37 replies to this topic

[icarus]

This very handy tool was provided by Racing Brake with my kit. It is a OEM caliper pin punch-out tool, which helps avoid you hitting your caliper (or your hand) accidentally when punching in/out the pins that secure the pads in. I wish I had something like this years ago.

http://www.racingbra...uct-p/ccp01.htm

Edited by icarus, 23 December 2014 - 08:33 PM.

[icarus]

REAR ROTORS

The Racing Brake rear rotor is 380x30mm like OEM (RB has a larger option though). The RB rear rotor hat is made of forged aluminum like the front, but with a iron ring insert for the parking brake, versus the OEM rear hat that is made completely from iron. This results in a weight savings of over 6 lbs! Unlike other aftermarket offerings (AP Racing) you don’t have to re-use the OEM hat, it comes pre-assembled saving install time.







REAR CALIPERS

- Forged 6061 aluminum (OEM is cast 6061)
- 2 allen head pins that unscrew from the front (OEM use 2 REAR-facing punch-out pins)
- Hard-anodized finish (OEM are painted)
- Pads same size as OEM, vertically spring-loaded for a snug fit
- 9.4 lbs per corner with pads, lines and hardware (OEM 10.2 lbs)
- Direct bolt-on with aluminum spacer



The rear Racing Brake caliper is smaller than the OEM rear caliper. Again, the RB caliper uses the exact same pad size but is vertically spring-loaded. You can see from the design the RB looks quite a bit more stout. On looks alone, it would be nice to have a big caliper fill up your wheel. Then again, the smaller Racing Brake caliper contributed to a weight savings of 0.8 lbs per corner over OEM. The RB rear caliper is mounted using a single aluminum spacer.






With the anodized finish, the rear RB caliper is a slightly different color than the front, this is due to the material being different (7075-T6 Front, 6061 Rear). At first I thought this might bother me, but once installed on the car you are hard-pressed to tell the difference.

[THE TECH]

Good info thus far. For some reason I thought this was going to be about the carbon brake setup.

[7racer]

Good info thus far. For some reason I thought this was going to be about the carbon brake setup.

nope...that's my review.

[icarus]

The Racing Brake stainless lines are nicely done and are quite a bit more simple than the OEM hard and rubber lines. From the pic, the routing looks a bit chaotic on the front lines, but really it's simpler when you see it in person. The rear line is just a single piece while the front is 2 pieces. The lines mate to the caliper with a banjo fitting which was easy to install. The lines do not touch/rub any suspension pieces. However, on the front line, there is a metal bracket securing one part of the line to the shock, that directly touches the stainless line; we wrapped this with tape to make sure it would not rub/wear over time. Even though that part of the line should not move, it is just safer not to have that metal-on-metal contact.

FRONT LINE



REAR LINE

[Lemythbrake]

+1

[KarlBlomquist]

This very handy tool was provided by Racing Brake with my kit. It is a OEM caliper pin punch-out tool, which helps avoid you hitting your caliper (or your hand) accidentally when punching in/out the pins that secure the pads in. I wish I had something like this years ago.

http://www.racingbra...uct-p/ccp01.htm

Nice, definitely going to order 2 or 3 of those! I wish I had one of those 5 years ago - would have avoided the inevitable chips around the pin hole area. :-(

Eventually, after some experimenting, I settled on using a long hex security driver bit. It has a large enough hole in the end to sit centred on the pin end and when I punch it it follows the pin nicely into the hole. No more chipping because of slipping off the pin. It's one of the bits out of this set that I use: http://www.amazon.co...g bit set It does the job safely now, but I would like that tool you show above.

Edited by KarlBlomquist, 15 March 2015 - 12:51 PM.

[trackeditiongtr]

one is assembled and the other one isn't? or the parts and pad are removed ? and still on the scale ?

Edited by trackeditiongtr, 15 March 2015 - 02:05 PM.

[dLad]

^^ oem looks used for sure, so even if the pads are on the scale too...they are most likely worn. Any definite info on this comparison?

