//steve\\

Resize your pics please!!!

Driven

I got my kit on a pretty deep discount, but the Stoptechs are going for under $2000.
Rotors for the Stoptech ST40s are around $230/ea
Pads can be had for around $230.

Good thing about the ST40 calipers is, they are used in a variety of applications, so brake pad choice is abundant and you can sometimes find a set of brake pads for very cheap. For instance, some RSX guy was selling XP12s that I grabbed for like $100 and they had 95% pad life left.

I got my kit two years ago, I've done 12 track days, like 8 autocrosses, and put maybe 15K miles on the car. I've yet to replace the front rotor rings, and I've still got 50% of my XP12s pad life left, as well as 70% of pad life left on the kit pads.

The previous two years with the stock brakes, I went thru like 8 rotors and 3 sets of brake pads.

I'm obviously not hard on brakes, but, I've been more than happy with the ST kit... although I'm sure the Urge kit would be just as awesome.

Brake ducts seem to have helped a bit too.


To quickly reference the two kits:
Urge Kit
- $2300
- 4 piston calipers (CP8350)
- 29x32mm rotors
- Rotor rings cost: $158/ea
- Rotor weight: 13lbs
- XP12 Pads (Or equal) cost: $220/set

ST40 Kit
- $2000
- 4 piston calipers (ST40)
- 328x28mm rotors
- Rotor rings cost: $230/ea
- Rotor weight: 13.5lbs
- XP12 Pads cost: $220/set

psychoazn

Rotors for the Essex/AP/Urge kit are $163 each. ST40 is 328x28 versus 299x32 of the AP Racing.

Pads are generally under $210. Pads are also 15-16mm of material, versuses ~11mm of the ST40.

My decision was to put the same caliper (similar kit) on the BRZ, versus a ST40 which would have cost less, because by the time you go through 2 sets of pads and rotors, you've already made up the difference... (based on street price for the ST40).



Yeah, I may have a brake pad problem, similar to my tire problem.

odb812

Do you still have your dust shields on? Do you have any ducting? I have a different BBK and I'm also seeing the inside pad wear much faster, so I'm trying to see if there are any parallels.

rhouck

Updated to include pad size and caliper weight

Yes re ducting -- 2.5". And dust shields are largely trimmed off -- only part is left to mount the ducting.

Lalasissyboy

Do you think the price difference of these rotors will off set replacing larger stop tech rotors less frequently? Or do you think this kits rotors would actually cool beter and last longer?

psychoazn

The stoptech rotors are 28mm. The AP's kit is 32mm. There is significantly more cooling through the vanes on the AP kit; the surface area difference is huge.

vactor

another thing to consider is the dust boot issue. my understanding after talking to stoptech was that the st40 caliper has piston seals (derrr) as well as high temp capable dust boots. this might make them a _slightly_ better kit for street driving on the issue of debris and corrosion getting into the seals. i'dfeel more confident in the essex kit for a street driven car if that was part of the caliper design. this is an issue (minor as it is) that has me waffling just a bit. but i will probably get the essex kit in the near future.

Driven

Really depends on your driving style... as psycho mentioned, the AP rotors ARE thicker, but... I've gotten two years worth out of the stoptech rotors.

Curious, is the AP kit offset more to compensate for the thicker pad and rotors, so you don't need to hunt for unique wheels that fit?

adrs2k

I hope this helps. I decided to put all the numbers into a few scenarios to help track guys see and realize the cross over point in which a BBK pays for itself, and to also show the differences in costs between the AP and ST kits. I personally am probably still in scenario 1 but the engineer in me likes to see things laid out this way. Its easy to say kit XYZ is better and cheaper in the long run, but I personally like to SEE it. Obviously I estimated some of the costs so take the exact values with a grain of salt.

I think if a track guy fits into Scenario 2 or 3 then a BBK is the obvious answer. Yes the upfront cost is more than slapping some oem rotors and track pads on the car, but those costs balance out and swing in the opposite direction quickly.

[attachment=39054:BBK Costs.jpg]