Who is up for a challenge? (big brake kit)

[kmillen]

Many of the long term owner's (especially early GTX1 owner's) will remember the discussion's regarding the performance issues with the very first big brake kit available for the Ford GT from Wilwood. Unfortunately, the Wilwood kit was not properly balanced for the Ford GT and we all saw that many owner's were experiencing problem's with the braking bias.

When we (STILLEN/AP Racing) came out with our first big brake option many people were scared off because of the issues seen with the original kits and many felt that it was not possible to make improvements on the Ford GT braking system. The Ford development team definitely produced a very nice system for the GT and we are not trying to say that it isn't adequate for the car. However, improvements are possible and we would like to put our kit to the test.

We would like to offer two or three member's, who regularly track their cars and push their cars hard, a special price on our brake system in exchange for their public review and "testimonial." Having used this exact same brake kit on our Ford GT in the 2008 Targa Rally we are very confident in the performance improvements found with the kit and we are prepared to "put up or shut up." Obviously this kit won't be for everyone but we feel that the owner's who really push their cars hard will benefit greatly from the performance improvement's we have found with the kit. We have sold quite a few of the kits to local owner's as well as owner's in Europe and have received excellent review's. Unfortunately though there haven't been very many discussions about the kits on the forum.

Here is some information on the kits:

http://www.stillen.com/product.asp?id=APBRKIT6P&c=BR&year=2005&make=FORD&model=GT

The front kit uses a 2-piece 14.25" full floating rotor (comes in either cross-drilled and slotted or slotted only) with 6 piston calipers. These kits come complete with all of the hardware and necessary brackets required to do the installation.

The rear kit uses a 2-piece 15" full floating rotor (comes in either cross-drilled/slotted or slotted only, for the GT we recommend slotted only in the rear) with 6 piston calipers and a parking brake extension bracket as well as all of the hardware and brackets necessary to do the installation.

These systems are designed to be direct replacements for your O.E. brakes and will work with your factory wheels.

If you are interested in testing the brake system please shoot me a PM or send me an email at kmillen@stillen.com

 

[fjpikul]

And what kind of pads come with or would we use? Thanks Frank

 

[BlackICE]

Frank all you have to know is they are available in RED!

 

[kmillen]

And what kind of pads come with or would we use? Thanks Frank

These brake kids come standard with the Mintex Xtreme Motorsport pad. It is a pad that is safe for street and performs very well in race conditions.

We do have other pads available if you would like a more aggressive pad.

 

[STORMCAT]

Hummmm... PM Sent !!

 

[kmillen]

Well we have three very reputable member's who have stepped up to the plate and will be receiving their kits soon and begin testing.

Look forward to more information soon!

 

[Cody]

I roasted the stock brakes at the last mile event, I need to get with you.:biggrin

P.S. Still need that race clutch!

 

[Ed Sims]

Stillen/AP Racing brake kit

Kyle - I'm in via Shadowman. I'm excited to give it the road & track test. I have a track event in June at T-hill & July at Sears Point/Infineon with thousands of road miles thrown in. Everyone will get to see the setup in Oct at the Rally (when it hauls the gal from 200+ to slow) but you'll see photos & feedback on a this or a new thread.

Thanks Stillen!!!

Ed

PS I'm still a fan of the OEM brake setup (thanks GT Team!) but I'm installing the Stillen/AP brakes just to try it. I feel it will be better or I wouldn't give it a go - the sponsorship is great incentive - I'm not sure how many sets Kyle can do on this deal but the more the input the better!

 

[roketman]

Brakes only slow you down !!

 

[PL510*Jeff]

Brakes only slow you down !!

You're going to have to change your moniker to roketscientist" with that Revelation!:rofl

 

[911teo]

As a user of the Stillen/AP racing brake kit I am super impressed.

As Kyle said the stock set up is more than adequate for the street. On the track things change a little bit.

The stopping power of the stock system was perfectly fine, but the longevity had become an issue.

I got to the point where I was going through 2 sets of brake pads and 1 set of rotors/discs in 1 day.

Now with the new set up I can pound them all day and never experience any brake fade and the rotors have held up fantastically.

The quality of the full floating set up is incredible. I went for the slotted rotors both in front and at the rears... It is marvellous.

