The Evolution of Brakes:Essex/AP Racing Radi-CAL Pro5000R Comp. Kits, must see!

[Cloud9blue]

Seriously, if you guys make a E9x non-M kit for the front axle (can't be that hard can it? just need a different mounting bracket). I would buy it in a heartbeat, considering you guys probably have the best support for aftermarket BBKs on this side of pond...

[jritt@essex]

Originally Posted by Cloud9blue

Seriously, if you guys make a E9x non-M kit for the front axle (can't be that hard can it? just need a different mounting bracket). I would buy it in a heartbeat, considering you guys probably have the best support for aftermarket BBKs on this side of pond...

Thanks for the kind words. We have talked about looking at the 335 as a potential candidate for BBK's. If you lived in Charlotte NC I'd have you bring it by!

Creating new applications isn't as simple as it seems. You can't just slap the parts designed for one car onto another. Well, you actually can (and some manufacturers do), but there's a good chance the resulting product will be a steaming pile.

A lot of time and effort goes into a proper BBK design. The caliper brackets, disc hats, and brake lines are all custom designed for each car. We also have to use different piston and disc diameter combos for each application to make sure the brake torque output/balance is correct, and it integrates seamlessly with ABS, etc. In some cases the required components are in our parts bin. In other cases we need to have new components made, or we modify the ones we already have. This is all done by our engineering team in CAD, measurements taken on a Coordinate Measuring Machine, programming for CNC mills is required, etc. It's not an easy or cheap process to do well. Some companies slap a 'good enough' bunch of parts together, but that's not what we do or offer. When someone buys one of our kits, they know they're getting a proper, custom solution for their car that has had a ton of thought, effort, and time put into it.

Every once in a while we do get lucky though. A kit for one car may only require minor tweaks to integrate properly on a different car. We love that, but it rarely happens unfortunately!

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by jritt@essex

Thanks for the kind words. We have talked about looking at the 335 as a potential candidate for BBK's. If you lived in Charlotte NC I'd have you bring it by!

Creating new applications isn't as simple as it seems. You can't just slap the parts designed for one car onto another. Well, you actually can (and some manufacturers do), but there's a good chance the resulting product will be a steaming pile.

A lot of time and effort goes into a proper BBK design. The caliper brackets, disc hats, and brake lines are all custom designed for each car. We also have to use different piston and disc diameter combos for each application to make sure the brake torque output/balance is correct, and it integrates seamlessly with ABS, etc. In some cases the required components are in our parts bin. In other cases we need to have new components made, or we modify the ones we already have. This is all done by our engineering team in CAD, measurements taken on a Coordinate Measuring Machine, programming for CNC mills is required, etc. It's not an easy or cheap process to do well. Some companies slap a 'good enough' bunch of parts together, but that's not what we do or offer. When someone buys one of our kits, they know they're getting a proper, custom solution for their car that has had a ton of thought, effort, and time put into it.

Every once in a while we do get lucky though. A kit for one car may only require minor tweaks to integrate properly on a different car. We love that, but it rarely happens unfortunately!

Agree, piston area of the BBK need to closely match the stock caliper for it to function correctly. That said, I think the difference in the piston area between the M (not exactly sure, but they look almost identical, considering we all use the same pad shape between 335i and M3) and non-M e9x (57mm diameter, single piston) is minimal, so I think all we need is a different mounting bracket. Rotor hats and such are all interchangeable between all e9x. Btw, what's the piston area for these calipers anyway? I like how you guys just focus on the front axle, since the stock rear axle is never the problem with these cars (unless you just have to have match calipers for looks).

Too bad I am at Midwest, or else I would love to drop by sometimes and take a look what you guys can offer. But if you ever want someone to beat the crap of his brakes at Road America, so let me know

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by redpriest

Ordered the CP9660!

CP9668 will not clear 19" competition ZCP wheels unfortunately - they will clear an APEX EC-7 18"x10" ET25 wheel though with plenty of room, and 9660 caliper clears both with ease. Can't wait to see this mounted in person!

