I know we've all discussed brake upgrades in multiple threads. I've been searching, for two days now, to find which thread where AP (I believe) was compared to Evo X, etc.
I went out to toss on a set of X calipers only to find the guy sent me two passenger-sides. I bought them long ago, so can't return. Finding one caliper is proving to be difficult. Flipping the crossover/bleeders seems stretchy. If I'm going to buy another set of X calipers, I may as well look into better options then selling off all the 8/9/10 stuff.

TLDR: which AP / Alcon caliper would work for a 3150lb car on 275 NT01s, running 20min HPDE sessions? Uprights are drilled for X brakes and I have 12mm sleeves on the way in case I go back to 8/9

 

How much horsepower do you run on track?

For reference, stock Evo 8/9 front rotors are 320mm.

Essex offers two kits with AP Racing calipers. The smaller kit (CP8350 calipers) uses 325mm rotors, which are only 5mm larger than OEM 8/9 rotors. However, the better caliper and rotor design is still an improvement over stock. If you're running stock-ish horsepower or you must have 17" wheels, these are a good choice. Saves 14lbs over stock.

The Evo X rotors are 350mm. This is a good step up in size from stock, IMO, especially if you can get a good 2-piece rotor setup for the right price.

The larger Essex / AP kit (CP9660 calipers) uses much larger 372mm rotors. Great kit if you have a lot of horsepower, but price of entry is $4400.


IMO, if you already have a set of good X rotors then the easiest path forward is to buy another set of Evo X calipers. If you sell the old calipers individually you can probably recoup most of the cost of another set, so you're only $100-200 away from working brakes.

Beyond that, the CP8350 kit with some attention to cooling (air guides, or preferably ducting) seems hard to beat. The bigger kits (CP9660 or Alcon) are great if you don't mind paying the price of entry.

 

450whp. I have a brake ducting kit (the older, smaller one - 2.5") but can't find a way to run the ducting around my ACD pump, so decided to go with X brakes, a good fluid, possibly Ti shims, and a good pad. I run 18s just for the ease of tire selection and because I planned on the X brakes. Not a ton of 275 tires in a 17.

Buying another set of X calipers would be cheapest, especially if I can sell off the other parts, later, that is true and I've been considering just doing that.

I'm frustrated... and being too stubborn to buy the same parts twice LOL. Bright side: I JUST found a set of X calipers with a damaged passenger-side for $250. Looks like that is the cheapest/easiest option.

Also, maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to spend a bunch of money LOL.

BUT: If the CP8350 isn't up to the task, then I'll probably just go ahead and stick with X calipers. $4400 is a bit beyond my comfort level I liked the idea of using the CP8350 to save a ton of weight and *maybe* finding a way to go back to a 17" wheel; looking into options.
At the end of the day, I'm okay with being heavier slower (compared to OEM 8/9 brakes) if it means I can beat on them harder. I'm about seat time and fun more than lap times



Thanks for the info! Now I have a thread to reference at a later time.

 

325 is way too small for our cars on track

 

Well...depends. I personally never had ANY issues with my CP8350's, and I beat on them for 5 years I think? It was only when I went to 275 A7's and slicks, during summer events, that I actually had to plumb my cooling duct setup to make things 100% for the whole 45min sprint. So it was only at the tippy tip of the scale where the awesome j hook 325mm's started to wane a little bit. The braking torque was brilliant and the 25mm pads seem to last forever. Also, no more fkin dust boots, which was a huge bonus for me.

The small sponsorship on the review landed me the CP9660's for cheap enough I couldn't pass up and I got to ditch the brake ducts all together. But, this last June event I did start to notice a slight loss in bite now that I've gone to 295/315 A7's. So really you'll need ducting to stay consistent at any top level competition requirement. But I still haven't....yet.

Now, if Daniel gets off his behind and gives me a wholesale account with Essex, THEN we'll likely be doing a kit and selling the brembo's off the project X. And really I could quote the other kits as well then. Wheelin and dealin baby haha.

 

With enough airflow in the right places, even the OEM brakes should be fine.

The challenge is getting enough air flowing to the disc. You can only fit so much airflow through a 2" or even 3" duct tube. Getting the ducts routed is a challenge.

Balrok do you have any photos of your ducting setup on here somewhere?

 

Why can't you just flip the crossover line and bleeders? Seems in theory to be totally plausible and minimal work. Might say Brembo the wrong way but if you already have them...

 

Uh not really, It's been several years since I stopped using them and I had not revisited the pita it is just yet. I was running the AMS ducts (which fit perfect on 8350's) to a 2.5 inch hose to the back bottom of the splitter. They lasted the longest there.

 

ACD makes this pretty much impossible with the parts I have now.

I *could* assuming everything seals back up. Luckily we don't have staggered pistons. The tube would have no protection. That's okay. The brake line would be at the lower half of the caliper. I assume that's okay.

 

8/9/X calipers have staggered pistons. They are 44mm trailing and 40mm leading.

 

So much for that idea.boooo

 

I'll sell you my X calipers with RB ss pistons installed for $250. I basically bought them new and installed the RB pistons, hi temp seals and took them to the track 2 or 3 times... cannot remember. The high temp seals did melt though
Anyways, I have so many spare car parts stored above my garage that the ceiling buckled :P So I'm gutting my garage to put in a lift and need to move all these parts I probably won't ever use again.

 

😂 That's a lotta parts! PMed, brotha. Thank you.

 

How can you be sure your brakes are overheating and it's not a mechanical issue?
On the street I have no problem but on track I will get a soft pedal for most but not all corners. This is with ATE 200 fluid and ST45/ST43 pads.
I'm only around 380whp but the whole front end of the car is blocked off with an undertray back to behind the control arms. I also have those plastic cooling flippers from a 911.

I've rebled a few times and sometimes some bubbles come out and sometimes they don't. There are also no signs of leaking on the calipers themselves.

 

I'd recommend moving the ACD pump to get weight off the nose and keep it out of harms way.
Its easy enough to do over a weekend.