looking for that special big brake thread

[somedude_001]

have we ever made a no BS thread for big brakes. I'm not talking about the common stuff like 11.6 or the 13" cobra setup. I got into some hot water (so to speak) in my turbo SHO deep into the tipple digit speeds that could have ended badly. And as cool as it might sound arriving to your friends house with smoking front brakes isn't as cool as you might think... ok it is but it needs to stop, and I mean the car not the smoke. My car perpetually smokes.

he is what I have had in the past.

*stock setup with cheap pads = death
*stock setup with high end pads = lots of fade
*11.6 with stock caliper ford pads = good stopping power but they are slow to apply
11.6 with cobra calipers with stock ford pads = huge smoky mess (junk pads)
11.6 with cobra calipers = very quick response but not as much stopping power as the ford calipers on the same rotors. + this stress cracked the **** out of one set of rotors and made a huge crack in one rotor at autoX

I have a set of 13" brakes but I have never installed them because they were going to be for road course use only. Now that I know my car will never see another road course again :tear: I want something more powerfull. I was looking at the TCE setup on the site but his pictures are down on his site.

for the moment I will be reinstalling my old 11.6 on stock caliper setup since I still have my stock brakes on it from the last time I went to the 1/4 mile.

I guess my main question is how good is the TCE kit?

 

[93rev2sev]

I feel your pain...
you shoulda seen my face after the first trip down the quarter mile in my fairlane with DRUMS up front.

110MPH...150 yards to stop. Not fun...I thought for sure I was toast as those trees got bigger and bigger.

I was downshifting/swerving/braking/praying.

The next day I bought a Wilwood kit. After that, it would darn near do a "stoppie" and send me over the handlebars.

 

[ManySHOs]

13" rotors with the Cobra calipers should be more than adequate. If not, you're braking too hard or you need to slow down on the street.

Ian

 

[SinisterSHO]

13" rotors with the Cobra calipers should be more than adequate. If not, you're braking too hard or you need to slow down on the street.

Ian

Indeed. While my car isn't turbo, With the 13" Cobras and yellowstuffs, theres not often I cant stop.

 

[SeanMc]

Indeed. While my car isn't turbo, With the 13" Cobras and yellowstuffs, theres not often I cant stop.

I have the same basic setup with akebono pads, and yeah, my wheels will lock up before the ABS kicks in.

 

[Racer X]

Indeed. While my car isn't turbo, With the 13" Cobras and yellowstuffs, theres not often I cant stop.

Co-signed.

Alex, you know how I drive.

 

[TYSHO]

have we ever made a no BS thread for big brakes.

http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=59521

Someone needs to lock that thread and make it a sticky so it can stay that way...

 

[Ishodu]

I have the 13" cobras running carbotec Ax6 pads, I feel that they are stronger than the street tires I am using. Any more brake power and I would need track tires to benefit from them.

 

[hawkeye18]

Idunno. I have 11.6" rotors with Hawk HPS+ pads, and they stop very quickly. Unfortunately, the wheel changes color afterward! :laugh_ti:

 

[shopartsnw]

13" rotors with HP+ pads for street, and 13" with Hawk Blues for the track.

The car is still full weight (with a big subwoofer to boot) and just last month Karen had the car up to about 150mph on the front straight and she was able to outbrake most of the other people in the brake zone. I have a brand new set of Brembo 4 piston floating calipers, but I have not installed them because the 13"'s with Blues can still easily outbrake the tires (245 Falken RT615s).

Mike

 

[luigisho]

13" rotors with the Cobra calipers should be more than adequate. If not, you're braking too hard or you need to slow down on the street.

Ian

x2.
My 13" brakes were heavy, but they stopped the car great. One of the best mods I made to that car. Install those, some good pads, a set of aftermarket braided brake hoses and you should be fine. Well depending on the speed.. better off anyway. Fast is fun but stopping will save people and yourself..and your shorts.

 

[NJSHO]

13" rotors with the Cobra calipers should be more than adequate. If not, you're braking too hard or you need to slow down on the street.