[trackeditiongtr]

pads looks like there are 4 pads on there when it should be 2 I will weigh my DBA one with everything attached.

[icarus]

The OEM calipers and pads were removed with less than 500 miles on them and no track days, so they are pretty much brand new.
Both OEM and RB calipers shown on the scales include all pads, hardware and lines that accompanies them for an apples-to-apples comparison.
The RB caliper comes pre-assembled with pads, which is why they were weighed like that, right out of the box before install.

[icarus]

Changed the pads out to Racing Brake XR70 track endurance compound. With the RB calipers, I can now use a thicker pad, so the version of XR70 I am running is 19.5mm front, which is 1.5mm thicker per pad. This should help the pad last longer and be more resistant to heat.

Changing pads is so much easier now! In front, just 2 front-facing allen head and 1 13mm bolt, in the rear just 2 allen heads. The bolts all screw directly into the caliper, so no fumbling around on the back of the caliper to get them secure. The spring clips are really easy to put in, unlike OEM Brembo caliper clips. And NO MORE HAMMERING out those OEM Brembo pins!



Like the OEM calipers, getting the caliper pistons to compress back into the caliper is still a pain. You can mitigate this a bit by rolling your car to a stop without brakes before you start work on it. This will relieve some of the pressure on the pistons. I'm going to try to find a brake piston compression tool similar to one of the below to see if I can make it even easier to get the pistons in.

http://www.amazon.co.../ref=pd_cp_hi_3

[icarus]

QUICK SUMMARY

- First track day test with RB system and XR70 endurance pads
- Brake feel was fantastic, allowed me to add braking in parts of the track that I had not before because of the increased control
- Shorter sessions (15 min) showed lower peak rotor temps 430-580C
- Medium sessions (20 min) showed peak rotor temps comparable to my former AP Racing/Carbotech XP12 setup 580-649C (too hot)
- Pad deposits from XR70 pads built up on front rotors causing vibration; will attempt to rebed before the next track day 4/20.
- Pad taper dramatically reduced compared to OEM Brembo calipers


DETAILS

First day of track testing on the Racing Brake setup. I swapped in the XR70 endurance track pads front and rear and bed them using my standard procedure:
1) Brake firmly but smoothly (NO ABS) from 80 to 20mph
2) Repeat 6-8 times
3) Drive at highway speeds (60mph) without touching the brakes for 5-10 min to let cool
4) Repeat steps 1-3

I did also install the Rexpeed brake air guides from my old car.



I ran 5 sessions at Oregon Raceway Park, which is very hard on brakes because many of the braking zones are downhill, and there are very few straights to allow cooling. On-track performance, the brakes are AWESOME. The higher resolution of the brake pedal adds a new level of capability to how precisely you can modulate the brakes. I found myself using the brakes mid-corner in 2 corners I had not previously instead of braking in a straight line before the corners because of the improved precision and confidence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1glY3zIA-g

I applied Genesis and Tempilaq rotor temp paints, and re-applied Genesis rotor temp paint between each session to evaluate peak rotor temps. As with all previous brake setups I have tried (except Willall water cooling), peak rotor temps indicated "D" color change, and Tempilaq paints dissolved, indicating range of 580-649C. Too hot according to AP Racing's recommendation of "less than 600C".



The exception being, with 2 shorter sessions I ran (15 minutes each), only hit the "C" color which indicates a range between 430-580C. I had not previously seen this lower temp level without having Willall water cooling installed, so it's possible the RB rotors are indeed shedding heat a bit more efficiently than the AP Racing.



First potential problem, one of my front caliper bleed screws began seeping sometime early in the track day. I tighted the screw just a bit more (maybe 5-10 degree rotation) and I never saw any dripping. I will clean it up and continue to monitor.



Second problem, it appears pad deposits built up on the front rotors and caused a vibration during braking. It was an unfortunate and distracting problem for what was otherwise an great experience with the brakes. There is no vibration once the rotors fully cool and are used on the street. After the track day I swapped back to ET500 street pads and did some re-bedding but there are still some deposits there. No vibration though.