Some pictures of the CP9668 template against my wheels:

Competition wheel - really, really close - heat expansion might get the two to contact - need a spacer, I think.


Apex EC-7 wheel - plenty, plenty of room.

Check out turner for spacers. They also have a ton of info and their spacers are very light weight.

[redpriest]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

Check out turner for spacers. They also have a ton of info and their spacers are very light weight.

Too late Didn't want to mess with spacers just yet.

[Casey@RWE]

So excited to put these on our race car for the 25 hour of Thunderhill.

[jritt@essex]

These kits are now shipping gents. We've already had some tearing up racetracks around the country this past weekend.

[redpriest]

It's been a busy and fun filled week! Jeff helped me get these suckers ready for my track weekend at Buttonwillow/Willow Springs, and boy did these things rule! I posted my full review of the service I got from Jeff and Essex here - they were phenomenal.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...57&postcount=1

I purchased the AP Racing Radi-CAL by Essex CP9660 caliper for the fronts, given that they clear the 19" OEM competition wheels without using a spacer. Jeff gave me the necessary templates far in advance so I was able to measure my wheels. The CP9668 do clear my track wheels (Apex EC-7 ET25 18x10), but I didn't want to mess with spacers.

I went with the existing brake set for the rear, the CP5040 cailpers. Jeff pulled out all the stops to get this brake set to me in time - the brackets for the fronts were literally out of the machine shop and overnighted to me for install the very next day. Well worth it.

These are beautiful calipers and rotors, worthy of pictures alone - here's a few done up by the shop at Performance Technic:





As you can see, I purchased the burnished rotors service and they were well worth the cost - don't have to mess with trying to do this myself prior to going to the track, or wasting the first session braking/bedding them in.

Here's a picture of the front calipers being mounted at the shop:


My iphone photo of the work in progress:



And here's my car at both tracks!

At Buttonwillow:



At Willow Springs:



I've only started tracking my car this year, but I have 9 track days and 1 autocross under my belt so far. After running into brake fade at Thunderhill 5 mile coming up the cyclone which caused me to slide off the track and downhill sideways, I decided that I had enough playing around with the stock brake system and went for these.

They got lots of attention at both track days as people came by to ask specifically about them. They are lookers for sure and any serious track enthusiast will want to know about them!

Willow Springs (Big Willow) is a very fast, very unforgiving track. There are numerous videos of people going off on turn 9 and wasting their car in the process, so you need to be absolutely sure your equipment is up to snuff.

My fastest lap here was 1:38.62 - this is my second trip here; my first was a bust related to my tires so didn't really get a chance to test the car until this past Sunday, and the car passed with flying colors, thanks in part to these phenomenal brakes.

Average speed throughout the entire 2.47 mile line I took was 90.2 mph. Max speed down the main straight was 130.7 mph! The main straight dives into a 90 degree left hand turn, and you need to be absolutely confident that your brakes are going to do their job at the end of this straight.

They did the trick without question every time. I didn't even think about it. There was no hesitation, just dive in and press the pedal. Feedback through the pedal was great and completely confidence inspiring. It did this lap after lap after lap. I did an open session of around 40 minutes of continuous driving with no fade. The only reason I stopped was to fill up on gas, and after that realizing I had corded my tires!

The brake fluid I used with this was Castrol SRF React - with this 1-2 combination, this set is unbeatable.

I highly recommend this braking system - because at the end of the day you want to know you and your car are coming back safely. Why compromise?

[Hujan]

Awesome, review. These things look good. Would be cool to see a matching rear for the new front kit.

[m3aviator]

In to see what the rears are gonna look like!

[redpriest]

Here they are in action at Chuckwalla this weekend, love these brakes!

[Striker73]

Any updates on the rear set?

Red priest, The E92 looks x5 times sexier with those BBK!! Tear up some race tracks and enjoy it!