Ian

x1000

 

[ManySHOs]

The only thing that I will add is that heavy use of some of the cheaper 13" Cobra rotors can lead to some fatigue issues. If you're concerned about it and/or want to lose some weight, I'd suggest a 2 piece rotor from TCE or Baer/SHOsource.

To answer your question - the TCE/wilwood kit is great. I have it. I probably don't even need it. If I were doing it all over again, I'd probably get Cobra calipers and 2 piece rotors. I'll be approaching that cross road if/when I do the gen3 SF swap. I could either run what Lance Cheney is running (13.3 rotors with wilwood calipers) or a set of Cobra calipers over 13's.

Ian

 

[gmorrell]

For pretty much any brake upgrade you do, the limiting factor for stopping the car is going to be the ~245mm wide tire contact patch that can be stuffed into the SHO wheel well. Even the stock '89 front brakes can bring the car down from high speed - once - maybe twice - before they catch fire...

Bigger rotors buys you more brake torque and more thermal mass to absorb repeated stops without experiencing thermal fade. More pistons and bigger pads buys you improved abillity to modulate the brakes and keep them at the point of impending lockup.

I have the 12.5" 2-piston Baer brakes. Todd Gartshore of Baer sold me the second prototype set they produced in May of 1995. I've never been able to out-run these brakes, even running the big course at Willow Springs with the '89 supercharged car on a 95 degree day, the brakes were fine, but the tire contact patches were giving up.

John H. (Deacon Blue) has done the Corvette C5/6 13" brakes, already mentioned, and didn't Lance Cheney dio something really extreme like 13 X 1.25 rotors and Brembo 4-*** calipers? All it takes is Cubic Dollars.

 

[ManySHOs]

and didn't Lance Cheney dio something really extreme like 13 X 1.25 rotors and Brembo 4-*** calipers? All it takes is Cubic Dollars.

13.3 x 1.32 using Wilwood Forged Superlite (FSL) calipers. I might be following in his footsteps; it's not that 13 x 1.1 isn't enough for me but there isn't enough caliper to spindle clearance with the gen3 spindles which I hope to be running within the next year.

Or I could just listen to what I'm telling others and get the Cobra/Baer calipers and 13" rotors.

Ian

 

[NJSHO]

Or I could just listen to what I'm telling others and get the Cobra/Baer calipers and 13" rotors.

That would be wise.

 

[zak]

Try adding some brake cooling ducts, add some anti-dive to the front suspension so that the back brakes actually do ~30% of the work - only things I have to add to what others have said - zak

 

[gmorrell]

Try adding some brake cooling ducts, add some anti-dive to the front suspension so that the back brakes actually do ~30% of the work - only things I have to add to what others have said - zak

Indeed, if you want to stick with the Gen 1/2 front suspension, think about going to coil overs and higher rate springs to get brake dive under control.

Or, swap in the Gen 3 subframe and front suspension, then stick some big-ass brakes on that. The Gen 3 suspension is head and shoulders better than the Gen 1/2 in pretty much all departments: It handles better, rides better, accelerates better, and brakes better, and does it with less dive and drama, and it accomplishes all that with a heavier chassis and lower rate springs!

 

[ManySHOs]

Indeed, if you want to stick with the Gen 1/2 front suspension, think about going to coil overs and higher rate springs to get brake dive under control.

Or, swap in the Gen 3 subframe and front suspension, then stick some big-ass brakes on that. The Gen 3 suspension is head and shoulders better than the Gen 1/2 in pretty much all departments: It handles better, rides better, accelerates better, and brakes better, and does it with less dive and drama, and it accomplishes all that with a heavier chassis and lower rate springs!

What are your thoughts on a gen3 SF in a gen2 with (your) coilovers?

Ian

 

[gmorrell]

What are your thoughts on a gen3 SF in a gen2 with (your) coilovers?

Ian

I think it would be the cat's ass, but that's just my opinion. Has anyone tried to coilover a Gen 3?