Mazda RX-8 Front Big Brake Kit
05-04-2007, 05:17 PM
#1
Grey Boy
Thread Starter
Mazda RX-8 Front Big Brake Kit
SR Motorsports is selling a big brake kit fot the 8 that bosts 13' by 1.125" thick rotors and 4 piston calipers.
Has any one used this and if so, what do U think. Are they woth the money?
Regards.
Grey
Has any one used this and if so, what do U think. Are they woth the money?
Regards.
Grey
05-04-2007, 05:33 PM
#2
It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you're tracking your car you'll notice better resistance to brake fade and the lower unsprung weight. Granted you could arrive at nearly the same results by upgrading too a two piece rotor with better pads but then you wouldn't have that "I-just-spent-two-grand-on-my-front-brakes-look". I guess it comes down to what your budget is and what your goals are.
05-04-2007, 05:38 PM
#3
Grey Boy
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Tayler
It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you're tracking your car you'll notice better resistance to brake fade and the lower unsprung weight. Granted you could arrive at nearly the same results by upgrading too a two piece rotor with better pads but then you wouldn't have that "I-just-spent-two-grand-on-my-front-brakes-look". I guess it comes down to what your budget is and what your goals are.
05-04-2007, 05:57 PM
#4
I'd wait to hear from others who have more than keyboard experience but from what I'm familiar with the RX8 comes from the factory with excellent brakes. I've read a lot of negativity about going the the BBK (mainly due to cost vs cost of upgrading pads and rotors) as well but they may all be rehashing one persons opinion.
05-04-2007, 06:02 PM
#5
Grey Boy
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Tayler
I'd wait to hear from others who have more than keyboard experience but from what I'm familiar with the RX8 comes from the factory with excellent brakes. I've read a lot of negativity about going the the BBK (mainly due to cost vs cost of upgrading pads and rotors) as well but they may all be rehashing one persons opinion.
05-04-2007, 06:04 PM
#6
It really is an excellent brake system (OEM)...if your not doing any serious tracking, upgrade the components (lines/pads/fluids/tires) and call it a day. I doubt you could get the stock system to fade with the updates even with an extra 100HP.
05-07-2007, 08:40 PM
#9
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I have a company working right now to produce a front and rear BBK for the RX-8, and I'm trying to get them to price the entire package for around $1700-1800 or so. Having a matched front and rear setup is more important than simply upgrading the front rotors and calipers.
Some companies are just bolting on their "standard" 14" caliper and big honkin' caliper and calling it a day. If weight loss isn't your concern and you like the BBK look, those will work. I can't release any more info than that, but, with several SCCA National championships under their belt, this company I'm working with seems to be uniquely qualified to develp this kit for our beloved RX-8.
I was just at the Willow Springs this past weekend and noticed that with the cornering speed the RX-8 can carry, at that particular track even the stock brake system worked pretty well.
Some companies are just bolting on their "standard" 14" caliper and big honkin' caliper and calling it a day. If weight loss isn't your concern and you like the BBK look, those will work. I can't release any more info than that, but, with several SCCA National championships under their belt, this company I'm working with seems to be uniquely qualified to develp this kit for our beloved RX-8.
I was just at the Willow Springs this past weekend and noticed that with the cornering speed the RX-8 can carry, at that particular track even the stock brake system worked pretty well.
05-07-2007, 08:46 PM
#10
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05-07-2007, 09:04 PM
#11
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the stock brakes will handle whatever power you can get out of the renesis, 300 hp will not be a problem. Unless you plan on autocrossing or competitive racing don't bother with a big brake kit (especially if it weights more than OEM)
05-07-2007, 09:21 PM
#12
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Last edited by Ever Hernandez; 05-07-2007 at 09:24 PM.
05-08-2007, 11:23 AM
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I was once lucky enough to won an FD RX-7 with a Greddy single turbo conversion running about 1.2 bar of boost and close to 400HP to the wheels and I never ever had a problem with the stock braking system.
I had OEM sized Brembo rotors and Brembo pads on the stock calipers.