[jritt@essex]

Originally Posted by Striker73

Any updates on the rear set?

Red priest, The E92 looks x5 times sexier with those BBK!! Tear up some race tracks and enjoy it!

We have a killer rear kit already that a whole bunch of people are using and loving. Are you specifically talking about a Radi-CAL rear caliper? If so, no we don't have a date. We're still working on a caliper design with AP Racing. It will be a while. Thanks.

[jritt@essex]

Hello Gents,
I hope you're all off to a great start in 2016. We had a great year in 2015 as we finally got hot and heavy in the BMW market. Thank you all for your continued support! We've been extremely busy over the winter. We launched our new website, filmed some cool technical videos on our products (below), and are plowing our way through a great deal of R&D on a variety of BMW platforms.

You can follow our latest developments on our blog and on our Facebook page. Please 'like' our FB page if you haven't yet done so!

Who is Essex?

Have you ever wondered who was on the other end of the line when you call Essex for brake advice? In this video we give you a peek behind the curtain, and show you some of the tools we use to bring you the latest brake technology on the planet.

AP Racing J Hook Brake Discs

What design elements and features make our discs the most trusted choice in professional and amateur motorsports? Find out how our discs can help you lower temperatures, weight, and lap times.

Ferodo Racing Brake Pads
Founded in England in 1897, Ferodo was the first company in the world to be entirely dedicated to the design and manufacture of friction products! Ferodo is an OEM supplier to the world's leading car manufacturers, and are used by many of the top names in motorsports. The Ferodo Racing pad range includes some of the most advanced braking materials available today.

AP Racing Radi-CAL Brake Fluid
AP Racing offers the perfect brake fluid for your car, regardless of whether you're chasing groceries or lap times. Superior performance at competitive prices, and Essex always has inventory on the shelf when you need it.

Finally...here is your gratuitous brake porn pic of the day...a batch of AP Racing Radi-CAL brake calipers in for re-certification. You can click here to read more about what we do with these beauties when they arrive at our HQ.

[e92zero]

Very very nice!

[jritt@essex]

Thanks guys...just as an FYI...if you know anyone with an F80/F82 M3 or M4, we'll be releasing our Essex Designed AP Racing Competition Brake Kit for that car very soon. Below you can see the AP Racing CP9660 and CP9668 six piston calipers flanking the BMW M4 front OEM four piston caliper. The 9660 weighs 6.1 lbs...the 9668 weighs 6.8 lbs...the OEM front M4 caliper weighs 8.0 lbs. The AP calipers weigh that much less despite having two extra pistons and a considerably larger footprint! One of the big eye-openers is pads. Look at the CP9668's 25mm thick pads vs. the stock ones (far right vs. middle)...a lot more beef!

Also notice the lovely blue-green burnt paint on the outer face of the OEM unit, after tracking the car only a handful of times.

One of these things is not like the others...



It's looking like our front kit is going to shave about 8 or 9 lbs. off the nose of the F80/F82. It's also looking like both our CP9660 and CP9668 kits will clear the OEM wheels without a spacer. They'll also both fit inside many 18" wheels.

Ultimate track big brake kit...different car, same results...yes!

[jritt@essex]

Yost Autosport just published a video that shows our Essex Designed CP9668/372mm Pro5000R Radi-CAL BBK in action on their e92 M3 during the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. You can see the front discs glowing orange at about 12:28 into the video. The kit on the front of their car is the exact same, off-the-shelf kit our customers can buy for their own e92.

[jritt@essex]

Essex/AP Racing Big Brake Kit Owners, We Need Your Help!

If you, or someone you know, purchased a product from Essex Parts Services in recent years, please read on. You’ll have a chance to win some really cool prizes!
Essex completely redesigned our website over the winter, and we’re looking to populate our product reviews with quality customer feedback. If you could spare a few minutes we'd love for you to write a product review on our site. We will publish these reviews on our website, blog, social media pages, magazine ads, etc. We don’t want you to write a sales pitch, we just want your honest opinion. If we’ve helped you enjoy your car more, please consider returning the favor!

