FD Brakes
 

Just got back for a track day at Laguna Seca.

All went well... except my brakes.

That tracks eats brakes! I had a almost new set of porterfield R1 brake pads and by the third 20 minute run session they were gone. Then my brakes overheated... then the pedal got all mushey.

So I guess that stock brakes really don't cut it afterall...

What aftermarket upgrades brakes do you guys recommend? I was curious about the wilwood brake kit sold by M2 Performance. I had wilwood brakes on a mustang I used to have and they were great. Less expensive than the AP brakes too.

-John Magnuson

LS is very hard on brakes, and you're right, stock brakes won't do there.

I bet all the "big" brake kits out there will do the trick. I have the MoveIt/Porsche kit on my FD......not the lightest in the world, but absolutely AWESOME braking power. Cossie, as you may know, uses the AP kit.

BTW....I was there too, in the CYM FD....great day!!:D

No way! I remember you! That thing scoots. I was the blonde guy who came by after your third run and asked you what kinda laps times you do.

By the way... my friend and I were watching people were braking into turn 2 (after the long straight) from on top of one of the towers and taking note of where folks were braking. You were braking the latest of anybody and you looked to be going just as fast at the Porsche GT2s. You must have great brakes.

Nicce runs...

yeah, just get a big brake kit...stock FD brakes are like stock parts..they break apart when you track them hard....

I think the calipers on FDs are good, just that the rotors wear out too qucikly....even aftermarket ones...

Thicker and bigger brakes rotors are the way to go...

You are wayyyy hardcore, driving all the way from SD..:)

Ok... so I think new larger brake rotors it is. Cossie are you the guy with the single turbo white RX7 who I borrowed the jack from at Laguna?

yup

Cool! Thanks for letting me borrow the jack and sit in your shade. It was nice to meet you! Very nice RX7 by the way.

You are welcome.....

Nice meeting u too.....

thank you for the compliment...

Ok... so where can I buy a nice aftermarket brake kit? I had my heart set on the Willwood 13" kit sold by M2Performance but they NEVER answer their phone or return calls.

Any recommendations?

speeds going into the braking zone for my rx7 are probably similar to the gt2. i would start braking at the "2" marker, and that is pretty much threshold braking for me.

my system is the moveit/porsche fronts, '99 RS mazda rears, hawk blue pads, mazda 929 master cylinder and motul fluid. remember also that i run 285 R compound tires all around. with the brakes set up as they are, tire grip is the limiting factor.

a web site called "the ultimate garage" used to be the vendor of the moveit kit. don't know if they still exist. most rx7 vendors sell wilwood, AP, or some other combination. many people swear by the '99 rs mazda brakes all around, though i personally don't think that's enough. i don't have any personal experience with the fronts though.

good luck

fabian

btw....hey fong, no pics this time??

hee...Not much, just a few...I'll post them later today...

too hot to be moving ard the pits.....

I know some guys using the Pettit Big Brake Kit:

http://www.pettitracing.com/

What brake fluid are you currently using? Are those Porterfield R1 pads race or street pads?

Porterfield R1 pads in the full race compound. I had some fresh Castrol LMA (not the GTA) for brake fluid. It's pretty good stuff but I could have done a bit better.

I saw Pettit's kit. I've had some not so good experience with them in the past... and I hate the look of the calipers. Kinda shallow of me huh?

Nope, it's not shallow. It's your money so you should get exactly what you want. The car that is pictured on Pettit's website is RTS3GEN's car here on the forum. He actually has those calipers painted different now but he really likes the performance of them.

Another picture of his car:

http://www.huckaba.com/jameson/sd/Pages/Image47.html

Can't quite see them well, but the performance is good.

pics from yesterday
 

http://images4.fotki.com/v43/photos/...1009018-vi.jpg

Link

Well... I got through to one of M2 Performance's vendors today and ordered the 6 Piston Wilwood Front Brake Kit. I've had Wilwood brakes on previous cars with good results so I hope I have the same luck with the RX7.

The Wilwood Kit is also about $1000 less than most of the AP Racing Kits I saw advertised. Well, since I ordered the "thermolock pistons" option on the Wilwood Brakes that makes the difference only $650...

I'll let you guys know how it works for me. See you again someday at Laguna Seca I hope!

-John

How much was the total kit?

BTW, we want pics when you get them installed! ;)

yea, please let us know once you get them how you like them, how they perform. i'm was also thinking about getting them, maybe for xmas for myself :D

I've used both the pettit kit and the wilwoods. The pettit kit is the better of the two and I think its on sale for 2k. It consist of 4 large pistons and 13" rotors with aluminum hats. I also use 285s and they will activate the abs system from some pretty high speeds.

Well, the nice thing about Cam's Pettit kit(outlaw calipers) is he designed the kit to retain the stock master cylinder. Many of the upgraded kits can utilize the stock master cylinder BUT, under hot braking conditions you lose some pedal, as the fluid volume goes down as you heat up the fluid and try to compress the air in the system(or water). Also lose pedal as the pads wear excessively. I've used the Pettit kit for 3 years now and I just now had to rebuild the calipers with new oring's. They also fit with stock FD wheels so if you are on a real budget and can't afford new wheels and brakes you're set!
Art

My outlaw calipers don't fit with stock wheels :confused:

I should have the Wilwood Kit from M2 in a couple of weeks. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

It consists of 6 pistons calipers, 13" rotors and fits under the stock 16" rims. The retail is $1495.00 plus $350 for the "thermolock pistons" option.

www.m2performance.com

-John