I think the OEM Brembo option will be nice for cosmetics, but certainly not a great value for actual performance. Here's a basic rundown of the OEM Brembo option vs.
our Essex/AP Racing Sprint Kit.
Calipers
The four piston Brembo calipers on the STi, Evo, Focus RS, Corvette, etc. all weigh about 8.2 lbs. These appear to be roughly the same in overall dimension, so that's the weight I expect.
Our AP Racing CP8350 weighs 5.4 lbs.
The Brembo's have aluminum pistons, just like the standard calipers.
Our CP8350 has stainless steel pistons.
They won't have anti-knockback springs, allowing for a soft pedal after a series of S turns.
Our CP8350 has AKB springs.
They'll have dust boots to burn up.
We avoid the mess of dust boots.
With four pistons of the same size (rather than differential bores), pad taper is a potential issue.
Our calipers have differential bores that help prevent pad taper.
The painted finish will fade, change color, etc. if they got hot enough.
Our calipers have a durable anodized finish that holds up very well to long-term track abuse.
The pads will at most be only 16mm thick…possibly 14.7mm thick.
Our caliper uses a 20mm thick pad.
Pads for the OEM Brembo's will range from $250-$450 per set.
Pads for our CP8350 range from $125-$250
Discs
The one-piece 326x30mm disc found on the STI weighs 22.5 lbs.
Our 299x32mm disc weighs 12.2 lbs.
Their disc will have likely have at most 48 vanes.
Our disc has 60 cooling vanes.
Their disc costs $85.
Our spare iron is $173.00, but will definitely last at least twice as long.
In summary, with our Sprint Kit you're going to be carrying 15 unsprung lbs. less per side, or 30 lbs. less on the nose of your car. Twenty pounds of that mass savings will be in the rotating mass of the discs. All of the components in our kit are far more durable and more suited to track use. Pads, which are your most frequently replaced consumable, will be about half price for our kit vs. the ones for the Brembo's. Our 299mm disc will fit a greater variety of smaller, lighter wheels, while still providing fade-free performance for just about everyone. The initial cost of our system will likely be higher, but if you're tracking your car you'd make up the difference in a single season of pad changes since you'll be paying nearly double at every pad change for the Brembo's.
If you're going cram a lot of HP into your car with big boost, we also have the
Endurance Kit option. To my knowledge we have never had
any FT86 customer ever fade our larger Endurance Kit that features a 325x32mm, 70 vane disc (only one or two have ever even faded the smaller Sprint Kit). Our Endurance Kit also comes with a super trick integrated brake duct provision, which eliminates one more part to buy. Our larger endurance kit will still be roughly 10 lbs. lighter per side, or 20 lbs. lighter than the OEM Brembo option.
We don't offer a rear kit, but rear kits on these cars are primarily for looks anyway. Our customers have been pounding our front-only kits at the track for years now without any issues, seeing flawless performance. Front kits are where you see the big return on investment with these cars.
Unless you're just looking for bling, our Essex Designed AP Racing kits are a no-brainer vs. the factory Brembo option. Unsprung weight, heat rejection, durability, long-term running costs, etc. are all in our favor.
