I have heard there are problems with the RX7 kit. Anyone have them, and what has been your experience?

 

I have no problems whatsoever. What have you heard?

 

Bolts coming loose; have to hit them twice, because the pistons have alignment problems. Apparently, these were cars that do track time.

 

If you have bolts come loose, then I think you either didn't torque them right, or didn't use locking compound where it says to... or didn't check them after the first run-in or something.

I've done two track events with these brakes and zero issues... I certainly don't have to hit them twice. I get a better pedal with these than with stock brakes.

I'd be surprised if these problems were related to Stop Tech rather than the user's install, because a lot of folks have ST for track use on other cars, and i've never heard anything but good stuff about them.

 

Bolts coming loose could be incorrect torque on the bolts or not using loctite. It's something I check before every event.

"have to hit them twice" I think refers to pad knock back. This is when the caliper/rotor flex under high load which makes the pads push the piston back into the calipers. Then when you go for the brakes, the pedal travel is more than expected. A possible cure is to use piston springs which go behind the pistons in the caliper and keep them in light contact with the rotor. A work around is to tap the brakes when approaching the braking zone which will also push the pistons back into alignment. Note that this seems to occur under high loads on the track and that the brakes actually still work, you just have more pedal travel. Obviously this can be pretty scary though.

I believe Stoptech is aware of the issue. Give them or one of their distributors a call. Try Nick at Ntech.

Mark

 

I don't have them, so I couldn't have done anything wrong I was told of this by a professional who seems to think Stoptech is aware of the issue, but doesn't have a fix. I'm in the market for a big brake kit, and thought it would be Stoptech. Now, I'm trying to determine if I should go with something else.

 

And does this professional sell another brake line?

 

I don't actually have them either, but I've gotten reports from some people who talked about the pad knockback issue. I'm using an AP Racing setup in the front and '99 spec calipers in the rear. There are alot of people who have had good success with the Stoptech kit however, and the price is pretty good. They still may be worth considering.

 

I've put the StopTechs on my FD this summer - only put one track weekend on them so far, using street tires, not R-compound, so they weren't stressed to the max, but it was at CMP, which is as hard a track on brakes as I know of. I was very happy with them. No problem with knock-back.

 

I could be that the user in question got the knockback because something was moving around more than it should, i.e.: bolts loose.

I'd be very surprised if there was any more flex in the StopTech components than anyone elses, the parts are of very high quality, fit together very tightly... and the flanges for the adapter brackets were very thick.

 

"And does this professional sell another brake line?"

Nope. Only Stoptech. He's installed others. I hope there'll be more response; so far, 2 users with no problems.

 

Sounds like it could be down to the shape of your wheel bearings, something that would be exacerbated by big track tires:


http://stoptech.com/whitepapers/knockback.htm

 

I've spoken with several guys at the track running Stoptech's (not on FDs) and none of them have had any problems. This is one of the reasons I am looking hard at this kit....

 

Tyler,

Have you looked at one 'guaging interest post' in for sales section a while back about endless 6 pot caliper kit? Only 1700 bucks!

 

If more fluid would help the pedal feel issue, it may help to install a 929 master cylinder to pump more fluid per unit of pedal travel. This is a fairly popular upgrade to accompany a big brake kit.

-Max

 

They actually list this as a potential fix for knockback, if you have any, on the ST FAQ. Howver, these brakes were sized to not require it, and I can report that the pedal is higher, and firmer than w/ the stock brakes... not needing that upgrade (or '99 rears) was part of how I figured the real economy of this kit.

 

On a slightly related point- a friend of mine is making brackets to fit a Stoptech kit onto an FC with the 5 lug setup. As anyone with an FC may have found out, there isn't anything available other than I think the Brembo and the Endles$ kit.

If anyone is interested, PM me.

 

I could be wrong, but I think for some reason that the Endless calipers are sized for the STOCK rotors.....

 

Tyler, Endless offers many vairants, but from my understanding, the Inch up kit for the FD runs 12.76 x 1.18 inch, 2 piece rotors. 17's are recomended for clearance. They do offer an Inch up 2 kit, which i think runs 13.5's, or something in that area.

Endles does offer a 4 and a 6 pot mini for the FD on stock rotors. . . . . . So if you partake in the GB, make sure you are clear on which they offer. 4 pot, 6pot, 6pot mini, inch up 2, etc etc.

 

Hummmm...I just saw that post (I talked about) last night. I think the guy stated the rotor sizes are 330 mm. So, it'd be a complete kit. However, there's a catch. The kit will NOT be an endless kit....but, another brand kit from the same manufacture.

POM HB

PS. I hope more people are interested cuz the guy needs about 5 people to get the kit started. I'll be in if that happens.

 

Does the st kit do anything to fix the proportioning problem that will happen when installing big front brakes, and stock rears?

 

From what I have read, they use front calipers with smaller pistons that most other big brake kits use. But I don't think they replace the stock proportioning valve or anything like that.

-Max

 

The pistons in the caliper are properly sized to allow for the same (actually, better) brake balance as stock. This is all on the Stoptech website. Zeckhausen Racing even has ordered custom Stoptech front kits to go with the larger 99 RS/RZ brakes.

 

They work without upgrading anything else (except for 17" minimum wheels). No proportioning valve, no master cylander, no rear upgrade.