AP front BBK and comparo

[praedet]

Sounds good

 

I know that it took close to 15 stops during bedding to start getting fade for me. The last 7 were from the top of 3rd I have no idea what they would be after bedding

 

The XP12s will be even more ridiculous

[LittleBlueGT]

Sounds good

 

I know that it took close to 15 stops during bedding to start getting fade for me. The last 7 were from the top of 3rd I have no idea what they would be after bedding

 

The XP12s will be even more ridiculous

 

You also may be interested in tese Mintex pads when your street ones wear out. So far they seem pretty good. Getting an extra couple degrees out of street pads is awesome IMO.

 

Your 15 stops were from 60-5?

[praedet]

no, 3 from 50-5, 5 from 60 or 70-5, 7 from quite a bit above 70 somewhere down to 5

 

Repeated accelerations, no time time between.

[LittleBlueGT]

Finally did my spring cleaning (swirl removal, polish, paint sealant, etc...)

 

Here are some pics of the AP BBK.

[LittleBlueGT]

Also, I painted the rear calipers flat black to match.

 

And another couple of photos:

[4S-TURBO]

If the OB brakes are the same as the the 2.5i, then yes they suck, but they actually have better feel then the LGT brakes. Less overall stopping power, and less heat capacity, but better feel.

 

after tracking my 2.5i a couple times, the brakes are actually pretty darn good. i expected horrible engagement, quick wear, and subsequent squish, but i was pleasantly surprised. for the few hours they were on the 95 degree track, they stayed responsive and firm and never appeared to fade.

 

sure the car didn't reach speeds that would necessitate a more agressive brake setup, but for a stock 3500 pound non-performance model, they were great. and they felt solid on the 2.5 hour drive back as well. maybe the ebd does something after all...

 

btw, i do love the ap setup. if i had a rediculously fast car, those would be the rediculously strong binders i would choose...and you can get them to fit under 16's too...

[LittleBlueGT]

after tracking my 2.5i a couple times, the brakes are actually pretty darn good. i expected horrible engagement, quick wear, and subsequent squish, but i was pleasantly surprised. for the few hours they were on the 95 degree track, they stayed responsive and firm and never appeared to fade.

 

sure the car didn't reach speeds that would necessitate a more agressive brake setup, but for a stock 3500 pound non-performance model, they were great. and they felt solid on the 2.5 hour drive back as well. maybe the ebd does something after all...

 

btw, i do love the ap setup. if i had a rediculously fast car, those would be the rediculously strong binders i would choose...and you can get them to fit under 16's too...

 

You are right, OEM brakes can often do more then people think. The pedal feel and modulation with these is incredible though.

 

You would be surprised how much of a difference over 2 times your hp makes on brakes. Triple digit speeds are just too easy.

 

You can get AP BBK to fit 16s, but it is not the ones I have, you have to get slightly smaller ones, then you would need to calculate brake bias as well.

[LittleBlueGT]

Started beating on the brakes now, I mean really beating on them. From the color changes on the sides of the rotors I would guesstimate that they have achieved 1000 F. (full rotor temp, not surface temp)

 

Last night I drove like this......WOT to 90 mph full braking down to 20 mph, repeat with no waiting, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat!

 

Yes I am nuts. 18 times I did that, and my car gets from 20 to 90 mph pretty fast.

 

Friction of the pads remained the same, no noticeable fade at all, nothing. I was starting to get worried I would see fluid fade, but all seems good.

 

I really can't imagine these pads not holding up on the track, I mean how much harder can you be on brakes, unless you have 600 hp?

 

I stopped when I started to see sparks flying from the wheels. Maybe the rotors were glowing? Supposedly the pads can go up to 1300 F, so maybe they were getting close to that on the surface? Maybe they were glowing like F1 brakes?

 

I would have stopped to look at them but didn't want to leave my brakes stationary at that temp. I did fry my plastic center caps on my wheels.

 

Either way these pads seem to deliver, very high temps, good on the street, not loud at all, good when cold, very low dusting (even after last night the wheels were barely showing any dust!). I guess I will see what they are like for pad wear and rotor wear.

[praedet]

Nice

 

I need to check into these pads when mine are done. Also for the wife's car

[caramall2]

+1 on this setup. LittleBlue gave me the pleasure of driving his sweet setup and the feel is superb. It's not "touchy" or "over-reactive" at all, just solid as a rock with lots of braking power. Great control.

 

On another thread, I did email Mintex and ask about them producing Xtreme Motorsport pads that fit stock callipers. These sound like exactly what I'm looking for (a little higher temp range).

 

http://www.xtremebrakes.com/

[sirsimon]

Jeez Lil'Blue - your car has had a serious transformation over the past month.

