Brakes for Turbo Upgrade?
 

I am considering putting a turbo in my FRS. This is really a street car primarily, but will see a few HPDE per year. I am concerned the stock breaks will not be up to the task. Even with upgraded pads and lines... I am not sure the brakes will avoid serious fade during HPDE track sessions. Seeing as this is mostly a street car, however, I am not sure a 2-3K big brake kit is worth it (or in the cards financially). Is there anything in between? I was thinking a STI Brembo or Evo disc and caliper upgrade would be a good option, but only one guy I know of on the forum is running that set up (with good results I may add). Any advice would be appreciated.

^ Sounds like you answered your own question...

AP Kit will cost you substantially more and even a low cost off the shelf system like Stoptech would be your next best choice financially.

4/2 pot wrx + pads + lines + fluid... Shouldnt even have to spend over a G.

IB4thatsnotanupgrade.

I looked at the stoptechs. Seems like stock sized rotors, even with slots, won't help you all that much to make it worth it.

Well if you want the best system out there then you going to want to pick up a system from Essex Parts. They have put together several systems to suite.

However I disagree with your comment. The Stoptech system is certainly a step above the factory system on this car. Whether its 328mm is irrelevant. Its going to cool the face of the rotor quicker than OEM and handle more abuse without overheating. It also retains the factory bias so you can reuse your rear set up without throwing off the ABS system and making your car brake less efficiently than OEM. If your after looks and need hardcore cooling capabilities they have a 355x32 option but then again thats overkill. Your just going to need 18" wheels and larger tires at that point. No reason going with the biggest set up out there. You can get the same effect from smaller properly designed systems.

Maybe I'll start with the stoptech's and see how things go fro there... I don't plan on massive hp.... 50 to 80 over stock maybe.

Unless your taking it to the track a big brake upgrade my not be worth it. Are you going to hauling it down from high speeds more frequently or are you just gonna do short blasts? I'd upgrade pads, SS lines and fluid first then contemplate if you need new calipers and rotors too or if rotors will bee good. Id vote for just rotors but it all depends on how you're gonna drive.

Probably a wise choice.

Hey op...lets consider this, do you know how much braking force your stock setup produces? have you felt it?

For me, I take my factory setup to its limit before i decide if I need better options.

Performance pads, SS lines, HP brake fluid, and proper ducting... does go a long way even in HPDE. And honestly that's a much better place to start than loading the brakes up with larger rotors and calipers. Also a primary aid for braking performance is good wheels and tires, which should be included in your budget.

The idea of bigger brakes without dialing it in, don't always yield the results you need/want. I remember seeing somebody retrofitting a 350z brembo 4pot brake upgrade to a sentra and not getting any better brake performance than a 2 piston stock.

Think about your goals and how much abuse your car is going to have. If you plan on doing some serious time trials, or pump out nearly 100% more power than stock, after upgrades wheels and tires, then doing a major brake upgrade might be necessary.

I think cooling ducts is a grossly underrated option. I will try the pad, SS lines, race fluid, and cooling duct/hose route first. It might be enough to hold back heat soak.

Wish a vendor produced a kit like for the BRZ.
http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...o3/arrows4.jpg
Edit: Just found this.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11041

I know there is one for the FR-S but Im not satisfied with it. It just comes out of the fender instead of hooking up behind the brakes.

I will say that I took the FR-S out this weekend to a road course race with the second longest straight in the U.S and got up to 115 before braking into a long sweeping corner at around 60. hese brakes stock are VERY GOOD without any modifications so I am going to venture to guess that just by upgrading the pads, fluid, lines, and adding PROPER ducting would be more than sufficient for a turbo setup.

I ran 10 times over the course of two days on a 1.8 mile track so I would say that I got a proper feel for the braking capability. Time in between track time was about 30 minutes to an hour.

I was in a novice group and was doing this for the first time. This car is EASY to learn. Novice drivers in Porches ( A lot of them as this was a Porche Club of America event) were having to let me by, by the time I went around the third time I was pushing the car to its limits while they were still learning the track.

Agreed, those are pretty inlets but the important part of a ducting kit is that it directs air through the center of the rotor and uses a nice 3 inch hose.

Our kit for Impreza:
http://www.racecompengineering.com/m...g/r/grkbk2.jpg

Most are more than happy to spend 2 or 3 grand on a BBK and not as excited to get a part that isn't as flashy or "cool." But it works very well on the track in keeping temps low...also prolonging pad and rotor life. We'd consider doing a kit for the BRZ but I'm not sure the demand would be there.

On topic, something like a Ferodo 2500 pads would be all you need to worry about for a street driven turbo car. If you're hitting the track, then yes worry about track pads, BBKs and/or ducting depending on your tire choice. The LGT front rotor upgrade would be ultra cheap and give you some more thermal capacity at the expense of heat. I don't think anyone has done that yet though, so it's just a thought at this point.

- Andrew

If you guys produced a kit like this for the BRZ (especially with the rotor shield like that) i'd be throwing money at you all the way from California.

Good to know :lol:

Maybe I'll start a separate gauging interest thread.

- Andrew