Big Brake Kit Upgrade Questions

[LuPix_S15]

Hola,

I know there's a few S15 owners running the K-Sport big brake kits (Craig and Benne) but wanted to ask a few questions...

Since coming back from Nurburgring, my discs are somewhat warped and have certainly started cracking?! :wack: From about 5 laps in, I was getting bad juddering on heavy braking and that was the only thing on the weekend which was a slight let down and prevented me from pushing on the last 5 laps compared to the first 5... I had to brake earlier!!

So I'm deffo on the hunt for bigger brake kits. Checking out DB Power, I've come across 2 typres of 330mm kits on offer:

Wilwood 330mm kit with Brembo discs:
http://www.db-power.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=128_145_216_404_405&products_id=641

K-Sport 330mm kit:
http://www.db-power.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=128_145_216_404_405&products_id=805

My budget is rather tight at the moment so I'd rather go for the cheaper Wilwood kit which is around £613 compared to the K-Sports which are just over £1,000!!

My first question would be is it worth saving the extra £400 and just go for the K-Sports? Bearing in mind lots more drift days and more Nurburging trips I do want a front brake kit that gives me ultimate braking for the price I'm prepared to pay etc.

Also, how do these kits work with ABS? Do you lose ABS or can it still be part of the setup?

Cheers,

J :thumbs:

 

[adz87kc]

I use the k sport 8 pots up front with ferodo racing ds2500 pads and they stop very very well. ABS works fine too.
Cant comment on the willwoods as i haven't used them but i was planning on getting the 4 pot rear kit as its so much easier to fit than a z32 rear set up.

Check out the Apex section over on sxoc as they were on special offer last time i looked.

 

[craig8585]

Yeah, Apex GB's on SXOC are the cheapest place for K-sports and they are still on offer now. Personally I would spend the extra and go for the proper big brake kits apposed to ones that space out the stock calliper. They aren't really over kill on a road car either as they are defiantly useful at times. Martin with the R35 said the feel and performance of them is very similar to his new GTR when he drove my car a few weeks ago.

I've got the 356mm kit up front and the 330mm kit waiting to go on the rear when I get chance to fit them. Like Adz says, the stopping power of them is unreal. I had to slam on from about 130 a few weeks ago when a lorry pulled out into my lane and it shocked me how good they are at speed. At low speeds you're restricted by the grip of the tyres, high speed is where they come into their own. I honestly believe that if i was still running stock brakes, I'd have the back of a lorry inprinted on my face.

On my last trackday the performance of them was faultless (defiantly go for the DS2500). They've been fitted to the car for around 3 years now and still work perfectly, infact, their serviceability is renowned for being extremely good, unlike the coilovers. The K-Sport pads are utter crap though, I used a whole set on 1 trackday. The DS2500's are a quality pad as you know.

 

[pegliobaglio]

I was looking at the wilwood kit myself,supposed to be very good,they use em a lot in the states,look forward to seeing what everyone else has to say about them.

 

[LuPix_S15]

Yeah I've always been interested in the K-Sport kits but I do hear good things about Wilwood. However it seems K-Sport are very much tried and tested on our cars so I'll go for their kit.

Looks like I'm also gonna save more pennies and spend the bucks on 356mm - the bigger ones

Craig - will the 356mm fit ok on my 17" rims?

Also what's the cost of the Ferodo DS2500 pads as I assume there'll be more than the stock S15 caliper size ones which are around £140 for front pair...

Cheers

PS - I'm wondering whether DB Power have got their prices listed wrong as their page lists the K-Sport 330mm kit as £1,010 but the 356mm as £899??!! :wack:

 

[DeanS15]

here you go mate, cheap as chips

http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=437485

 

[TurboAL]

I havent heard such good things about the willwood calipers. I have heard that the calipers constructions is not so rigid and the caliper has been seen to flexi. willwood are the budget of the well known brake manufactures. For the best you need ap second to that brembo but you wouldn't get a setup within your budget. so k sports it is and you can't complain at them the 8 pot calipers are substancial bits of kit and with the all important 2 piece rotors what more could you want?

 

[EMAGDNIM]

Outside of the baller JDM setups, I've heard good things about AP Racing BBK's! I have a friend running a set on his R32, and he won't stop talking about them (How much he likes them).

 

[craig8585]

I very much doubt they will fit mate, you have to go for the 330mm setup with 17's. You can try fiting a wheel over my setup if you like though to see if it will fit. I had my fronts reballanced and the tyre guys stuck the weights slightly too far in the rim and they touched the calliper - thats how big this setup is in a 18" JDM wheel.

