I've searched the archives and can't find the information that I am after.

I have several cars with big brake upgrades, but am unfamiliar with the braking logistics of the s2000. What I do know is that I was very unimpressed with the braking on this car. On heavier cars, I never flinched on purchasing a 6 piston caliper(Brembo, stoptech, AP, Wilwood, etc)

Just wanted to know if anyone on here has installed the 6 piston and thought that it was overkill. Anyone here with 4pot calipers that wished that they had gone the 6pot route?

Car is supercharged ~ 325 to the wheels when fully complete, built for very heavy street use and occasional auto-x. Looking for upgraded braking ability, reduced rotational mass.

what's the verdict 4 or 6? ideally i would like to hear from 12 and 13" users.

can anyone comment if the kits utilize a floating rotor setup?

 

Honestly for your application stock here is best. If you're having problems it's not the brakes it's the tires. Brakes won't ever make your car stop faster, but tires will. Brakes on the s2000 are only good for two things, bling and heat disipation on the track. I doubt even with auto-X that you'll build up enough heat for the brakes to fade.

If you think your brakes are a problem I would bleed/flush the brakes first and check/change the pads first. A BBK won't help you here, if it's performance you're looking for(if it's bling pick the one that looks best)

 

For braking, the more the better. I will say something 4 piston with oversize rotors will be good for the power you have. 6 pistons will have better braking power with high speeds.

 

I can barely get the OEM pads to fade slightly with repetitive hard braking. Over all, the OEM brakes are great. CrazyPhuD is right about the tires playing a major role in the braking performance of this car.

I flushed my braking system with ATE brake fluid and installed aftermarket brake pads. I stood on that brake pedal hard lap after lap in between 90-110 mph and experienced no brake fade.

The BBK would give a tremendous performance increase if you were repetitively braking hard from 150+ mph. My car doesn't have enough juice to go that fast on a closed course. It would take over two miles to reach 150 mph in my S2000.

Like CrazyPhuD said, bling, bling , bling

 

The brakes aren't bad on the S2000. Like others said, maybe try flushing the fluid, put something good in it, try fresh OEM rotors and some decent street/track compound pads (porterfield/hawk/other?) and save yourself the $2000. It's like on my bike...the 8 pistons on the front of it don't make it stop any quicker than the 2 pistons on the front of my S2000 (1 on each side of course)

 

Like many have said, the OEM brakes on the S are excellent. But I also bet that most of the people saying that BBKs on the S are useless, have not driven one on the track to see the difference.

You also get the advantage of better heat dissipation and lower unsprung weight. Cooler brakes means longer lasting brakes. Not only during repeated stops, but over a longer period of time too. If you track the S hard on the OEM set up, you will be replacing rotors at much more frequent intervals. In the long run, a properly designed set up can save true track day enthusiasts and racers a lot of money.

Before I get too far off topic, the number of pistons a caliper has is really not important when talking about its output. The overall piston diameter and total surface area are what count. The advantage of having more pistons is to cover more of the backing plate of the pads providing a more even distribution of energy. This does two things, creates more even pad wear and increased feel.

There are other factors as well of course. A 6 piston caliper may use a larger brake pad than the 4 piston and also require larger rotors.

For what you describe about your driving, the stock set up will more than suffice for heat dissipation given your driving style. If losing unsprung weight is of interest to you, there are a couple of 4 pot kits available for the S that shed more than 20 pounds off of each front wheel. The 4 piston kits are also more than capable of being on a road course as well. I have been in extremely fast S2000s at the track running the 4 pot kit and R compounds and seen them perform flawlessly time in and time out.

Oh, and BTW, the 4 pot kits start at $1k, not 2k

 

I agree with CrazyPhuD with one addition - brake pads make a huge difference as well. I'm a Carbotech Panther+ fan, but I understand there are a lot of fans of the Cobalt products as well.

 

i would be interested in losing some unsprung weight, and could swing the $1K price tag. which kits do you recommend?

 

Sherwin's kits with the Wilwoods are nice but I don't have any first hand experience with them.

Several people in the Toronto forums run Spoon calipers with aggressive Endless pads and I'm telling you it is like Hand Of God stopping power on R-compounds. Totally off the hook.

 

SWEET! do the endless pads squeak in normal everyday driving? can one run spoon calipers with oem pads? i'm not sure i'll be seriously tracking the car or anything, so am ok with the oem brake setup for my purposes, just wouldn't mind shaving some unsprung weight if i can. sorry for the thread hi-jack thanks!