Free Stuff!

We know that your time is valuable, so we’re offering some great incentives for your efforts. If you write a review, your name will be entered into a drawing for a number of great prizes including free brake lines, pads, fluid, and spare AP Racing J Hook discs!

For big brake kit owners, your submission must include at least two photos (a profile shot of your car and a close-up of the entire wheel, brakes & tire) and the wheel specifications that you’re running with the brake kit (17x8.5 +33 and if they require a wheel spacer). This valuable info will help us create a more robust wheel fitment database to assist other customers. Any other photos, video, list of race wins, etc. are optional but highly encouraged. Finally, please do not submit anything that you wouldn’t want circulated publicly!

What Do I Write?

Below are some potential elements to consider for your review. Hopefully these bullet points will get your gears turning:
• Your experience level & driving history
o (e.g.- I have been tracking cars for 10 years with NASA, PCA, etc.)
• How has the product you bought from Essex enhanced your driving experience?
o (e.g.- No longer have to bleed brakes between every track session, can brake later, easier to pass, etc.)
• Problems that the product solved (e.g.- pad fade, disc cracking, soft pedal, etc.)
• Favorite product feature
• Comparison to other products you’ve tried in the past
• Overall ownership experience...how easy it to live with?
• Customer service by Essex before and after initial sale
• Documentation and ease of install
• Would you buy it again, and would you recommend it to a friend?
• Anything about the product that you think could be improved?
• Race or event wins the product helped you achieve
• As outlined above, at least two pictures and wheel spec info must be included with Competition Brake Kit reviews!

Where & How Do I Write the Review?
1. Find the product you purchased on our site.
2. Click the “Owner Reviews” tab below the blue “Add to Cart” button.
3. Click the “log in” link to either log in or create an account if you don’t yet have one.
4. Write an honest assessment of the products you purchased from Essex.
5. Be prepared to collect extravagant spoils for your efforts! Some of the items we’ll be giving away are worth close to $1,000!

If our assistance has helped you further enjoy your car, please take a moment to tell the world about it. Your opinions mean a lot to us, and they will allow us to keep releasing products for enthusiasts like you. Again, thank you very much, and we hope you have a safe and fast 2016 track season!

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by jritt@essex

Thanks guys...just as an FYI...if you know anyone with an F80/F82 M3 or M4, we'll be releasing our Essex Designed AP Racing Competition Brake Kit for that car very soon. Below you can see the AP Racing CP9660 and CP9668 six piston calipers flanking the BMW M4 front OEM four piston caliper. The 9660 weighs 6.1 lbs...the 9668 weighs 6.8 lbs...the OEM front M4 caliper weighs 8.0 lbs. The AP calipers weigh that much less despite having two extra pistons and a considerably larger footprint! One of the big eye-openers is pads. Look at the CP9668's 25mm thick pads vs. the stock ones (far right vs. middle)...a lot more beef!

Also notice the lovely blue-green burnt paint on the outer face of the OEM unit, after tracking the car only a handful of times.

One of these things is not like the others...



It's looking like our front kit is going to shave about 8 or 9 lbs. off the nose of the F80/F82. It's also looking like both our CP9660 and CP9668 kits will clear the OEM wheels without a spacer. They'll also both fit inside many 18" wheels.

Ultimate track big brake kit...different car, same results...yes!

I have to ask, is there enough fluid in our brake fluid reservoir to account for the fluid displacement in the caliper when pistons are pushed all the way out when these thicker pads are worn down.

[jritt@essex]

We just finished up some great new videos on our Competition BBK's. We walk through each of the kit components and look at the shortcomings of road brakes when used on the track. Check them out below...they're worth a watch, and more to come!

Essex Designed AP Racing Competition Brake Kits Part I

Essex Designed AP Racing Competition Brake Kits Part II

[jritt@essex]

[jritt@essex]

We just added some additional videos...check 'em out gents!