What material are the AP / Brembo callipers made of? The K-sport ones are seriously light bits of kit but the disks weigh a tonne - but I suppose all large disks will. The DS2500 pad upgrade with Apex is £129.50.

 

[Auss15]

Quite a few guys here have put on R33 GTR Brembos as they are well priced second hand. With the larger Skyline rotors and either 2500 or 3000 they are getting great stopping power.


AP Racing calipers are excellent but not cheap

 

[JEZ 8553]

The problem is R33 GTR Brembos with decent discs and new pads are the same if not more than a brand new K-Sport setup when pruchased on a GB. I did actually purchase a R33 Brembo complete setup (front and rear) to replace my K-Sports, not for performance gain but being a bit of a brand whore i wanted those on my S15 and keep the K-Sports for a S14 track car when i get round to building one which would have made far better use of them. This plan however went to pot when DHL lost one of the front calipers, need to source another NS front but this is nigh impossible

I have the 330mm setup and i honestly cant fault them except for the standard pads, as mentioned get them changed to DS2500's or something similar.

 

[craig8585]

This has got me thinking how nice a F+R set of AP's would look.. Must stop thinking!!

 

[Darren_S15]

I probably could have got the k sport 8 pots cheaper than my brembos ended up costing me by the time I'd refurbished and rebuilt them.

They look great now, but I guess if your a serious tracker then you want best performance.

They do stop the car very fast but I've not driven with k sports to know the difference.

If I was going to do it again I'd just buy the k sport as it would be much less hassle and it's a nice new bit of kit.

 

[DeanS15]

I probably could have got the k sport 8 pots cheaper than my brembos ended up costing me by the time I'd refurbished and rebuilt them.

They look great now, but I guess if your a serious tracker then you want best performance.

They do stop the car very fast but I've not driven with k sports to know the difference.

If I was going to do it again I'd just buy the k sport as it would be much less hassle and it's a nice new bit of kit.

i agree, i went for a big disc upgrade as you know and they are plenty good enough for road. to me k-sports seemed overkill but to be honest if i did it again i'd do it properly i guess.....

 

[craig8585]

Your limiting factor at low speeds is the grip from the tyres so if you only potter around then they are overkill. High speeds and on track is where they shine. The disks dissipate the heat really quickly too so they never overheat.

 

[EMAGDNIM]

I'm going to drive my friends R32 GTR this weekend at the track as he's sold it and bought a R33 GTR. So it's the final goodbye before we strip it down of the parts that the buyer didn't want (like the brakes). I've driven his car with the stock Brembo's so I'm curious to see the difference. I do have them on my short list of brakes I'm looking at.

 

[LuPix_S15]

After speaking to Craig in depth looks like K-Sport 330mm is the kit for me!! I can't go for the bigger sized discs cos I'm running 17" wheels and it'll be a miracle if they were even close to fitting lol :wack:


Hopefully someone will have a Brembo NS front caliper to flog to Jez so I can buy his 330mm setup

 

[_Wing_]

Some do, but I wouldn't trust china made crap brakes.

I'm told that the k-sports DO NOT have piston dust seals, can someone confirm?

 

[craig8585]

I'm told that the k-sports DO NOT have piston dust seals, can someone confirm?

No, they dont. Do all AP callipers have them? No, they don't.


A set have been fitted to my car for over 3 years now and they still look and perform like new. Most time attack cars over here use these exact brakes without problems too. They are VERY good brakes and have TUV/ISO 9001:2000 approval for quality assurance.

Yeah, they don't look as good as a clean set of GTR Brembo's, but head to head they would outperform them comfortably.

 

[_Wing_]

That's because the AP RACING calipers without the seals are meant for racing use.

I don't keep up with the laws over in your neck of the woods but in Australia it's illegal not to have seals. Yeah, everything else is illegal if you look at a cop the wrong way and dust seals in your calipers is the last thing they'd be able to check, but this is actually concerning safety. You may not have an issue for the last 3 years but it only takes a spec of grime to get stuck in there and there's the accident waiting to happen.

Anyways, even if they had seals and even if they were certified by the Obama administration, I wouldn't use a knockoff product. Remember TRUST filing for bankruptcy? If they didn't make it through you'd be looking at chiwan to *develop* new parts since they'll have nothing to copy