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View Poll Results: AP, Brembo or StopTech. Post your reviews!
Brembo 26 42.62%
APracing 15 24.59%
StopTech 25 40.98%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 61. You may not vote on this poll

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      10-11-2012, 10:09 PM   #1
BimmerRob08
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AP, Brembo or StopTech?

I'm in the market for new brakes. Please post your experiances, problems, pro's/con's, etc.

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      10-11-2012, 10:56 PM   #2
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Brembo, I have had them on my 2008 and now my 2011 M3. They work great and give me tremendous stopping ability on the tracking without fade.

The only issue, after 3 years they have two small chips in their red paint.
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      10-12-2012, 05:19 AM   #3
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Why not include/consider Performance Friction? I have their kit installed on my e92 M3 and it.
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      10-12-2012, 05:49 AM   #4
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      10-12-2012, 06:14 AM   #5
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      10-12-2012, 06:20 AM   #6
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Brembo is top shelf, but how difficult/time consuming is pad change on Brembo's? I know ST is fast & easy. There's also a thread that compares replacement pads & rotors you may want to look at. If $ isn't a concern & you kept it on the street, I'd go Brembo. If you go to the track every other weekend & switch out pads or just want to save some coin, I'd go ST. After I purchased my ST I thought maybe I should have went Brembo only because they are top shelf, but like I said - the ST's are fast & easy to switch pads. I like my ST's.
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      10-12-2012, 06:48 AM   #7
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I have the alcons and they are great and also have the removable bridge up front for easy pad swaps. They have seen a ton of track time as well as close to 40k and surviving Chicago winters. The only issue has nothing to do with performance just supply chain lead time issues which they're working on. As a product they work flawlessly and I'm testing them
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      10-12-2012, 07:00 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moxie View Post
If you go to the track every other weekend & switch out pads or just want to save some coin, I'd go ST. After I purchased my ST I thought maybe I should have went Brembo only because they are top shelf, but like I said - the ST's are fast & easy to switch pads. I like my ST's.
+1, but I never had a 2nd thought after my ST purchase. They're ridiculously good.
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      10-12-2012, 07:54 AM   #9
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Cant go wrong with any of those and the Alcons that were mentioned. For me being a track junkie it came down to 18" Wheel selection and quick pad changes so I went with AP Racing. Wheel choices are more plentiful now, but I still like the idea of the removable bridge if that is a consideration for you.
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      10-12-2012, 08:07 AM   #10
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Go with what is convenient and easiest to change pads. The m3 will not even come close to being able to use a good 6 piston caliper to its full potential. We run AP on most of our race cars and PF on some.
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      10-12-2012, 08:54 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kawasaki00 View Post
Go with what is convenient and easiest to change pads. The m3 will not even come close to being able to use a good 6 piston caliper to its full potential. We run AP on most of our race cars and PF on some.
Say it ain't so!
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      10-12-2012, 09:30 AM   #12
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Go with whatever fits your budget best. They will all work great. Ease of pad changes are overrated regardless of how much of a track junkie you are since there is no real rush to get them changed at a track day.

I am running the Brembos on mine.
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      10-12-2012, 10:20 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by THE TECH View Post
Go with whatever fits your budget best. They will all work great. Ease of pad changes are overrated regardless of how much of a track junkie you are since there is no real rush to get them changed at a track day.
+1 - I can change pads in the PFC calipers with a fixed bridge in the same amount of time it used to take me to swap pads in the AP calipers on my old e46 M3.
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      10-12-2012, 10:52 AM   #14
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Thanks all for the reviews. keep them coming!
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      10-12-2012, 10:58 AM   #15
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Can't add an additional poll for Alcon brakes but I'd like to hear more about them as i'm not familiar with them.

RB
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      10-12-2012, 12:08 PM   #16
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from a performance stance you can't go wrong with any of them but I chose ST Trophy because of the easy pad changes, one of the best in forms of the 380mm clearing an 18' wheel, and in my research they seemed to be the cheapest as far as replacement parts.
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      10-12-2012, 01:27 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by THE TECH View Post
Ease of pad changes are overrated regardless of how much of a track junkie you are since there is no real rush to get them changed at a track day.
I think this is very much a personal preference thing. I would not get the 6-pot Brembos specifically because I've had them and the pad changing was a huge pain in the butt. On that kit they used an aluminum bracket for mounting the caliper (which you have to remove to swap pads) and that bracket is very easy to crossthread and the threads wear out over time so had to get new brackets after a single year of track driving.

Last edited by sleepless; 10-12-2012 at 02:31 PM..
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      10-12-2012, 01:28 PM   #18
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Good info. I'm looking closely at the ST's because of price and they look good too IMO. Well they all look good installed. But Pad changing is important too, especially if its going to be frequent.

But most of all I'm looking for which brakes will be the least maintainence intensive, longer lasting and durable for street/light track/sport driving.

I won't be tracking heavily unless someday I move close to a track so street/sport driving is the majority of what I do.
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      10-12-2012, 01:38 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sleepless View Post
I think this is very much a personal preference thing. I would not get the 6-pot Brembos specifically because I've had them and the pad changing was a huge pain in the butt. On that kit they used an aluminum bracket for the caliper, which you have to remove to swap pads, and that bracket is very easy to crossthread and the threads wear out over time so had to get new brackets after a single year of track driving.
There is no bracket that needs to be removed to change pads.
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      10-12-2012, 02:19 PM   #20
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Quote:
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There is no bracket that needs to be removed to change pads.
The bracket doesn't need to be removed, but the caliper does need to be removed from the bracket.
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      10-12-2012, 02:21 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sleepless View Post
The bracket doesn't need to be removed, but the caliper does need to be removed from the bracket.
Correct.
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      10-13-2012, 01:37 AM   #22
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I agree that pad changes with the Brembo's are harder than they should be. Especially when you're trying to protect the caliper finish while you have them hanging or supported off the mounting bracket. Wish they had the removable bridge like the latest models have, but there's no disputing that they're great brakes otherwise.
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