AP Racing Brake kit — options for rear brakes

[Kulebrero1]

Ready to pick up an AP Racing brake kit. Wondering what my options are for upgrading the rear brakes. I watched a video of a guy swapping the rear calipers with the stock front calipers, but he didn’t list the rotors he used in the rear to fit the stock front calipers. Any ideas?

Or any better ideas on how to improve the rear brakes?

[EndlessAzure]

Are you having trouble with the rear brakes? If not, just leave them

[soundman98]

i thought the official response from AP racing was that they were designed around keeping the balance with the oem rear calipers.

[Lincoln Logs]

Stock rear calipers are a good match for the AP Racing Sprint front kit. There is no real need to update the rear calipers.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Kulebrero1

Ready to pick up an AP Racing brake kit. Wondering what my options are for upgrading the rear brakes. I watched a video of a guy swapping the rear calipers with the stock front calipers, but he didn’t list the rotors he used in the rear to fit the stock front calipers. Any ideas?

Or any better ideas on how to improve the rear brakes?

Unless you're having unusual brake needs, you only need the front.

PM to order, and I'll get you squared away.

Keep in mind Essex/AP has not delivered ANY production kits for the 22+ yet, so it'll be a preorder and your kit will ship as soon as the kits actually make it out of production.

[JRitt]

Originally Posted by Kulebrero1

Ready to pick up an AP Racing brake kit. Wondering what my options are for upgrading the rear brakes. I watched a video of a guy swapping the rear calipers with the stock front calipers, but he didn’t list the rotors he used in the rear to fit the stock front calipers. Any ideas?

Or any better ideas on how to improve the rear brakes?

Whatever pads you decide to go with in our front AP Racing brake kit, just get the same matching pad compound for your rear OEM calipers. Also, make sure you have some good brake fluid. We recommend AP Racing R2.


Shoot me a PM if you need more personalized recommendations. Thanks!

[Stonehorsw]

Originally Posted by JRitt

Whatever pads you decide to go with in our front AP Racing brake kit, just get the same matching pad compound for your rear OEM calipers. Also, make sure you have some good brake fluid. We recommend AP Racing R2.


Shoot me a PM if you need more personalized recommendations. Thanks!

Hello Jeff,

Is gen1 square set-up for pads? Gen2 is staggered, with GG on Fronts and FF on rears. Putting a square setup on that, would move 5-10% the bias to rear axle.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Stonehorsw

Hello Jeff,

Is gen1 square set-up for pads? Gen2 is staggered, with GG on Fronts and FF on rears. Putting a square setup on that, would move 5-10% the bias to rear axle.

Gen 2 should also be square unless you have a specifically designed stagger, or have a specific reason for doing it.

[Stonehorsw]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Gen 2 should also be square unless you have a specifically designed stagger, or have a specific reason for doing it.

Gen2 is not square, checked myself when replacing the pads by a square setup

Front: AK (Akebono) FA431 GG
Rear: NBK (Nisshimbo) FN410 FF

Terminology according to SAE J866 (tested as per J661)

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Stonehorsw

Gen2 is not square, checked myself when replacing the pads by a square setup

Front: AK (Akebono) FA431 GG
Rear: NBK (Nisshimbo) FN410 FF

Terminology according to SAE J866 (tested as per J661)

Factory pads are not, so that they can identify who's abusing the car (the new front has a temp paint stripe), but for performance driving applications, nothing has changed.

[Stonehorsw]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Factory pads are not, so that they can identify who's abusing the car (the new front has a temp paint stripe), but for performance driving applications, nothing has changed.

In the past people from this forum seemed so preoccupied with brake bias, eliminating some hw due to that. That’s the reason that I brought that up, if concerned about bias, pad has bigger influence than most of the caliper differences.

Anyways, when I was going to the track, the brake controls engineer that worked with this unit for other applications reviewed (dry conditions) and did not see big issues. Just a little bit of laggy response of the brake controls. Other thing, sometimes is good to turn off controls if pushing hard, as you know.

[twasd]

I am interesting to upgrade my front brake to the "Essex - AP Racing Competition Endurance", and I see the disc size is 325x32mm.

Now, from this discussion, I understand I don't need to upgrade the Rear Brake, just replace the pad to the same as the front brake use.

And if I leave the Rear parts as it is, the OEM disc is 290 x 18mm.
I am wondering is there a need to upgrade the rear disc?

Not just for the performance, but also for the looks as well.

Or maybe I just chose the Essex AP Racing Big Brake Kit (SPRINT) - 299x32 mm version. It is 600 USD cheaper

I don't do heavy track. I DD my 86, but spirited driving my car in any chance I get.

Any feedback will be appreciated.

[JRitt]

Originally Posted by twasd

I am interesting to upgrade my front brake to the "Essex - AP Racing Competition Endurance", and I see the disc size is 325x32mm.

Now, from this discussion, I understand I don't need to upgrade the Rear Brake, just replace the pad to the same as the front brake use.

And if I leave the Rear parts as it is, the OEM disc is 290 x 18mm.
I am wondering is there a need to upgrade the rear disc?

Not just for the performance, but also for the looks as well.

Or maybe I just chose the Essex AP Racing Big Brake Kit (SPRINT) - 299x32 mm version. It is 600 USD cheaper

I don't do heavy track. I DD my 86, but spirited driving my car in any chance I get.

Any feedback will be appreciated.

Unless you are having some specific rear brake problem, there's no need to change your rear discs. Yes, you could just change them to something with a slot and they would look better, but that wouldn't be a major performance gain. I'd suggest running the Ferodo DS2500 pads we offer with our kit, and also get a set of DS2500 for your OEM rear calipers. They are a fantastic sport pad and will do everything you'll ever need.


In terms of choosing the Sprint 299mm BBK vs. our 325mm kit, it sounds like the smaller Sprint Kit would do everything you need. Our 299mm Kit has won endurance racing championships.


Here is a link to an article I wrote to help you choose:


FT86 299mm vs. 325mm AP Racing by Essex Brake Kit Comparison




Let us know if you need any additional guidance and thank you for your consideration!

[twasd]

Originally Posted by JRitt

Unless you are having some specific rear brake problem, there's no need to change your rear discs. Yes, you could just change them to something with a slot and they would look better, but that wouldn't be a major performance gain. I'd suggest running the Ferodo DS2500 pads we offer with our kit, and also get a set of DS2500 for your OEM rear calipers. They are a fantastic sport pad and will do everything you'll ever need.


In terms of choosing the Sprint 299mm BBK vs. our 325mm kit, it sounds like the smaller Sprint Kit would do everything you need. Our 299mm Kit has won endurance racing championships.


Here is a link to an article I wrote to help you choose:


FT86 299mm vs. 325mm AP Racing by Essex Brake Kit Comparison


Let us know if you need any additional guidance and thank you for your consideration!

Thanks for your feedback, that's very helpful.