It was posted:
"The S2000 needs brake ducting, not bigger front brakes. "

I've developed brake duct inserts for our cars. They've been on my own car for the past 4 months now and I'm very pleased with them. They are not officially on sale yet, however I might be able to hook a few people up if its urgent. They can be had in both fiberglass and carbon fiber.

As for this caliper discussion, I've never been one to consider the $3000 Porsche upgrade kits. There's nothing wrong with these kits if you have the money, however here are a few of my thoughts on brake upgrading for our cars.

1. We all already know that the car brakes great and the only real downfall is brake fade (aided by ducting, better brake pads, drilled or slotted rotors and better fluid).

2. For looks the Porsche kit is excellent, perhaps the best. (I'd be very impressed if someone had a similar kit but included the new ceramic rotors that porsche has as an option for the new 911 TT).

3. There was a prior issue (which may have been fixed) with doing a big brake kit upgrade. A well known article a few months back had a modified S2000 with a big brake kit and it performed worse than stock. Something to do with the master cylinder I believe. (I'd hope there is some fix for this by now).

4. For the DIYers, I've heard many successful stories of people finding used porsche brakes and adapting them various cars. For someone on a cheaper budget, this might be a good option as well.

5. Spoon makes highly acclaimed 4 piston calipers for our cars, and they clear factory 16'' rims. These would be my fav choice and are also available through MG. I'd have to say that these calipers paired with spoon cross drilled rotors would be the ideal combination. (dont forget the pads though, pads are perhaps most important of all).

Speaking of pads, I'm selling the Porterfield R4S pads for $160 (complete set front and rear). These are the same pads that Comptech sells for our cars. Email me for details.

Ben Schaffer
Ben@BulletproofAutomotive.com

 

I realize I am new to modding modern cars... however along with increased fade resistance and braking ability .. I would also insist on ease of replacement! My 70' Simca had front disc pads that could be replaced by removing the wheels and pulling 2 pins(it appears much like the Brembo(sp) pictures I have seen), my only reason for going with a different system would be... the aforementioned improvements along with ease of replacement at the track to facilitate swapping track pads for street pads... (or vice/versa)

 

Giampiero,

Is this the "mov'it" kit?

 

To SilverAP1;same concept and parts,kit engineered for the S2000.

 

Giampiero-

I beg to differ... I think the stock brakes are so good that 99% of the drivers (including ALL of us here) don't use them to the utmost of their ability- unlike accelerating under full throttle, we rarely threshold brake, even on a circuit. I've been known to nurse a stock S2000 without threshold braking for many laps, keeping up with ones equipped with performance brake upgrades- which means that there is significantly more time to be found on the track, even with the stock setup. Ultimately I would rather see people spending the $2900 on improving driving skills. However, I do agree that the Porsche brakes look good- but the monoblock gold Brembo race brakes look- and perform- better... I do know, with first hand experience, that there are MANY unforseen problems with installing systems like those. Problems that include poor brake pedal feel, improper fit, wheel clearances, f/r bias problems, and many others.

Ben-

I think you're on the right page there... although I personally would not use the Spoon caliper, because of the two piece billet aluminum construction (read- somewhat relatively flexible).

-Nick

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ben:
[B]It was posted:

 

Ben I would be interested in the brake ducts as well.

 

to GTRPower,
I agree with you,the stock brakes are very good and the money to buy this kit will be better spent in suspension mod,driving skills improvements etc etc .The idea of this kit is to give the availability to who has changed already the suspensions,has already attented various driving schools or racing etc to have a better brake system,not only on the track but on the road.I f you think "a priori"that this kit it is not worth it or it will not be better than the stock set-up etc etc thats no problem with me,I will be glad to demonstrate you not on paper as soon we will sell a kit(If we ever will)the difference .
I have an M5 with my partner in Italy,and he use the car almost every week at the track,the brakes of the M5 are considered very good also but after a while they start to show some signs of serious fading,so we installed the Porsche brakes,380mm in front amd 322 rear ;the braking performance increase allow him to get a 3 second lower time in not a very long track.
Giampiero
MG RACING
BLUE/BLACK

 

And if you have the funds, a high quality brake set-up looks great behind some aftermarket wheels.. much better than the rusty and dingy stockers (no matter how effective they are).

This is not a mod for everybody (not for me) but will be very effective on some cars. It is good we have the option.

 

Giampiero-

You aren't comparing apples to apples. The BMW M5 is a 3800lb car to a 2900lb car, with a four wheel brake replacement vs. a two wheel set.
I've faded the OEM brakes on the S2000 within 15 minutes of starting an initial hot lapping session. However, brake fade inherent in Hondas is not indicative of a poorly designed brake system- rather it's a sign of poor ventilation, of which almost all Hondas have a problem with. Initial bite, modulation, and repeatability is good on the S2000, but the problem is heat soak, which inevitably produces fade in the form of fluid boil and pad resin boil, and if prolonged enough, warps the rotors. If your friend's car has a problem with warped rotors then the corrective measure would be to a- duct the brakes better, and then, if that fails b- find more mass/surface area ratio on the rotors to help cool them, which usually means a bigger rotor. I consistently warped the stock sized rotors on one of my other cars before I went with a bigger system- from a 317x30mm one piece rotor and Brembo OEM 4 pot calipers to 332x32 two piece, with the Brembo F40 caliper. Even then, I still had pad problems, but that is due to the car being 600HP and 3200lbs.
The other problem is that the front tire footprints aren't exactly "big". Increasing that would also increase the absolute stopping power, as would a firmer suspension that allowed less fore/aft movement to distribute more braking power to the rear.
In any case, I would be interested to see the performance of your system over a course of a session. For $3000 the brakes had better be perfect!

-Nick