Quote:
Originally Posted by FogCityM3
I am very temped to get this kit when the rears are available. I have a question on the rotor sizes and you alluded to this, but these rotors have lower thermal mass vs other BBKs. I know your kit can handle the heat properly has awesome stopping power, but I am concerned that the heat generated may have an adverse impact on suspension components vs running a BBK with larger rotors/greater thermal mass (or stock brakes but with better pads). I wouldn't want to increase the ambient heat to the suspension. Have you guys done any testing on the actual rotor temps, particularly with a heavy car such as the M3? Thx in advance.
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Hi,
The rear components should be in late this week, so we expect to start shipping the rear kits out next week.
I mentioned it early in this thread, but the efficiency of the discs in our system is far superior to other options. I would certainly stack our AP Racing 72 vane endurance racing disc up against a larger 48 vane disc from a competitor (which is all that they offer to my knowledge). The vane design, number of vanes, wall thickness, etc. all contribute to how cool a disc will run.
I don't have any specific M3 data, but I will tell you that the AP Racing discs consistently run considerably cooler than the competition. We have millions of miles in professional racing to back up our claims about durability and longevity. I'll use NASCAR Sprint Cup as an example. This past weekend Cup cars with AP Racing brakes finished in positions 1-5 and 7-12...more or less a clean sweep. These cars are roughly 3400 lbs. with 900hp...that's about as heavy as the average e92 M3 Coupe being tracked, with about double the horsepower. Most people don't know it, but Sprint Cup cars are tougher on brakes than just about anything (and I do mean anything)! Even if you're not a NASCAR fan (which I'm not...I prefer F1), you have to respect what these cars can do. On the typical Sprint Cup intermediate brake setup, the brake discs would be our AP Racing 70 vane
325x34mm J Hook discs. Again, that is a big, heavy, 200mph car stabbing on the brakes constantly
all day long. These cars are pouring far and away more kinetic energy into their brakes than anyone in a production M3 would be able to muster, and the discs are 20mm smaller in diameter than the discs in our M3 kit. You don't need huge diameter discs...you need thoughtfully designed discs, made from the finest materials, which is what AP offers.
Here's some in-car footage from the Action Express Daytona Prototype that won the 2012 championship on the
exact same discs as the ones in our kit. Think about the speeds from which they are braking, and how much energy they're pouring into the brakes.
Action Express at Sebring
Obviously this car is considerably lighter, but as discussed earlier in the post, speed is of greater significance vs. weight when looking at brake requirements.
Even closer to home, we started shipping our Corvette six piston kits in January and now have about thirty or forty C5, C6, and C7 Corvettes running our kits on tracks all over the country. These kits have the same caliper and disc as our M3 kit. The majority of these cars make 500+ horsepower, weigh 3100-3300 lbs., and run
at least 305 slicks at all four corners. They're slightly lighter, but typically have more power and more mechanical grip than an M3. I haven't had a single customer crack a disc and buy a replacement yet, and some are running every weekend! We have literally hundreds of 500hp vettes running our smaller vette kit which features what many consider a 'small' 325x32mm 70 vane discs. People beat the heck out of those discs and the spares purchase frequency is extraordinarily low.
Bottom line: You should have absolutely no concerns about what the discs in our kit can take. They will take whatever you can dish out, and will hold up better than anything from the competition. AP makes the most stout racing discs in the business, period. Even though the footprint of our discs may be slightly smaller, they're more efficient, run cooler, and last longer than larger, less efficient offerings from competitors. That means less wear and tear on surrounding components, less heat being poured into the pads and calipers, etc. As an added bonus, you'll save a huge amount of unsprung weight vs. other offerings, have better wheel fitment, etc.
I'll also note...in addition to the countless miles of professional racing experience we have to assess, we also have a custom-built brake dyno in our facility. We are constantly running pad and disc tests, and can simulate full race conditions without leaving the control room. You can
see our dyno here.
You have to understand that our brake kits for the M3 are just one very small portion of what Essex does. We have some of the most experienced, finest staff in the industry, and we've been around for 30 years.
Our biggest customers are the most successful teams in professional racing, employ hundreds of staff, and have multimillion dollar budgets. They trust Essex to provide recommendations and brake solutions. I know that every once in a while a company pops up on the forum offering the 'hot new thing.' Then it comes out that the owner of that business is actually an escaped con, pet-rapist, running a ponzi scheme.
That's not us. AP Racing arguably produces the finest brakes on the planet, and our collaboration with them is a potent combination that means something a bit unique for our customers.