That, combined with my 6000 miles or so experience with my stock RX8 braking system, leads me to believe that Mazda makes greak brakes.
My opinion, if you want to look more exotic and kick *** at the track without getting some expensive BBK, look into Endless 2-piece rotors and pads.
I've never run Endless rotors, but I've run their pads on my STi at the track and boy do those things work!
I could lock up all 4 wheels on my STi at will.
The ABS didn't know what the hell to do with those pads.
I had OEM sized Brembo rotors and Brembo pads on the stock calipers.
That, combined with my 6000 miles or so experience with my stock RX8 braking system, leads me to believe that Mazda makes greak brakes.
My opinion, if you want to look more exotic and kick *** at the track without getting some expensive BBK, look into Endless 2-piece rotors and pads.
I've never run Endless rotors, but I've run their pads on my STi at the track and boy do those things work!
I could lock up all 4 wheels on my STi at will.
The ABS didn't know what the hell to do with those pads.
05-08-2007, 11:47 AM
#15
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If you've ever had the chance to drive a car with a great BBK setup, like my friend's E46 M3 with Brembo's finest front and rear, you'd be AMAZED at the difference in stopping power they produce. No one runs around claiming that BMW produces inadequate brakes, but... the Brembo setup IS CLEARLY superior. Night and day difference, on street tires even.
05-08-2007, 12:20 PM
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the biggest misconception of upgrading brake is that you may think your car will stop better by upgrading to a bbk. this isn't true. what you're paying for are the increased resistance to brake fade, better brake pedal modulation, and weight savings. the clamping power SHOULD stay same as stock. this means if everything's done correctly, you'll stop at about the same distance as the stop brake setup after spending $2000 on your brake setup. only difference would be... you'll be able to do it lot more often on a track more consistently.
if you want to stop faster, get wider tires and better brake pads. you'll notice a huge difference right away.
if you want to stop faster, get wider tires and better brake pads. you'll notice a huge difference right away.
05-08-2007, 12:41 PM
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the biggest misconception of upgrading brake is that you may think your car will stop better by upgrading to a bbk. this isn't true. what you're paying for are the increased resistance to brake fade, better brake pedal modulation, and weight savings. the clamping power SHOULD stay same as stock. this means if everything's done correctly, you'll stop at about the same distance as the stop brake setup after spending $2000 on your brake setup. only difference would be... you'll be able to do it lot more often on a track more consistently.
if you want to stop faster, get wider tires and better brake pads. you'll notice a huge difference right away.
if you want to stop faster, get wider tires and better brake pads. you'll notice a huge difference right away.
With most ALL BBKs, you WILL stop in a shorter distance BECAUSE you have better (more aggressive) brake pads.
If you simply run more aggressive pads on the stock brakes you can heat soak them without aggressive ducting. For the street they'd be fine, but at the track you will start to see issues. Lighter weight wheels and stickier tires are the BEST FIRST modification for an RX-8.
And to anyone who thinks the stock Brembos on the Evo, WRX, or 350Z suck, realize that they're shipped with brake pads designed to last quite a while, as opposed to any number of much better compounds available. A 350Z Track puts down a 114 ft stopping distance from 60 MPH bone stock! That's something like #3 on the all-time stopping distance record chart. The two cars which beat it, cost thousands of dollars more, and weigh less.
05-08-2007, 12:45 PM
#19
Having that increased resistance to fade means you CAN run really aggressive pads and not suffer from boiling brake fluid or over-heated pads and rotors. THAT is the goal of the kit I'm working to have produced ALONG with reduced unsprung weight and rotational weight. I want all of that to be available for RX-8 owners, along with the ability to use everyone's pads already on the market, and at an affordable price.
With most ALL BBKs, you WILL stop in a shorter distance BECAUSE you have better (more aggressive) brake pads.
If you simply run more aggressive pads on the stock brakes you can heat soak them without aggressive ducting. For the street they'd be fine, but at the track you will start to see issues. Lighter weight wheels and stickier tires are the BEST FIRST modification for an RX-8.