I am still trying different pads (my 1st set that came with the kit lasted 40 miles :ack) and right now I am using some PAGID RS29 Yellow.

I was at Silverstone yesterday and I really pushed it very hard and I think I still have 2 days left on the pads.

The rotors do not seem to show any wear.

At this point for me the hold back factor are the tyres.... but I have a second set of wheels with Hoosiers coming :biggrin

Welldone to Stillen!

 

[911teo]

Me in action.... the rotors are just phenomenal and once you find the pads suited to your application there will be nothing stopping (pun intended) you....

 

[TrackDay]

Hi Guys,
It’s taken me a long time to report back about the Stillen AP big brake kit but I’ve finally got several track days on the kit (along with thousands of street miles).

As Shadowman advised earlier several things had to be tweaked for the kit to properly fit but once installed everything worked out fine. However, Kyle and his people were available to help direct us on the minor modifications necessary to get this kit to fit properly.

Very little clearance exists between the front calipers and the front rims so it will require the front wheel weights to be moved inward a bit to clear the calipers.

I went with the grooved AP floating rotors (no drill holes) with the hope for longer life. However time did not allow liquid N2 Cryo freezing. My next set of AP rotors will get the Cryo treatment.
The kit once installed provides a very firm pedal (as firm as the OEM set up). The ABS system works fine even near lock up and beyond on the track with race slicks.

Last year I ran the AP set up with the Stillen Mintex Extreme pads. These were recommended by Stillen for street and track use. These pads worked fine for the street. Unfortunately these same pads on the track just could not take the temperatures even though I was very careful to gradually bed them in. As a result two days of track time last year was a bust with lots to fade and spooky moments. So I do not recommend these pads for track use. The stock compound Ferodo DS2500 or DS3000 pads are superior pads for street and track. The Ferodo pads hold up very well to the higher temperatures required at the track if you bed the pads properly. The good news is that the DS2500 or 3000 Ferodo pads are available for the big AP caliper along with many other brands of pads and this was one of my reasons for installing the AP system.

This year I installed a new set of pads from Essex Parts. I put several thousand street miles on their RC6 CL (Carbone Lorraine) Sintered pads and this year I have already used them for 5 very hard track days. The pad bedding process was very short and no matter how hard I pushed these pads never gave any sign of fade, providing very linear grip. I can also report that the rotors show very little sign of wear even with all those street miles and track abuse. The pads themselves look like they will hold up the reminder of the year (at least another 5 track days). By now I would normally be at a point where I’m considering changing out my rotors and would have gone through two sets of Ferodo pads. So I can say these RC6 pads are amazing. Best of all the Essex RC6 pads work great even in freezing temperatures and very heavy rain. The down side to these pads are that they squeak a lot under light braking on the street, and rattle inside the calipers due to the fact that they do not have a plastic anti-rattle backing plate. However, the RC6 CL pads perform perfectly for every day driving. The other option I can recommend is to use the RC6 pad just for the track and swap back to the DS2500 or DS3000 pad for every day driving.

Another piece of good news is that the Essex RC6 pads are also available from Essex Parts for the stock Brembo caliper. So I highly recommend these for those that plan to take their cars out on the track. Two other members have already used these on the track with the stock OEM Brembo set up and have reported back that they work very well.

Those that do plan track days I recommend the following:

Stock OEM Brembo set up:
Get your stock rotors Cryo treated.
Install brake cooling ducts.
Bleed your brake fluid and switch to the Castrol SFR fluid
Use the Ferodo DS2500 or DS3000 pad if you plan just one or two track days each year.
For more than one or two track days then install the Essex Parts RC6 CL pads (ask for Ryan and he will hook you up).
Extra added insurance would be to use the two piece Brembo floating rotors (have them Cryo Frozen).

For the AP kit:
Install brake cooling ducts.
Bleed your brake fluid and switch to the Castrol SFR fluid
Use the Ferodo DS2500 or DS3000 pad if you plan just one or two track days each year.
For more than one or two track days then install the Essex Parts RC6 CL pads (ask for Ryan and he will hook you up).
Extra added insurance would be to have your AP rotors Cryo frozen to provide a little longer life.

Special thanks to Kyle at Stillen for putting this very nice kit together.
Special thanks to Bob at Ida Automotive for the installation.
Special thanks also to Ryan at Essex Parts for supplying such an amazing brake pad.