Thanks Guys.
For the record, we are only able to sell our Competition BBK's for off-road use only. The inside cover of the instruction manual will have a statement verifying that fact. I just want to be completely clear on that!
I think people tend to severely underestimate what they're actually getting with a big brake kit. In my opinion, the cost is justifiable from a number of angles.
If you are looking for unsprung weight reduction, I don't think you'll find a solution that weighs as little as ours, while providing anywhere near the same performance. The components are extremely lightweight, yet incredibly durable. As you know, when 'adding lightness,' each pound of weight reduction becomes more expensive the further you dig into the car. It's easy to remove the first 100 lbs., slightly less easy to take out the next 100, and then you're scrounging to find unnecessary ounces, and spending big $ to replace them with an alternative. We've all been there on our track cars. After you've addressed wheels, stripping close to 40 lbs. from the car, particularly unsprung weight, is darn near impossible in any other manner. For me the cost of the brake kit are almost justifiable for the weight reduction alone. The laundry list of other benefits are gravy. Then again I'm a bit silly on weight reduction, and have a 2,000 lb. Miata in my fleet.
I was also into autoX back in the day, and I can't imagine a better brake solution if it is allowable in the class rules.
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Great thread. This was a good read, as was your thread on the hidden benefits of BBK. It convinced me to think seriously about a BBK. The thing that really convinced me is the idea of keeping my OEM brakes in near new condition, beating up on a BBK at the track, then putting the OEM brakes back on when I go to sell the car.
For someone who will do, say, 6-12 track days a year, but who daily drives their M3, would you still recommend this kit, or would you steer me towards something else?
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Thanks! People don't always think about the big picture. They're more often focused on the short-term initial cash outlay. Every time a BBK thread pops up the masses scream, "You don't NEED a big brake kit!" But it's not just about
need. Nobody needs a $4,000 set of wheels, an $8,000 supercharger setup, or a $4,000 titanium exhaust setup either! They still buy them, and at the time of purchase most people think about them in terms of their residual value. For some reason however, people tend not to think of brakes that way. Obviously brakes get worn, but good quality components hold both their performance and value quite well.
Rather than
need, it's about making logical decisions based on all of the available data and your plan for the car. I'm an analyst by nature, and I always tell people to look at a roughly 3-5 year period. That's how long most of us tend to own our cars, then we're off to the latest next best thing. When you put the numbers to paper, a BBK starts to make a whole lot of sense. Most notably, people ignore the fact that an AP Racing BBK has a great residual value. If you spend $3500 on a front kit now and run it for three years, you'll conservatively get 50% back for it (obviously depending on condition) when you part your car ($1800). That means you only had $1800 of sunk cost. If during those years the kit also reduced your pad usage rate by 30% and your disc usage rate by 50%, that could easily be a $1,000 over a few years. When you throw money at OEM-style replacement discs, that money is gone...to the dumpster, without any residual value. How many fewer times will you need to bleed the brakes with a BBK (which is at least $50 per bleed)? How much less wear and tear is on the ball joints, etc.? How many track sessions will you miss that you already paid for if you have brake problems? You start to realize that the BBK will likely save you money over that time period, and your OEM brakes can be dropped back onto the car without sinking money into them. Sure there's an opportunity cost for not having your $3600 of BBK money for those three years, but your return on that money probably wouldn't be anything to write home about unless you bought Tesla stock with it two years ago.
I've probably said it a million times over the past decade, but people also severely underestimate the value of not having to mess with their brakes at the track. The time between sessions is
always too short. When you're instructing you constantly have to deal with students, their sessions, your own car, their car, etc...it's hectic. Everyone wants to chill with their friends in the downtime and bench race. Nobody wants to be under the car cursing, bleeding, and covered in brake fluid. Also, when the brakes working well you have more fun. You get into the 'zone,' you have some fun cat-and-mouse with other cars, you aren't thinking about them, you're just driving, learning, and having fun. That's the goal of a track day, and people lose sight of that. If you're racing, you don't have to look in your mirrors as much, you can focus on squeezing out a few extra feet at the end of each straight, and it's one less thing to think about.
Anyway, it's Friday, it's been a long week, and I'm starting to ramble! In summary, I think there is a lengthy list of reasons why a BBK is a logical purchase. For me, there are a number of points on the benefit list that would justify the initial cash outlay on their own. When you throw them all together, it starts to look like a no-brainer in many situations. Obviously, it's not for everybody, and it is a substantial chunk of money. I will say this though...in 10 years of selling aftermarket brake kits, I've never had a single customer say, "I wish I didn't buy that big brake kit!" Never, not once. In most cases the customer takes their car out to the track and then thanks me profusely on Monday morning. That makes me really like my job because I end up looking like the hero, all while not having to do too much complex math. Mwuahahah...glad I went for the Econ degree instead of the ME route!
