Guys,
I've been buried with other work items, and I'll be in and out of the office as well. I'll try to put something together comparing the various systems on offer. For a little background, I was the Sales Mgr. at StopTech for 4 1/2 years, and I've been with Essex selling AP Racing products for 4 years. I've sold thousands of brake systems to retail customers, race teams, and OEM's. I've also been personally autoxing and tracking cars since 1999 (Integra Type R, 350Z, C5 Z06, Miata). I can give some good insight.
What it boils down to is your goals: If you are focused on track performance, you will not find anything superior to the Competition Systems we (Essex) have put together. The specs of our systems are far superior to anything else out there...stainless steel pistons, anti-knockback springs, high vane count discs, ridiculously low weight, durable finish when exposed to heat, stainless steel caliper hardware, lowest consumable costs (pads and discs). If you plan on putting a lot of heat into your brakes, our systems win...period. The performance/price ratio is of the charts. Our systems are built from parts that were designed specifically to take abuse and make you go faster. That's their only mission. None of the others are even in the same category. If you will be tracking your brakes hard during the next several years, you will spend less and get more with our Competition Systems.
All of the other kits out there fall into a gray area that spans the street and track. The components used are street parts modified or enhanced to be 'track capable'. That means they weigh more than they must, don't have some of the features that are ideal for the track (aluminum pistons and dust boots, not as many vanes in disc, etc.). I'm not saying that is necessarily a bad thing. Again, it's a matter of goals. Do you want the ultimate performance, or do you want other things? Once you've made that decision, it's shades of gray. With some of the kits you move closer towards a pure road kit, and with others you hover closer to a track setup.
My advice would be to go through each kit/brand you're considering and determine which is most geared towards what you want. Do you want to go faster? Do you care how it looks? Are you trying to fill up big wheels? Do you want less expensive replacement parts? Does that even matter if you won't be burning them up frequently? There is no one simple answer, as everyone's needs are different.
Along those lines...one thing I haven't seen mentioned too much in this thread is service and support. Will the company/person you buy from be there to recommend advice and support? For example, I'm on these forums every day giving advice and recommendations on pad choice, system choice, etc. I've told plenty of people not to buy our most expensive kit if I believe a different one better suits their needs. Also, we offer
a rebuild service, so when it's time to have work done on the calipers, we can make your life easy and do it for you. Will a real human answer the phone when you call the company for help, or will you end up in automated attendant limbo? From whom will you be taking advice...does the person giving it have any actual experience? Does the brand you are considering sponsor this forum and support the FT86 community? I personally think all of these things come into play. We jump through hoops for our customers. We listen to what they want, and try to provide products & solutions for their needs. Please don't underestimate the value of these services, which are more rare than common these days.