I received the email from RB. It look's as though they are providing options to make everyone happy which is the right thing to do. I think I am going to take the grind tabs/new front lines/$150 refund route. I am going to test fit the front rotors on the hubs that are off the car and see what I am dealing with but I don't think filing off 2-3mm of the raised tab would be that big of a deal. What option is everyone else going with?

 

I am also taking that route!

 

I am taking the grind route as well.

I personally wanted to say that I have been very impressed with racing brake's willingness to even take on this project, much less strive to maintain 100% satisfaction as hard as they have. Not directed at anyone inparticular since I haven't even read back through the complaints recently but:

I think people seem to forget that this car is 15 years old... and essentially "Dead" platform. While I agree that the rotor rubing and short brake lines are issues that need to be resolved... this is essentially a first article production. That means that there WILL BE problems. That is true of nearly every product that comes into existance. I took advantage of the pre buy in that RB offered, and the associated 20% discount. Here's the thing.... nothing is free. I got a 20% discount, and assumed tht there would be some issues that needed to be worked to perfect the product. So long as RB is working to resolve the issues, I have no problem with any of it. Whining and complaining about "poor company policy", "bad design", etc, etc is just silly IMO. If you want a proven product, then go buy one, there are other things out there. If you want to be a part of a potentially ground breaking product, and you want to take a discount from the company buy purchasing the first production units, then be prepared to help them sort out the details.

It's simple. If you aren't happy, they have always said you can back out at anytime. So do it. no need to come on and bash them or their practices or designs. Be happy with the fact that they are even willing to design parts for our cars. Be happy with the 20% discount. Be willing to show patitence when problems arise. Otherwise, wait 5 months until it's proven and pay full price.

I commend RB's efforts in this, and am personally extremely satisfied with the process.

 

+1

I'm also going the grind, and new front line option.

 

I am also VERY happy with RB. Even prior to this recall/refund.

Personally, I think their product quality is top notch (what I could see) and their customer service has been GREAT! I've talked to them over phone couple of times regarding my order and they went out of their way to make things happen. Thats what I call being "professionals"!

And now with this new $150 refund, this is one of the best purchase I've made Two Thumbs up for Racing Brakes!

 

To your credit you put forth a disclaimer early in this post that you haven't gone back to read the posts, however, this caveat gets lost given the length of your post. With that said, I don't believe anyone has put forth disparaging comments re. RB, to the contrary the feedback has been nothing but glowing. What I, and others are put off about is the terrible testing process that was conducted prior to production and shipment of the brakes.

As I pointed out a loooong time ago, I imagine RB would have preferred to have had these issues discovered through a more rigorous testing regime rather than have to deal with hassle and lost profit margin that they now face. This is not to say that RB should escape any criticism folks may want to toss their way, after all at the end of the day the quality, fit, finish, function etc, of their product is THEIR responsibility. Not to mention, liability.

Bottom line...pre-production testing sucked. With any luck, round 2 will solve any and all issues with the product without anyone getting hurt/killed/sued in the process.

 

Received my email, RB is standing behind their product.

 

I won't be taking the grinding option.

 

Been on my two piece stock replacement front rotors and the rear BBK for over three weeks. Have done multiple 60-0 and triple digits stops.

I am very happy and pleased with this street setup and have no complaints.

Happy Happy, Joy Joy!

 

I'm taking the grinding/$150 refund option. That is a small amount to remove and as mentioned doesn't compromise anything in the front spindle area. The brake line length is being corrected.... so it is a win/win situation for the first run of buyers.

These look like great brakes, have the thickest rotor design, should have the best balance out of any kit on the market, and after testing on a race track I hope will prove that they kick *** with no issues.

Two thumbs up for RacingBrake in taking the plunge in designing these for such a small market/volume car. After track testing I'm sure everyone will be very very happy.

 

There are some background and fundamental facts we like to address here so you can have a more sensible and better understanding on these issues that are being discussed:

1. This is not the first kit of its kind we ever built. In fact we have built well over 100 kits (OE calipers and Aluminum calipers). Unlike competitions’ kits our brake kits are known to have specifically designed and built for bolt on installation with some exception such as rear drum backing plate ribs trimming on Z06 rear.

2. Knowing the stock rotors are only 22mm in thickness and our initial design was with 328x28mm thickness which we know should have enough thermal capacity to handle the most demanding heat level for RX7 w/o any issue; So the math is (28-22)/2=3 meaning we only have to move 3mm inward which should fit right on and require no grinding on the spindle tabs. However upon some discussions with RX7 expert we were suggested to go with 332x32mm rotors being (32-22)/2=5 so now we are adding 2mm more offset or a total of 5mm from stock inward due to the increase of this rotor thickness.