And to anyone who thinks the stock Brembos on the Evo, WRX, or 350Z suck, realize that they're shipped with brake pads designed to last quite a while, as opposed to any number of much better compounds available. A 350Z Track puts down a 114 ft stopping distance from 60 MPH bone stock! That's something like #3 on the all-time stopping distance record chart. The two cars which beat it, cost thousands of dollars more, and weigh less.
With most ALL BBKs, you WILL stop in a shorter distance BECAUSE you have better (more aggressive) brake pads.
If you simply run more aggressive pads on the stock brakes you can heat soak them without aggressive ducting. For the street they'd be fine, but at the track you will start to see issues. Lighter weight wheels and stickier tires are the BEST FIRST modification for an RX-8.
And to anyone who thinks the stock Brembos on the Evo, WRX, or 350Z suck, realize that they're shipped with brake pads designed to last quite a while, as opposed to any number of much better compounds available. A 350Z Track puts down a 114 ft stopping distance from 60 MPH bone stock! That's something like #3 on the all-time stopping distance record chart. The two cars which beat it, cost thousands of dollars more, and weigh less.
Out of curiosity...do you track your car?
05-08-2007, 02:26 PM
#20
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My opinion ... since the original poster asked a question of whether it was worth it and because he plans on adding an additional 100hp to the car my answer to the question is no. HP has absolutely no correlation to braking performance. You will never see fade on the street. For a street only car the only reason I think to get a BBK is for aesthetic purposes only.
For the occasional weekend warrior track car, it would help but in reality if you're only occasionally tracking the car you'd probably wouldn't see any differences in times between the BBK and mild stock brake upgrades (lines, pads, fluid). Mostly because if you're only occasionally tracking it you're probably not ever getting to the point of fading the stock system let alone a BBK.
For the weekend racer all the time all year ... go to town. It's basically a race car then anyway.
2 cents FWIW.
For the occasional weekend warrior track car, it would help but in reality if you're only occasionally tracking the car you'd probably wouldn't see any differences in times between the BBK and mild stock brake upgrades (lines, pads, fluid). Mostly because if you're only occasionally tracking it you're probably not ever getting to the point of fading the stock system let alone a BBK.
For the weekend racer all the time all year ... go to town. It's basically a race car then anyway.
2 cents FWIW.
05-08-2007, 02:41 PM
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^
I would argue that 100hp does make a difference, as one's terminal speed down a straight would incread significantly, placing much more stress on the brakes in the brake zone. An increase in hp in my WRX rendered adequate brakes in stock form to fadeable brakes with stage II power mods.
Stock, I see no reason for a BBK on our cars for dependable track duty.
I would argue that 100hp does make a difference, as one's terminal speed down a straight would incread significantly, placing much more stress on the brakes in the brake zone. An increase in hp in my WRX rendered adequate brakes in stock form to fadeable brakes with stage II power mods.
Stock, I see no reason for a BBK on our cars for dependable track duty.
05-08-2007, 02:57 PM
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"straights", "brake zones" ... sounds like a track and not the street.
You can't compare apples to oranges. You are assuming the WRX stock braking system is the same as the RX8 stock braking system and reaches limits similarly.
As I said it's just my opinion on the necessity of a BBK on a mostly street driven RX-8.
You can't compare apples to oranges. You are assuming the WRX stock braking system is the same as the RX8 stock braking system and reaches limits similarly.
As I said it's just my opinion on the necessity of a BBK on a mostly street driven RX-8.
05-08-2007, 03:01 PM
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"straights", "brake zones" ... sounds like a track and not the street.
You can't compare apples to oranges. You are assuming the WRX stock braking system is the same as the RX8 stock braking system and reaches limits similarly.
As I said it's just my opinion on the necessity of a BBK on a mostly street driven RX-8.
You can't compare apples to oranges. You are assuming the WRX stock braking system is the same as the RX8 stock braking system and reaches limits similarly.
As I said it's just my opinion on the necessity of a BBK on a mostly street driven RX-8.
I think we're on the same page
BBK on the street is for bling. BBK on the track is for lightened weight, perhaps better modulation, etc., yet the OEM brakes are more than adequate.
05-08-2007, 03:58 PM
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