Hoolio wrote:The AP kit uses 28 mm thick disks – that's a lot of extra weight which you don't need.
To the contrary, I do not necessarily agree when you say that it is weight "which you don't need".
I found that almost all the "biggest" big brake kits which the US shops are all offering do so with nothing larger than a rotor with thickness around 20mm (0.81"). Specifically, most of the big kits use a Wilwood 11.75" 160-0471 rotor (trackspeed,supermiata) or aftermarket option of the same size (such as is the case with the V8R option with stoptech caliper).
That is hardly any thicker than the OEM rotor (depending on what size OEM brake setup your NA/NB runs). For reference, an OEM NB8B rotor comes in at about 22mm thick when new.
In the context of the original post, I've purchased this kit from V-sport for about $2200 plus some extra cost for pads. All the components are quite heavy and everything its big and fat and overkill. As per Lukes findings mentioned in the post above where he spoke to the SE owner, the kit comes with everything you need to be complete bolt in, minus any form of instructions.
While the Wilwood kit ended up working for me, it did not do so quite well enough for my liking. I can't explain how the US folk get by with the Wilwood solutions, particularly when some of them are running larger & stickier tyres like hoosiers, and higher power levels. But for me the Wilwood based kit was not lasting long enough. Maybe a couple of events per pad set while rotors would last a little longer.
As others have said, sure the Wilwood kits use "cheap" rotors (about USD40ea), but you can't get them as easily in Australia so international shipping can start to come into factory... and buying the higher grade Spec37 rotors starts to get pricey anyway.
This AP kit runs a Commodore spec rotor that is available over the counter at almost any parts shop and is almost exactly the same diameter as the WW at 296mm BUT is critically 28mm thick. There is significantly more mass to put up with the heat demands. The caliper is an AP Racing CP9200 as mentioned by Luke, which offers a pad area of 57.36cm^2, roughly 30% more than the Wilwood Dynapro4. Pad thickness is 16.7mm vs 12.4mm, again in favour of the AP kit.
Sure it's more mass, but it's more mass in the most critical component of the car, and more mass means it should handle the heat better. You usually hear people say they've "cooked their brakes" or their "brakes are fading", but have you ever had someone say their brakes are too good?
That said, what I've mentioned above DOESN'T mean this AP kit is for everyone nor that the Wilwood kits are not good. Do your own research. Or if something is working for you, then don't let this thread change your mind.
BUT I think the AP kit will work better than anything else off the shelf for my application.
Additional comments:
- Advanti Storm S1 15x9's fit over this kit.
- My experience with Vsport was a bit disappointing, waited nearly a month for an email reply and had to prompt with followups despite their email address being largely on display on their website (suggesting they prefer that method of communication), but hey at least I received the kit in the end.
- Despite the rotor hats being made by Bosnjak in NSW, they ironically DON'T fit over an MX-5 Bosnjak hub out of the box. I had to get the rotor hats modified.
- The rotor hats are THICK, you will want extended wheel studs. It does increase front track slightly.
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