JRitt@essex

Hello Gents,
Many of you may be aware that we (Essex) currently produce a fantastic competition brake kit for the Lancer Evo VII-IX, featuring AP Racing components. We have quite a few high profile cars running them around the world. You can see details and feedback on that kit in this thread.

I've recently been receiving more emails and PM's regarding a similar competition upgrade for the Evo X. It seems like more and more Evo X brakes are getting fairly beat, and many owners would rather be putting money into a superior setup. Up until now, we haven't had the proper components at the right price to make this a reality. However, a shipment of new calipers and discs is set to arrive from AP Racing in the very near future. Our first application for those parts is the C5/C6 Corvette platform. You can see all of the details about these components as they relate to the Corvette on our blog. I'll share some of that info here though:

AP Racing CP5060 Calipers (special Essex version)
The six piston calipers we'll be using are a derivative of an existing AP Racing design, with a number of enhancements. They share many of the same features our customers love about our CP8350 four piston calipers, but ratchets everything up to the next level. They will be lightweight, stiff, full of heat resistant features, and offer just about every pad compound option under the sun. You can see a technical drawing of the CP5060 caliper here.

Advantages vs. OEM calipers

• Saves roughly 2 lbs. due to optimized design: OEM Evo X four piston caliper is roughly 8 lbs., while AP Racing six piston CP5060 is 6.4 lbs. (+ 1 lb. for bracket, but -1 lb. for heat shield removal during install).
• Pistons are stainless steel to reduce influx of heat into brake fluid
• Pistons are ventilated to increase airflow around pad/piston interface and reduce temperatures
• Pistons have domed back to dramatically increase stiffness and pedal feel
• Pistons fitted with 4 lb. anti-knockback springs to reduce pad knockback
• Durable anodized finish holds up better under high heat track conditions
• Machined AP Racing logo that won't get destroyed by brake fluid
• Two-bolt pad change without the annoying pins and spring clips
• High temperature silicon racing seals without dust boots= less frequent rebuilds and no messy fried boots
• Differential piston bores to reduce pad taper
• Stainless steel abutment plates and hardware for smooth engagement and durability
• Greater pad volume for superior wear rates
• Just as many pad choices as OEM shape, due to use of very common pad shape

AP Racing CP5773 Discs
The 355x32mm AP Racing disc we'll be using has been proven time and again in professional racing, winning many races and even championships (ALMS, Rolex, Grand Am, etc.). It is a 72 vane, Heavy Duty J Hook design. Most notably, the Action Express Corvette Daytona Prototypes won the championship on these discs last year (and continue to run them). These discs are the epitome of endurance racing components, and will hold up extremely well to what our customers will do with them. You can see a technical drawing of the AP CP5773 disc on our site.

Advantages vs. OEM Discs

• Despite being larger, saves 4 lbs. unsprung weight (roughly 18 lbs. vs. OEM 22 lbs.)
  
• 72 directional vanes for high airflow and disc face stability vs. OEM pillar vane design
  
• AP's patented J Hook slot pattern for even heat distribution and increased pad bite
  
• Complex, crack-resistant metallurgy developed through countless track hours at all levels of racing
• Fully floating with anti-knockback spring clips
  
• Despite having a far more stout design, they weigh the same or slightly less than most of our competitors 48 vane street discs (about 18 lbs. with hat).
• Reasonable iron replacement costs ($350-ish)

Here is the setup behind an OEM C6 Z06 18" front wheel:


Here's a shot of the machined logo on one of the samples. I should have pics of the completed calipers early next week.


Here's a look at the domed back, SS pistons

Attachment hardware


After seeing the parts we sell to pro race teams, it seems like all of the top quality racing brake hardware has been withheld from the average enthusiast for one reason or another...primarily price. These bits would open up that door and solve some issues.

The complete kit would include:

• One pair AP Racing CP5060, six piston calipers
• One pair 355x32mm AP Racing CP5773, 72 vane, heavy duty J Hook racing discs, with fully floating 6061 aluminum hats and anti-knockback/anti-rattle attachment hardware
• One pair caliper mounting brackets and all required hardware
• One pair Spiegler Stainless Steel Brake Lines with abrasion resistant coating
• Detailed installation instructions

Target retail price for the complete front six piston / 355mm brake system is currently $3500-ish. Anybody interested in these parts? Any Evo's in Charlotte NC that feel like being a guinea pig?

All feedback and questions are welcome. Thanks guys!

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

Hey Jeff, glad to see you're still tinkering and developing rather then some of these others that throws v1.0 out there and moves on. Some obvious questions - Would this 355/6 piston kit be made available for the 8/9 front (assuming it's just a bracket)? Also the rears for our cars have always suffered, and most people shy away simply because of the parking brake but it's a rather simple hat design that doesn't really affect the rest. I would love to see the 8350's with xyz smaller piston for the rears and this for the fronts (with the 8350 option still there, much like Brembo and Stoptech do).

chincster

I have an interest. But what about the rear? Would it be unbalanced to have a 6-pot front and brembo 2-pot rear? I would like to see a complete kit of both front and rear caliper upgrades.

qwertymess

iTrader: (11)

I am also interested in the complete kit, front and rear to balance out the car.

SDevo13

iTrader: (6)

The kit is made to work with the stock rears (just like the VIII/IX). Your rear brakes don't get near the abuse/heat that the fronts do which is why you go with upgraded front set up - to stop brake fade on track.