 

Those brakes sound SERIOUS. I wonder if the STI Brembos could have stood up to similar use (abuse?)...?

[KartRacerBoy]

I'm no engineer or brake expert, but I think the pads and fluid make most of the difference in terms of fade since fade is due to heat. The STi Brembos are probably not as good in the brake feel department. If the AP system is specifically designed for the Legacy GT, it might also have shorter stopping distances due to balance and clamping pressure factors, again assuming a design for the LGT. And BIIIIG rotors will help on brake torque and mass, reducing fade further.

[LittleBlueGT]

I'm no engineer or brake expert, but I think the pads and fluid make most of the difference in terms of fade since fade is due to heat. The STi Brembos are probably not as good in the brake feel department. If the AP system is specifically designed for the Legacy GT, it might also have shorter stopping distances due to balance and clamping pressure factors, again assuming a design for the LGT. And BIIIIG rotors will help on brake torque and mass, reducing fade further.

 

Pads probably make the biggest difference, but rotors that cool better can help get a lot more out of the pads too.

 

Brembos my take this much abuse assuming same pads and same rotors.

 

There is a reason many STI track junkies sell their brembos (for us to buy) and get other brake set-ups, like from AP.

[praedet]

The AP set-up has rotors that are larger in diameter, and thickness, vs. the STi Brembos. Pads and fluid make the biggest difference, but the larger rotors and possible better cooling helps...

[zildjiank]

Those brakes are so hawt.

 

About time you just got the brakes and stopped talkin about em LBGT!

[LittleBlueGT]

Those brakes are so hawt.

 

About time you just got the brakes and stopped talkin about em LBGT!

 

 

Now I can talk about something else.

[SubyShop.com]

Bumping this thread back from the dead.. So to confirm, you can run stock 17" wheels with the AP kit? I'm thinking about upgrading. Is it feasible to run the stock fronts at the rear with the AP kit up front? I know people often do this with other cars when they upgrade to a front race BBK. Haven't seen it mentioned on here.

-Franz

[LittleBlueGT]

Bumping this thread back from the dead.. So to confirm, you can run stock 17" wheels with the AP kit? I'm thinking about upgrading. Is it feasible to run the stock fronts at the rear with the AP kit up front? I know people often do this with other cars when they upgrade to a front race BBK. Haven't seen it mentioned on here.

-Franz

 

They clear the AP kit just fine. Lots of space with OEM 17s. To be 100% clear, the kit I have is the one from Brake Pros. Other places sell them, but they are the same kit and they get it from Brake Pros. if you get the AP kit from iON performance, it will not work with OEM wheels, unless you have a 3mm spacer, this is due to a different aluminum hat for the rotor, and a different caliper mounting bracket.

 

You CANNOT run the OEM fronts on the rear, you wouldn't want to anyways, we have plenty of rear brakes on our car.

[SubyShop.com]

They clear the AP kit just fine. Lots of space with OEM 17s. To be 100% clear, the kit I have is the one from Brake Pros. Other places sell them, but they are the same kit and they get it from Brake Pros. if you get the AP kit from iON performance, it will not work with OEM wheels, unless you have a 3mm spacer, this is due to a different aluminum hat for the rotor, and a different caliper mounting bracket.

 

You CANNOT run the OEM fronts on the rear, you wouldn't want to anyways, we have plenty of rear brakes on our car.

 

Ok. I'd be buying a kit that was used for a couple seasons from a local guy. He ran them on his old WRX and has offered to include some spacers to get the stock wheels to clear, just in case. Do you run separate pads for street and track with the AP kit? If so, which ones? I'm hoping to find some PFC 97 compound in fitment for the AP kit.

-Franz

[LittleBlueGT]

Ok. I'd be buying a kit that was used for a couple seasons from a local guy. He ran them on his old WRX and has offered to include some spacers to get the stock wheels to clear, just in case. Do you run separate pads for street and track with the AP kit? If so, which ones? I'm hoping to find some PFC 97 compound in fitment for the AP kit.

-Franz

 

I am not sure if the kit is the same or not.

 

I run the Mintex Motorsport Xtreme pads for street use, supposedly they work up to 1300F. I lost one of these pads on the track though, so I wouldn't recommend them for track use. They have been BY FAR the best street pads I have ever used, and they work just fine at -40F!

 

I believe you can get the PFC pads, actually I know you can, I just don't know if they are the PFC 97 or not.

 

I am actually in the process of ordering Hawk DTC-70 for the front, and 60s for the rear for track use.

 

Hawks number should be:

 

HB110_.654 for the pads. These are the 17mm thick pads. I know that there exists an AP kit that uses the same pad shape, but has 20mm pads. I would call up KNS brakes for pads. (At least that is where I am buying mine from)