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Racing Brake system - Long Term Test
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It is accurate to say I have done a fair amount of brake testing on the Nissan GT-R. 4 years, approx 40 track days on 10 different tracks, and street driving in all conditions (rain, snow, sleet, desert, mountains, coast). And, early on, I made a very good decision to embrace AP Racing's rotors which worked fantastic and were very durable, combined with Carbotech 1521 pads for the street and Carbotech XP12 pads for track, Goodrich stainless steel lines and Castrol SRF fluid rounding out the system.
Those of us who go to the track know that the GT-R lacks in the brake cooling department. Pad life is very short, and rotors can be obliterated if run hard enough. This is a weakness that can prove to be very costly. So, in the interest of science (lol), I tried various cooling options over the years:
So in the past 3 years, with the AP/Carbotech/Willall setup I was pretty happy. Little to no fade, could run full 30 min track sessions, improved pad life, good rotor life. I often praised the OEM Brembo calipers, (Brembo is an experienced, premium brand, right?) and considered the braking feel to be just fine. In fact, I went so far as to question and criticize the efforts of Racing Brake, when they made some assertions that the OEM braking system was flawed, and in particular, that a better caliper was needed.
That is when a devil, in the disguise of 7racer, appeared at my doorstep, with a simple invitation: "Try out my new RB braking system". And like an innocent lamb, I took the bait. Even driving 7's car for a brief period, it was SO CLEAR to me that the braking feel was absolutely in a different league from the OEM system. The pedal feel at the very top was very firm, no mushy play before the braking force started coming in. The entire brake pedal had a consistent, linear resolution, you got exactly the amount of braking force your foot asked for. And the pressure applied felt so directly connected to the brakes - like your foot was directly connected to the calipers. On the OEM braking system, I might have 25 degrees of braking force resolution I could apply, but with the Racing Brake calipers it feels like I have 100 degress of resolution. Which is SO great for trail-braking on a road course, and helping make your braking smooth, which is so important for ultimate grip.
Now, you might know, 7 runs the WGP ZR1 CCM rotor kit and Endless W007 pads, but I had driven his car before with that setup and it felt great, I was really impressed the CCM rotors worked well cold, and the W007 pads seemed strangely quiet for a track pad, but overall the braking feel was roughly the same as stock. So I knew that it had to be the new Racing Brake calipers.
So, again, in the interest of science (lol), I decided that just maybe the engineers over at Racing Brake were on to something here, and I should take the plunge and report my findings back. One thing that I will do differently than others who are now running the Racing Brake calipers is, I will install the full Racing Brake system. Warren at Racing Brake has often asserted that the brakes are best designed and implemented as a system, and all of the components Racing Brake has produced are designed to work optimally together. So it is that complete system that I will run.
Make no mistake, a final judgement has not been reached. This will be a long-term test - over months and years. I will not pull any punches or promise any happy endings. Readers of this forum will get an honest write-up from me, and I believe that Racing Brake will use this feedback as one more data point to further improve their products for the GT-R community.
And that long-term test begins TODAY.
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Those of us who go to the track know that the GT-R lacks in the brake cooling department. Pad life is very short, and rotors can be obliterated if run hard enough. This is a weakness that can prove to be very costly. So, in the interest of science (lol), I tried various cooling options over the years:
- Rexpeed brake air guides (not enough improvement to measure)
- Stillen Active Brake Cooling (awkward, noisy, ineffective)
- Willall Brake Cooling System (highly effective, but expensive and somewhat awkward)
So in the past 3 years, with the AP/Carbotech/Willall setup I was pretty happy. Little to no fade, could run full 30 min track sessions, improved pad life, good rotor life. I often praised the OEM Brembo calipers, (Brembo is an experienced, premium brand, right?) and considered the braking feel to be just fine. In fact, I went so far as to question and criticize the efforts of Racing Brake, when they made some assertions that the OEM braking system was flawed, and in particular, that a better caliper was needed.
That is when a devil, in the disguise of 7racer, appeared at my doorstep, with a simple invitation: "Try out my new RB braking system". And like an innocent lamb, I took the bait. Even driving 7's car for a brief period, it was SO CLEAR to me that the braking feel was absolutely in a different league from the OEM system. The pedal feel at the very top was very firm, no mushy play before the braking force started coming in. The entire brake pedal had a consistent, linear resolution, you got exactly the amount of braking force your foot asked for. And the pressure applied felt so directly connected to the brakes - like your foot was directly connected to the calipers. On the OEM braking system, I might have 25 degrees of braking force resolution I could apply, but with the Racing Brake calipers it feels like I have 100 degress of resolution. Which is SO great for trail-braking on a road course, and helping make your braking smooth, which is so important for ultimate grip.
Now, you might know, 7 runs the WGP ZR1 CCM rotor kit and Endless W007 pads, but I had driven his car before with that setup and it felt great, I was really impressed the CCM rotors worked well cold, and the W007 pads seemed strangely quiet for a track pad, but overall the braking feel was roughly the same as stock. So I knew that it had to be the new Racing Brake calipers.