It is a common misconception that the bigger packages give you increased pressure on your rotors. Your stock brakes will trigger ABS which means they will flat spot tires i.e. completely lock the wheel. Therefor you don't need 'more stopping power' you need repeatable stopping power. The reason you go with this kind of set up is so you have the same fade-free brakes lap 1 as you do lap 15 (the rear brakes don't heat up enough to boil the fluid). Better to get this kit front, and some nice floating rotors for the stock calipers on the rear.

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

Um, I guess your doing TT/DE or something then. I've rebuilt my rears 3 times because the rear brembo's are sh*tty street calipers. The whole point of having this is so you DON'T have to keep rebuilding, you don't have crappy seals that disintegrate, color that fades, you'd likely have the same pad shape front and rear (if you keep 8350's), you don't have annoying clips and studs that constantly fall out from the abuse, etc etc etc. As it sits it's got way more then enough stopping power, yes, to that point we agree, but they can't take the repeatable bit. Don't bash parts development. That's like saying the FP Black is pointless when you could have done the same with a 35R. We're lucky that this platform is still inspiring engineers to further enhance the driving/ownership experience and options.

SDevo13

iTrader: (6)

Nowhere was I bashing product development...Their VIII/IX kits have been highly successful, not to mention the huge list of race teams. Would upgraded rears be better than stock? Of course it would (longer maintenance intervals etc.), but the stock rears will get the job done.

I was answering the question/point that the 6-piston front and stock rears would unsettle balance of the car, which it doesnt...The kits are meant to keep balance with the stock rear. If you need a rear set up they can definitely help you with that. As far as a mass produced kit they most likely will build them per order as demand will be less for a 4 wheel set up due to costs (same thing they did with the VIII/IX kits).

chincster

My current issues are exactly as Balrok as mentioned. While my rears don't get heated up like the fronts, I do suffer from uneven pad wear and sticking. Repeatability is an issue for me. I'm currently considering an Performance Friction kit that uses a 6-pot front and 4-pot rear and the UK AP Racing 6pot/4pot setup.

JRitt@essex

At this time we're primarily focused on developing this solution for the Evo X, not the VII-IX.

As for the rears, we're open to idea if there is enough demand for it. That is the issue however. R&D and production costs on a new design are not cheap, adding up to quite a few thousand dollars. We have engineering time, prototyping, and a minimum run of production parts. Costs go up even further if we need to order calipers with a new piston size (we won't know that until we do all of the calculations on the car).

SDevo13 hit the nail on the head with the price issue. If the fronts cost $3,599, how many of you are willing to buy the matching rear setup for $2,999? That's $6,600 for a complete brake setup. I believe that most (not all)people will stick with the fronts only when it comes time to reach for the wallet.

Again though, if there is enough demand, we'll go down that route. The main reason I was focused on the front, was because that seems to be the bigger problem area on these cars. Ultimately, you guys know better than I do, because you're actually running them. That's why I created this thread.

The only factors that affect brake torque are disc diameter, piston area, and pad coefficient of friction. A front-only system can remain perfectly balanced with the OEM rear setup as long as the disc diameter and piston sizes are chosen correctly. It's a non-issue with our kits. These calculations are all completed to maintain proper brake bias, ABS activation, etc.

Thanks for the discussion guys...please continue.

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

Agreed, but to your advertising point it's still the same issue - comes down to how much you spend on fixing/replacing parts in the rear to justify "its time to upgrade" just like you did for the fronts. It'd be interesting to know how you did on the fronts cost wise, all the time and money making the kits viable Vs how many you've sold to date so we can get an idea how the mood is towards making the rears.

So the question then becomes bench racing time - say the time, money, and preorders are there, and if you were to make a rear kit just based off of the numbers and parts you think would work, what would we get? Does the 8350 become too much caliper because the piston size required to keep the balance goes past the min specs, can we use the same size disc to save on parts, etc etc. Pretty much what you did here and for the original, a dream list to then attract potential buyers and the ginny pig.

But going back on topic I agree the X suffers, but everywhere when it comes to tracking because it's so damn heavy and has the aero properties of a 2x4. For this reason, not really the lack of parts, only a handful of X's really track at "that level" that often while the 8/9's continue to get built for that purpose. Then again the new Vette looks sexy as hell....

JRitt@essex

Understood on all points. We haven't sold any fronts yet...calipers literally just showed up on Monday! I get what you're saying though. I just need to get a feel for what parts people want, and this is the best place to do so. I appreciate the feedback.

As for the Corvette, we have a C7 on order, and it's supposed to be here in October. We will immediately be diving into development work on that car.

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

Well, THIS kit is fine and dandy, but we're looking at answers on the existing kit for the 9, numbers for that. Basically how you did for the Evo 8/9 kit, which motivates you for a X kit, which further motivates you for a 8/9/X rear kit, etc etc etc. Damn those vettes and they're proper suspension/aero/weight .

Kidloco51

iTrader: (32)

I love my AP kit for my IX, great performance for the price.

chincster

Hi Jeff,

As a further discussion point, can you help clarify the difference between your proposed offering and the existing AP UK offering? I refer to their existing competition upgrades; part numbers: Front 6 Piston Kit - CP5060-1000NP and Rear 4 Piston Kit - CP7636-1000NP. I list the spec drawing as they specified here:

http://www.apracing.com/Drawings/P12_301.pdf

May you offer some insight?

Silverton

Whatever happened with this kit? This would be the best BBK for the X!