3. This minimal interference can be easily corrected with a revised design on the hat and adaptor or revert the rotor thickness back to 28mm “If” it has been brought to our knowledge during the test fitment process. However regretfully and unfortunately this is not the case therefore we are shipping our brake kits having “fitment” issue.

In our history of business we never advise customers to modify the stock components to fit our parts (such as this after fact issue) unless we are absolutely sure there is no safety or strength concern like this grinding which we are sure you can judge for yourself too.

We know there are lots of experts and engineers out there that would offer different comments, opinion or feedback but would ask your trust our expertise from being a brake manufacturer. Not only we guarantee the integrity and soundness of the design but also the performance of the brake system.

For some pre-order customers who elect not to perform this modification we will exchange with the revised kits, or they can simply cancel the entire order for a full refund. Theses options are your assurance of “worry-free” purchase from Racingbrake.com.

As far as the pre-testing of the kits, our practice has been either we test ourselves (in house) or rely on outside experts. For the RX7 kit development we entirely rely an outside expert, but we all know sometimes things may not work out. So rather than giving excuses why/how this happened we are taking full responsibility to have the situation promptly rectified and assure you a satisfactory purchase for a ultimate braking system.

Any question regarding your order please contact us directly by email or phone.

Thank you for your understanding and please respond to our email about your options as soon as possible so we can get these issues settled.

 

to RB....

We need brake products for the 5-lug 4-piston FC's!!!!

 

I believe you have the wrong rotor on this side, my vanes go the other direction on my right front.

 

Do you know if there will be any compatibility problems with the current calipers and a "revised" rotor/hat that would come out in the future? If the location of the rotor is adjusted at all, I would think it would. I just want to make sure I can find the proper replacement parts for my current BBK years down the line..

 

thanks aoc007, you are correct.

i checked RB's site and found a rotor location drawing that is opposite as to my prior understanding.

the slots on the rotors rotate past the pads from the outside to the inside.

howard coleman

 

np, my mechanic mounted my brembos incorrectly the first time too. Also that drawing confused me at first as it does not state from which side you are looking at the rotor, in the drawing. But it makes sense that it would be the way it was mounted, with the hat sticking up.

Did you go on the track with them mounted this way and had no fading issues?

-Andy

 

the Porsch-ah club of milwaukee has a track day at BHF aug 15 and i will try to get in....

actually it would be lots of fun to play w the porsch-as. i may be dynoing this sunday so let's hope all stays together at 25 psi.

hc

 

i had an opportunity to look at my rotors carefully and was blown away by how NICE the wear pattern is. i hope it comes thru in the pics.

wear patterns tell alot on tires and on brake rotors. alignment of the caliper, pistons and the compatibility of the pad and rotor. these look like happy rotors.

on a side note i have been running the 800 pads. initially i had a squeek here and there... since i switched from the beta RB440 calipers to the RB production calipers i have not heard a squeek. FWIW of course.

BTW, anyone in the midwest going to the HUGE Road America weekend (this weekend) and wanting to check out the RB setup look for me or my car in the Mazda Corral outside of turn 14. it should be an amazing weekend.

hc

 

Them's good eatin' :-)

 

 

Howard, your FD looks killer, and the brakes really fill out those rims nicely. I've never been a huge fan of the nt03s, but they look great on your setup

Nice patriotic photo, this army Captain salutes you

 

Love the molded Burnout flares. Did you have them replicated in metal, or are they FG? After much debating, I've decided to just stick with FG. I am 'razor edging' the flares though, to minimize the amount of filler used.

Any pics or writeup of the install?

 

Hey, can one of you guys that have the kit installed please verify how it compares to the Stoptech with regards to clearance and such?

The Stocptech template is here: http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wheel_fitment.shtml

Maybe print it out and see how much it sticks out compared to the installed RB kit.

I know Goodfella is curious about fitment of these with his Fikse's and so am I

 

The kit:


I had Hawk Blues before on Brembo stock replacement front rotors and this is what they did to the backside of the rotor after one month and two trackdays (HPS for a few years before that):

And here is a video of the Blues tearing up the rotors:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHq8fasQSSQ

Left Front installed:


Right Front:


Left Rear:

 

Left Front inside:


Right Rear inside:


I think I need to get on the track to fully experience them but they feel very good on the street. I have the ET700 pads and cold they feel less powerful than the Hawk Blues did hot on the track so I'm expecting them to be pretty powerful at temp and fully bedded. Although the braking is much more linear now than with the Blues, those are grabby, they don't seem quite as linear as my previous stock setup with HPS pads. As of now I only have a few hundred miles on them so I expect their performance to only increase. And I forgot to order the shims for the front pads so they squeak a tiny bit occasionally under light braking. Also i think its just the pads and rotors breaking in but a couple times under light braking I would feel vibrations. And with regards to dusting; they do somewhat, not ridiculously like the Blues of course but not dust free like the HPS.

-Andy