface area allows for for more efficient heat dissipation. In a way that does allow it to take longer to heat up, but not in the way you were thinking.

As far as less heat being created because of the larger pad...the pads on the AP Kit have a much higher coefficient of friction and since braking force (or grip for that matter) is a product of pressure and the coefficient of friction, they require less pressure to create the same amount of braking force.

The internal vanes (cooling) + the greater mass of the rotors (cooling) + the slotted pattern on the rotors (cooling) + the grippier pads (friction) = a system that can dissipate a whole lot more heat and produce more clamping power per applied pressure than the stock setup.


I studied business management in college though..



PS: Travis those things are beautiful.

ken, spot on! there is definitely more airflow pulled in by these brakes... and I'll also prob run ducting to be doubly-sure... but regardless, I am not getting any of the over-heating I had previously during track time... thick rotors as well that better dissipate heat, and I suspect less heat buildup in the calipers... end result is precise, predictable braking... not much more to say... i'll post more data as it is captured... got an event coming up early September back at longer track that should be very telling

Thanks! I'm psyched to test these out for you all and share my thoughts, data and pics. Let me know if any other questions.

Hey I was talking to some folks who competed in the "One lap of America" and the guys who built the car (from a very well known BMW tuning shop) and it seems that the final verdict was that the AP Racing 6pot kit is the best 6 pot kit available. They said they tried the Brembo kit before and it used to be considered the best, but that the quality of the AP's has improved to the point where it has replaced the Brembo. Not only that, but they are cheaper and have cheaper pads available. Figured I'd let you know.

Come over to the darkside RCZ... you'll wonder why you didn't months ago! :D

Confidence in braking is almost the same high as acceleration...