Fake Brembos

[Redd]

Used to be it was very hard to fake monobloc calipers. Well the counterfeiters have caught up. This is a fake Brembo GT monobloc caliper from China that looks exactly like the ones for the E9x M3. Can you spot the difference?

Caveat emptor.

[roastbeef]

it would be really hard to tell from a pic. they could even post pics of a real kit, and sell fakes. i'm not sure what you could do other than buy from a licensed distributor or be super knowledgeable and have some awareness of where the parts are coming from.

[Redd]

Yup. Just worried that some of the used kits floating around might be fakes.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by Redd

Yup. Just worried that some of the used kits floating around might be fakes.

So let me ask this... how did you know this one was fake?

[Redd]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

So let me ask this... how did you know this one was fake?

Got the pic off AliExpress. Brand new front kit with rotors and lines for that price.

[dparm]

Jesus Christ, it's terrifying to think of something like this being counterfeited.

[inTgr8r]

^exactly my thought

Its one thing to copy an iPhone, but its entirely different when it comes to safety.

[BayE30]

Is this any different that the off name BBK out there for the last few years? Ksport, Sparta, etc?

[Cbozz]

Originally Posted by Redd

Used to be it was very hard to fake monobloc calipers. Well the counterfeiters have caught up. This is a fake Brembo GT monobloc caliper from China that looks exactly like the ones for the E9x M3. Can you spot the difference?

Caveat emptor.

how bad you think this guys feels!!!
I saw his instagram and He's dropped some money on his car, repainted it, SC, HRE and fake BRCMBO GT from China! Reason I spotted the calipers being fake is because my friend almost bought set like this for super cheap. New and if you look at the name it says BRCMBO and not BREMBO... also the mounts for the rotor are different and that's how my friend figured it out!!!

[SpartaEvolution]

Originally Posted by SFCM3

Is this any different that the off name BBK out there for the last few years? Ksport, Sparta, etc?

FYI, we design & engineer our own calipers in house, purchase our custom made forging blocks from a T1 supplier, and do all the machining on our own 5-axis mills. How many Chinese manufacturers do you know sponsoring 25h of Thunderhill teams and NASA/SCCA race cars?

[Bomiz]

Originally Posted by SpartaEvolution

FYI, we design & engineer our own calipers in house, purchase our custom made forging blocks from a T1 supplier, and do all the machining on our own 5-axis mills. How many Chinese manufacturers do you know sponsoring 25h of Thunderhill teams and NASA/SCCA race cars?

you tell him

[SpartaEvolution]

Originally Posted by Bomiz

you tell him

I may have taken the 'Chinese knockoff' comment a little personally, but it's tough for a small company to make a name when there's a few giants that dominate the industry, and as was highlighted by that comment, public perception is one of the biggest battles. Gotta set the record straight haha

The caliper OP made this thread about might function perfectly on the M3, but at that price-point, I can guarantee they cut corners somewhere, be it improper tempering of the Al hats/adapters leading to fatigue failure, poor machining leading to stress risers, low carbon rotors, or just a lack of FEA analysis or actual testing. We have even read about a few companies that use the exact same caliper for every application, meaning they don't change or taper piston sizes depending on master cylinder size, rotor size, gvw, tire setup, OE brake bias etc. Sparta has over 40 different caliper configurations depending on the application, which are specifically engineered to maintain bias' and function of OE safety systems (ABS, TCS etc), and prevent pad taper.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by SpartaEvolution

FYI, we design & engineer our own calipers in house, purchase our custom made forging blocks from a T1 supplier, and do all the machining on our own 5-axis mills. How many Chinese manufacturers do you know sponsoring 25h of Thunderhill teams and NASA/SCCA race cars?

i think he mean it like anyone can knockoff any caliper and sell it as a fake- not just brembos.