So, again, in the interest of science (lol), I decided that just maybe the engineers over at Racing Brake were on to something here, and I should take the plunge and report my findings back. One thing that I will do differently than others who are now running the Racing Brake calipers is, I will install the full Racing Brake system. Warren at Racing Brake has often asserted that the brakes are best designed and implemented as a system, and all of the components Racing Brake has produced are designed to work optimally together. So it is that complete system that I will run.
- Racing Brake hard-anodized calipers front and rear
- Racing Brake rotors and hats, 390x34mm front and 380x30mm rear
- Racing Brake stainless steel lines
- Racing Brake ET500 street pads front and rear
- Racing Brake XR70 Enduro track pads front and rear
- Castrol SRF fluid
Make no mistake, a final judgement has not been reached. This will be a long-term test - over months and years. I will not pull any punches or promise any happy endings. Readers of this forum will get an honest write-up from me, and I believe that Racing Brake will use this feedback as one more data point to further improve their products for the GT-R community.
And that long-term test begins TODAY.
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Shawn has more miles on his calipers than I do. I have one track weekend and some drag events, but as soon as the car comes back from the wrap shop, the track days will be in full swing.
Sometimes it takes someone to test a product like I took the chance with the AV system upgrade. Sometimes you win, sometimes not...so far I like what I have been seeing.
http://www.staticsignals.com/gtr/racingbrake/RacingBrake-Caliper-Comparison.jpg
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FRONT ROTORS
Racing Brake - 390x34mm, 25.2 lbs
OEM Brembo - 390x32.8mm, 25.2 lbs
The RB front rotor comes pre-assembled with a forged aluminum alloy hat. Even though the rotor is 1.2mm thicker than OEM, it is the same weight. The thicker RB rotor should be significantly more durable, with better ability to absorb heat. The black coating you see is a temporary coating that burns off after you bed in the brakes.
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FRONT CALIPERS
Racing Brake
- Forged 7075-T6 aluminum
- Pad changes -(2) allen head pins and a single 15mm bolt that all unscrew from the front face of the caliper. Hoping this design will make pad changes much easier; I change pads in/out for every track day.
- hard-anodized finish - we will see how resistant it is to track heat cycles
- will the stiffer caliper promote more even pad wear? To be determined...
- pads are vertically spring-loaded for a snug fit
- pads same size as OEM, but caliper could potentially accomodate a slightly thicker pad
- Racing Brake will service and rebuild their calipers
- 16.2 lbs per corner with pads, lines and hardware (0.6 lbs heavier than OEM)
- Direct bolt-on (no spacer required)
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OEM Brembo
- Cast 6061 aluminum monoblock
- Pad changes - (2) hammer-out pins that need to be pounded in/out and (2) 13mm bolts that unscrew from the BACK of the caliper... (arghhh)
- painted finish (chips easily, discolors after repeated track heat cycles)
- uneven pad wear (taper)
- Brembo will not service, rebuild or refinish the OEM calipers
- 15.6 lbs per corner with pads, lines and hardware
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The front Racing Brake setup really fills out the wheel, I think a 19 inch wheel should fit fine if you are mindful of where you put the wheel weights, but I am doubtful it will fit with an 18 inch wheel. Despite being larger, it is only 0.6 lbs heavier per corner versus OEM.
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Racing Brake - 390x34mm, 25.2 lbs
OEM Brembo - 390x32.8mm, 25.2 lbs
The RB front rotor comes pre-assembled with a forged aluminum alloy hat. Even though the rotor is 1.2mm thicker than OEM, it is the same weight. The thicker RB rotor should be significantly more durable, with better ability to absorb heat. The black coating you see is a temporary coating that burns off after you bed in the brakes.
FRONT CALIPERS
Racing Brake
- Forged 7075-T6 aluminum
- Pad changes -(2) allen head pins and a single 15mm bolt that all unscrew from the front face of the caliper. Hoping this design will make pad changes much easier; I change pads in/out for every track day.
- hard-anodized finish - we will see how resistant it is to track heat cycles
- will the stiffer caliper promote more even pad wear? To be determined...
- pads are vertically spring-loaded for a snug fit
- pads same size as OEM, but caliper could potentially accomodate a slightly thicker pad
- Racing Brake will service and rebuild their calipers
- 16.2 lbs per corner with pads, lines and hardware (0.6 lbs heavier than OEM)
- Direct bolt-on (no spacer required)
OEM Brembo
- Cast 6061 aluminum monoblock
- Pad changes - (2) hammer-out pins that need to be pounded in/out and (2) 13mm bolts that unscrew from the BACK of the caliper... (arghhh)
- painted finish (chips easily, discolors after repeated track heat cycles)
- uneven pad wear (taper)
- Brembo will not service, rebuild or refinish the OEM calipers
- 15.6 lbs per corner with pads, lines and hardware
The front Racing Brake setup really fills out the wheel, I think a 19 inch wheel should fit fine if you are mindful of where you put the wheel weights, but I am doubtful it will fit with an 18 inch wheel. Despite being larger, it is only 0.6 lbs heavier per corner versus OEM.
1 - 20 of 38 Posts