Right now, if I had to guess, I would say either these pads need either an even more aggressive bedding procedure, or the XR70 pad is just not up to my driving and braking style on track. We have heard mixed reviews from others on the XR70, some with no issues, and some with similar vibration/bedding issues. I will more aggressively bed them before my next track date 4/20.




I pulled the XR70 pads out (I swap to street pads between track days) and to the eye, almost all the pads looked very evenly worn. Certainly more even than whenever I have run on the OEM calipers.

[rikk]

How much power are you running and what tires are you on?

[icarus]

The video above is on OEM Dunlops, bone stock 2014 GT-R except for midpipe and Racing Brake system.

Edited by icarus, 06 April 2015 - 08:30 AM.

[GDZLLAA]

subscribed!

Great info! THANK YOU for taking the time and sharing.


Very much appreciated!

[GDZLLAA]

Are you still experiencing vibration issues?

I like your review of this set up but have concerns b/c of the vibration

QUICK SUMMARY

- First track day test with RB system and XR70 endurance pads
- Brake feel was fantastic, allowed me to add braking in parts of the track that I had not before because of the increased control
- Shorter sessions (15 min) showed lower peak rotor temps 430-580C
- Medium sessions (20 min) showed peak rotor temps comparable to my former AP Racing/Carbotech XP12 setup 580-649C (too hot)
- Pad deposits from XR70 pads built up on front rotors causing vibration; will attempt to rebed before the next track day 4/20.
- Pad taper dramatically reduced compared to OEM Brembo calipers


DETAILS

First day of track testing on the Racing Brake setup. I swapped in the XR70 endurance track pads front and rear and bed them using my standard procedure:
1) Brake firmly but smoothly (NO ABS) from 80 to 20mph
2) Repeat 6-8 times
3) Drive at highway speeds (60mph) without touching the brakes for 5-10 min to let cool
4) Repeat steps 1-3

I did also install the Rexpeed brake air guides from my old car.



I ran 5 sessions at Oregon Raceway Park, which is very hard on brakes because many of the braking zones are downhill, and there are very few straights to allow cooling. On-track performance, the brakes are AWESOME. The higher resolution of the brake pedal adds a new level of capability to how precisely you can modulate the brakes. I found myself using the brakes mid-corner in 2 corners I had not previously instead of braking in a straight line before the corners because of the improved precision and confidence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1glY3zIA-g

I applied Genesis and Tempilaq rotor temp paints, and re-applied Genesis rotor temp paint between each session to evaluate peak rotor temps. As with all previous brake setups I have tried (except Willall water cooling), peak rotor temps indicated "D" color change, and Tempilaq paints dissolved, indicating range of 580-649C. Too hot according to AP Racing's recommendation of "less than 600C".



The exception being, with 2 shorter sessions I ran (15 minutes each), only hit the "C" color which indicates a range between 430-580C. I had not previously seen this lower temp level without having Willall water cooling installed, so it's possible the RB rotors are indeed shedding heat a bit more efficiently than the AP Racing.



First potential problem, one of my front caliper bleed screws began seeping sometime early in the track day. I tighted the screw just a bit more (maybe 5-10 degree rotation) and I never saw any dripping. I will clean it up and continue to monitor.



Second problem, it appears pad deposits built up on the front rotors and caused a vibration during braking. It was an unfortunate and distracting problem for what was otherwise an great experience with the brakes. There is no vibration once the rotors fully cool and are used on the street. After the track day I swapped back to ET500 street pads and did some re-bedding but there are still some deposits there. No vibration though.

Right now, if I had to guess, I would say either these pads need either an even more aggressive bedding procedure, or the XR70 pad is just not up to my driving and braking style on track. We have heard mixed reviews from others on the XR70, some with no issues, and some with similar vibration/bedding issues. I will more aggressively bed them before my next track date 4/20.




I pulled the XR70 pads out (I swap to street pads between track days) and to the eye, almost all the pads looked very evenly worn. Certainly more even than whenever I have run on the OEM calipers.

[GTR-NISMO]

Great review! thank you.