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Midnight Express
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Brake Upgrade
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As the car's power was going to be increased, so is the
need to pull it up. Therefore an upgrade in all of the brakes components
was necessary. We chose an OEM upgrade for ease of install (use the stock
master cylinder) and for reduced costs compared to complete aftermarket
options. Keeping it within the family, we went for the R33 GTR Brembo
Brakes Front and Rear.
Parts Upgraded:
- ADR Approved Braided Brake Lines Front and Rear
- Brembo Brake Fluid
- RDA Turbo Groove Rotors (Slotted and Dimpled) Front and Rear
- RDA Red Stuff Pads for an Aggressive Bite (Street/Track)
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Before |
After |
| Front Rotor Size |
296mm |
324mm |
| Rear Rotor Size |
280mm |
300mm |
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A few pictures of the before and after. They not only work well but look the goods too.
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After conducting a few light stops from 60km/h to start the bed-in
process, followed by harder stops the pads had seated in nicely. It was then
time to try a few 100km/h stops in a controlled environment. Obviously the
larger rotor size has made a massive difference in the braking distance
however our main objective was to ensure that brake fade did not occur,
which can only really be tested at the track
An 'Off the Streets' Wakefield track day provided a perfect chance to give the brakes
a good working over and test their limits. As this set-up is by no means
extreme we started off taking things easy and then gradually working
towards full stops from 200km/h coming off the main straight. They
performed very well to pull up a car that weighs in at around 1300kg. After
5 hard laps there was no sign of brake fade and depending on how hard you
are driving the ABS didn't seem intrusive. Brake fade might be an issue for
extended laps however monitoring things like oil temperature usually
restrict how many laps you will do in a row. Brake dust was also very low
with these pads, however I believe that there is room for a much harder
brake pad come the next track day.
The rotors were chosen mainly because of price and the fact they are only
dimpled (to keep strength within the rotor, as cross drilling has been
known to crack during hard driving). Time will tell if the rotors will wear
down quickly and whether or not its best to invest in a more expensive
rotor that might potentially last longer, however the pad used obviously
has a massive part in this. More on this as time goes on. Overall this was a great upgrade as it's
very easy to fit and all items are straight from the shelf. |
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