[Bomiz]

Originally Posted by SpartaEvolution

I may have taken the 'Chinese knockoff' comment a little personally, but it's tough for a small company to make a name when there's a few giants that dominate the industry, and as was highlighted by that comment, public perception is one of the biggest battles. Gotta set the record straight haha

The caliper OP made this thread about might function perfectly on the M3, but at that price-point, I can guarantee they cut corners somewhere, be it improper tempering of the Al hats/adapters leading to fatigue failure, poor machining leading to stress risers, low carbon rotors, or just a lack of FEA analysis or actual testing. We have even read about a few companies that use the exact same caliper for every application, meaning they don't change or taper piston sizes depending on master cylinder size, rotor size, gvw, tire setup, OE brake bias etc. Sparta has over 40 different caliper configurations depending on the application, which are specifically engineered to maintain bias' and function of OE safety systems (ABS, TCS etc), and prevent pad taper.

If you'd like i'll gladly take a set for 80% Off and make sure it works as intended on my car.

[Redd]

You definitely don't want to gamble on fake calipers.

[BayE30]

Originally Posted by SpartaEvolution

FYI, we design & engineer our own calipers in house, purchase our custom made forging blocks from a T1 supplier, and do all the machining on our own 5-axis mills. How many Chinese manufacturers do you know sponsoring 25h of Thunderhill teams and NASA/SCCA race cars?

i was curious who would respond to my comment, glad you are present in our little community. so are your products made in USA then?

[SpartaEvolution]

Originally Posted by SFCM3

i was curious who would respond to my comment, glad you are present in our little community. so are your products made in USA then?

Happy to be here! BMW has been our bread'n'butter since we started, and we've learned a lot from these forums when building our own project cars.

As for 'made in the US' - yes and no. All the prototyping, testing, engineering etc is done here in the states. Forging blocks for the calipers are sourced from South Korea, and production machining is done at our Sparta facility in SK as well. The machined blocks are then shipped here to our office just outside Seattle, where we inspect the blocks, manage the finish coating, then do the caliper assembly, final inspection / pressure testing etc. BBK rotors are cast and machined here in the states.

Thread un-jacked

[dparm]

Originally Posted by Cbozz

how bad you think this guys feels!!!
I saw his instagram and He's dropped some money on his car, repainted it, SC, HRE and fake BRCMBO GT from China! Reason I spotted the calipers being fake is because my friend almost bought set like this for super cheap. New and if you look at the name it says BRCMBO and not BREMBO... also the mounts for the rotor are different and that's how my friend figured it out!!!

That picture really baffles me. He has expensive HRE wheels, sticky Cup 2 tires, a supercharger, and then is a cheapskate on a crucial safety item?

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by SpartaEvolution

Happy to be here! BMW has been our bread'n'butter since we started, and we've learned a lot from these forums when building our own project cars.

As for 'made in the US' - yes and no. All the prototyping, testing, engineering etc is done here in the states. Forging blocks for the calipers are sourced from South Korea, and production machining is done at our Sparta facility in SK as well. The machined blocks are then shipped here to our office just outside Seattle, where we inspect the blocks, manage the finish coating, then do the caliper assembly, final inspection / pressure testing etc. BBK rotors are cast and machined here in the states.

Thread un-jacked

Do you purchase your Al blocks to AMS or ASTM material specs or ??? Are they lot tested to verify each lot satisfies spec requirements for material composition, strength, hardness, etc.?

[Redd]

Originally Posted by dparm

That picture really baffles me. He has expensive HRE wheels, sticky Cup 2 tires, a supercharger, and then is a cheapskate on a crucial safety item?

There are reputable tuning shops in my country selling knockoff Brembos as 'original Brembo calipers with aftermarket rotors and lines' for about 30% of the price of an original Brembo GT kit. Maybe the guy above just didn't know better.

[Cbozz]

Originally Posted by dparm

That picture really baffles me. He has expensive HRE wheels, sticky Cup 2 tires, a supercharger, and then is a cheapskate on a crucial safety item?

thing is that he may not know... this happened to my friend whom almost got scammed... they were selling those as original Brembo....
I messaged this guy to let him know..

[roastbeef]

People are also pretty dumb. Look at all the variations and garbage some Brembo retrofit "companies" are making. And suckers eat it up and pretend it works great.