New brakes?
#32
04-14-2012, 08:29 AM
I was never able to detect any trade off. The pads are a little but expensive, but not that expensive really. I guess the only real trade off of the 1521 is it's not a race pad for the track (but honestly who cares). In conjunction with the 2piece Brembo rears, the braking performance was borderline ridiculous (maybe even better than my lambo is now). The brembos make a massive difference IMO so if you are going to replace your brake pads you might as well do the rear brembo 2 piece rotors as well. The front Brembo kit is unnecessary and overkill, you can just upgrade pads up front.
#34
04-18-2012, 05:54 PM
Curious about this. I understand that the two piecers are lighter (and unsprung) weight and that the design should be more resistant to fade but do they also provide improved stopping power? Or is it the pad that makes the big difference there? If they provide improved stopping power on their own, is there a risk of poorer handling under breaking if the fronts are not also upgraded?
Honestly, I can't imagine how insanely you'd have to drive on the road to get a gain from a floating, 2 piece front set up. Pads and cooling would be a limiting factor far before discs/rotors.
Do I have objective data (stopping distances etc.) to back up my statements? No. Would I recommend anyone follow this route if their OEM discs are in good shape (and would I do it again if same)? No. It's a case of diminishing returns IMO.
Would I recommend it if one's OEM discs were worn out? Yes, front only or front and rear, not rear only. Why not reduce unsprung mass and get a proper, floating setup, however small the perceived gains, as long as it doesn't cost any more than OEM?
Just my .02 ...
#35
04-18-2012, 08:22 PM
that's what I was confused about there. Maybe 007 can shed some light (not sure if he's been posting lately). But at $1600 for rears alone and OEM rear discs somewhere <$400 for a set if you shop around, not sure that I can see the bang for the buck there. And all the front sets I see come with Brembo calipers and are over $4k (!). Is is even possible to install the 2 piece fronts without replacing the calipers?. Regardless, that's a huge outlay IMO, I know there are some benefits, just not sure if it's worth the $$$ (particularly without a cooling solution for the fronts and the only one I'm aware of is the $1200 RSC kit).
Last edited by Aston.Ca; 04-18-2012 at 08:26 PM.
#36
04-19-2012, 01:42 PM
Precisely. If you can get the upgraded hardware for the same price, sure, but as you point out, that is not very likely.
As for cooling ducts, that's another problem area. IMO there is no functional option out there, apart from hacking into your OEM bumper (a big unknown) or changing to the factory race car or V12V front end.
As for cooling ducts, that's another problem area. IMO there is no functional option out there, apart from hacking into your OEM bumper (a big unknown) or changing to the factory race car or V12V front end.
#37
07-25-2013, 09:05 PM
Thank you Karlfranz, I was just about to buy some EBC pads. You saved me. Instead I bought a set of the R4S pads.
Cheers.
Cheers.
The first mod I have done to my car is replace the pads with something less dusty. I helped a company called Porterfield Brakes develop the application for the Lotus Esprit. I was really pleased with how little dust their pads generated, so I decided to give them a try for the Vantage as well.
The pads I used are the R4-S which is their "street" compound. I would not recommend the R4 (race compound) pad unless you plan on tracking the car.
The front pads were number AP1165-R4S and the rears AP1166-R4S.
Here's a few notes on my install:
I hope this helps.
The pads I used are the R4-S which is their "street" compound. I would not recommend the R4 (race compound) pad unless you plan on tracking the car.
The front pads were number AP1165-R4S and the rears AP1166-R4S.
Here's a few notes on my install:
- Both sets have the cutouts for wear sensors, but they are not located in exactly the same location as the stock Brembo pads. This was not a big deal as the sensor wire is long enough to reach the different sensor location.
- AM recommends that you replace the sensors when you go to new pads. I'm guessing this is important if your sensors have already been scraped by making contact with the rotor. In my case the stock pads were still mostly new, so I reused the sensors with no ill effects.
- The rear stock inboard pads are "handed" i.e. there is a left and right hand set. The difference is the location of the cutout for the wear sensor. In both cases, the cutout is designed so that the sensor is closer to the bottom edge of the pad, so the inboard pads are actually mirror images of each other.
- The rear Porterfield pads were not mirror images, so on one side the wear sensor was closer to the top and on the opposite wheel, it was closer to the bottom. Again, not a big deal as the wire is long enough to reach either way.
- The rear Porterfield pads came with an anti-squeal shim, the fronts did not. I reused the stock shims on the front and put the new shims with the rears.
- I coated the shims and back of the pads with some Permatex anti-squeal compound. However, after driving the car, I had a terrible squeal from the rear pads (the ones that came with their own shims). I took the pads back off and replaced the shims with the old ones that were on the stock Brembo pads and the squeal went away.
- The amount of brake dust on my wheels is now dramatically less than it was with the Brembo pads. This is exactly what I observed when I did the same replacement on my Esprit.
- The pads cost about $150-160 per axle online. I did the labor myself, so there was no other expense.
- I took a few pictures of the installation that I could post later if anyone is interested.
I hope this helps.
#39
07-29-2013, 12:17 PM
Thanks Mike, glad to have had you on board!!!
If anyone is interested, I have sets of these lightweight rotors in stock and can supply along with the Porterfield R4-S pads at a very reasonable price.
__________________
Stuart Dickinson
Managing Director
Velocity Automotive Performance Limited
206 Maple Avenue
Oliver, BC
Canada V2A 4W6
Office: (1)250-485-5126
www.velocityap.com
Stuart Dickinson
Managing Director
Velocity Automotive Performance Limited
206 Maple Avenue
Oliver, BC
Canada V2A 4W6
Office: (1)250-485-5126
www.velocityap.com
#43
06-24-2014, 10:56 AM
Karl, reviving this older thread. Are you happy with the porterfield brakes? I'm thinking when time to replace might go with them. Amazed at the amount of dust from the oem pads!
Chris
Chris
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