Pics of and experience with Porsche Big Red Brakes on FD?
 

I searched and came up empty. I am referring to the oem Porsche turbo red calipers and rotors. I know jay nyc has this setup, but I unfortunately havent inspected it closely in person.

thanks guys!

Dangit Rich, what's wrong with the 99-specs???? :D

The Big Reds are really heavy, I know that, much heavier than OEM or other aftermarket setups. They will also require a rear brake upgrade to try to restore a proper brake balance.

It's been so long since I've seen anyone talk about them, I can't really remember much else. I think there's some info on www.fd3s.net about them....

Fritz Flynn has them on one of his track cars. Also, Damain has them on his track car.

What happened to the 99 spec???

Are you talking about 996 Turbo brakes??? If so, them suckers are expensive. You'd be better of going with a set of stoptechs.

Rich,
The Porsche-based kits were made by a company called Mov-it... they still make kits for other cars, and used to be sold through ultimate garage.

The good things about them are they're bullet-proof and have a virtually unlimited amount of pads available most anywhere.

The bad news is the kit is very heavy compared to some others. The hats on the rotors had to be made of steel instead of alluminum, because the rotor face is so broad (wide anulus). The rotos themselves are heavy, as are the calipers.

They're also tough to come buy, though I bet Fritz would sell you his for a price (like most anything else RX7-related he has, right Fritz?!), but you might be better off with some of the newer kits.

99-spec:

I would say the downside to '99 spec is, they still use the same pad shape as the 93-95's, which are small compared to almost any big brake kit, and aren't available in as many compounds. Performance Friction for instance, stopped making track pads in those shapes. All you can get now are whatever leftover stock anyone has.

I know Porsche make some awesome brakes but man they are HEAVY!!! I had a rotor from a 996 here that I made a floor lamp out of.

thanks for all the good info Peter. i found a thread that listed the porsche kit weight at 33.75 lbs per side. i wonder that the real-world acceleration loss is by moving from stock the the porsche setup?

I may still go with the 99 fronts, but some huge red calipers behind the Fikses has quite a bit of appeal to it :ky:

I doubt theres any real world acceleration loss. If you gained 100lbs through the kit....well you know the rule of thumb. But I bet you would notice a difference in cornering. All that unsprung weight. It seems to me your car is a street car. In which case I submit that the 99specs are all you really need. Track cars break things. Its what they do. Hence the need for those huge fockers. Arent you going for the sortof stock thing? If so I suggest the 99spec. Theyre sortof stock. Like your turbos.

Rich,
You can get a StopTech kit for under $2k. You can't beat that, and in addition to being good brakes, I think they are about the best looking kit out there.


EDIT: One problem might be clearance w/ your Fikse's Rich, I remember looking at the template, and seeing it would be real tight when I had Fikses. Go to ST's website and download the clearance template, print it out, cut it out, and try it on your wheels. You may be stuck w/ '99 spec or a more expensive AP kit, though i'd check the clearance on the '99 too.... I remember Manny saying they needed alot of clearance too, more than the OE 93-95's.

^^ oooooh purdy. Nice rims!

Isn't there a Wilwood kit, based upon their "Super Lite" aluminum calipers ?

Super light, big pads as well.

I was going to put these on my Mercedes 500E, but have decided to make hats and caliper adapters for the RX7.

:-) neil
http://www.silcom.com/~neilv/sportli...lwood-side.jpg
http://www.silcom.com/~neilv/sportli...ilwood-top.jpg
http://www.silcom.com/~neilv/sportli...ood-bottom.jpg
http://www.silcom.com/~neilv/sportli...wood-rotor.jpg
http://www.silcom.com/~neilv/sportli...-thickness.jpg

Rich,

Why not just go for the Pettit kit? I know quite a few road racers that love them. Plus, Pettit will usually work with you on prices if you and someone (or some people) all order them together.

Is the StopTech bbk lighter than the stock brakes? :) I thought I read somewhere that it was 4 lbs lighter.

thanks, i am going to print the template out and see if they fit. now I am beginning to get worried about non-stock front brakes and my Fikses :(

hm, i will go check their site out to see what they offer.

I already have a set of 99 spec fronts that I may run (assuming they fit with the Fikses) but the temptation for a sweet looking set of rotors and calipers is proving hard to resist :)

If your wanting better stoping power then go for one the above mentioned kits but if your just wanting red calipers...Dupli-Color Caliper Paint is the way to go. My FD has pretty much a flawless Vintage Red paint job and my OEM calipers, as of yesterday, now match the paint to a tee. ;)

i had my stock front caliper polished many years ago. I am primarily looking for a track-worthy brake setup to match the boost/power levels I am making. I was going to run the 99 fronts, but (a) it doesnt look like they will fit with my fikses and (b) the stoptech kit looks so damn nice. Of course, the stoptech kit might not fit either, i am going to use their online template to see how close it is. I have tossed around the idea of selling off the Fikses, but not sure on that one :squint:

Really? Are you sure about that, Rich? Aren't the '99 discs 315mm in diameter? Since they aren't 332mm like the Stoptechs and the calipers aren't that much larger than stock, I'd think they wouldn't have a problem with clearance. I could be wrong, however. Have you tried mocking up the assembly to one of the Fikse wheels to see if it will fit?

Rich,

Print out the Stop Tech template, I had lots of room with my 18 in. Fikse Profil 13's.

I'm going to start install this weekend of the Stop Tech kit with pistons match to rear 99RZ brakes with precision rotors.

Jack

I think Rich has the same rims as I do, the 17 x 8.5 Fikse FM-5s up front. The clearance is very tight when I checked the Stoptech template against the wheels even though the offset (I forget the specs offhand) is very close to the limit for fender well clearance, because the Fikse inner spoke construction is very stout for strength purposes.

Why not Endless? Light weight aluminum hats, forged aluminum calipers, the mini6pot caliper does not add huge amounts extra fluid to the system. Also fits easy into 17 inch rims. Oh it might be the price tag. 3000+

I just happen to have a used set of the mini6 with two piece rotors. 1200 miles on them for only 2250 shipped. Practically brand new, I still have all original packaging. These include brake lines, pads, hardware.

I was going to post these in the for sale section this week. But I saw this thread and thought I would get the word out.

The pic is them mounted to a FC. The kit is for a FD, but I modified the spindle in hopes of getting it to work. Almost perfect, but I couldn't get the left wheel to balance. So they are for sale. My loss, your gain.

In one of the many threads I surfed through during a lengthy search early this morning, I remember someone posting that the 99 front calipers extended quite a bit outward towards the backside of the wheel spokes, much more so than the stoptechs.....I will probably try and mock up the 99 fronts to find out for sure. I am swaying towards the stoptechs (or maybe those badass endless set pictured) assuming fitment isnt an issue. One reason I like the Stoptech is they size the caliper pistons correctly so that the braking system is balanced, which brembo, endless, etc do not offer. The stoptech website is very informative, and it really looks like an innovative and well put-together kit.

I really don't want to mess with a wheel spacer, partially b/c I think pushing the Fikses out any more will give me fender issues. I know Gotham sells Fikses, so I may sell off my FM5s and purchase a set of some of the profils.....