gsnav

Hey Guys,

I feel that even with the tests that are out there with brakes, the tests are into inconclusive. It seems that the stopping distance go down by very little if any with big brake kits. It seems like big brake kits are only useful if you are repeatedly using the brakes like on track, but for a daily driver like me, i'm not sure what the advantages are. Cause if you put on the wrong setup on the car, you could actually be stopping longer than you would with stock depending on front bias or rear bias. I wanted someone else's opinion on brake system and if they actually do improve for the daily driver. Any technical details would be great too. Thanks Guys. Would it be better to spend $1200 on a driving school and know that you have the skills to stop quicker than relying on your vehicle?

RON430

To me it would be a lot more of an issue if the stock brakes were really poor. They are not. They may not have bimmer feel but they can haul the GS down as good as any comparable sedan. And don't forget almost everyone has ABS these days. It is pretty well known that a good driver with good hardware will probably beat an ABS setup but for the vast majority of us (obviously including me) in day to day driving on all roads and under all weather conditions, ABS has helped more average drivers stop better than any rotor/pad/caliper on earth. But it does depend somewhat on your driving. If you spend a lot of time going up 1, a good big brake kit could be usable, along with wheels and tires. But for now, I would rather have a well maintained stock setup with minimal mods.

There is also that nagging little problem of having a component failure off the beaten path. I want to get replacement parts where there is a Lexus dealer or most average brake shop and not have to remember what part numbers I need for specific parts and wait for them to show up. Also the reason why the costs of most mods can rarely be recaptured in resale.

As for the driving school, if you haven't done it, it is something that stays with you for life. Mods come and go (just as cars do) and very few people actually know what they want their car to do dynamically and then mod it for their tastes. Unless you are simply caught up in playing "Mine is bigger than yours" with mods, the driver's school can actually save you money in the long run by making you aware of how to be safe and fast and maybe figuring out what hardware makes sense for you. Not saying don't do the big brake but the driver's school will make you overall a lot faster (and safer) than a guy with big brakes and no training.

My two cents.

redgs4

There's a lot more than brakes that factor into your stopping distance. But you are correct, brake upgrades normally do not help the absolute stopping distance by much. They do help with repeated braking [reduced fade] and they certainly look nice.

Check out the technical and FAQ sections on the stoptech site.

http://www.stoptech.com/technical/

http://www.stoptech.com/faq/

rominl

iTrader: (4)

thinking that having big brakes will make you stop shorter and shorter is a very bad assumption, coz' it's usually not the case. among all the cars with big brakes i have sat in so far, honestly, the ap racing WITH the racing pads is the only setup that i really think (or at least feel?) stops the car a lot faster. since pads have a lot to do with stopping, i am not sprised that if you put racing pads on other big brakes they will stop faster too

the whole idea behind big brakes is that you won't have brake fades even a lot of driving. with my old brakes, every time i drive between san jose and LA (350 miles straight driving), by the time i arrive, the brakes always performed extremely poor. i could easily tell that the car took longer to stop, and by the time i got off the car the brakes are very hot already

with my big brakes, seriously i don't know what brake fade is anymore with my daily driving. that's a big plus

also, another resaon for big brakes i say would be the confidence. with the help of ss lines and also the significant more pressure by piston, the initial feeling of the brakes when you apply pressure is a lot better than stock. the feeling of the stock setup is just soft, very soft. with my new brakes, i tap it and i know i am getting response right the way

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

The difference in brake feel and responsiveness is amazing between stock and a big brake setup. I agree that actual braking distances may not be shorter, because they're ultimately driven by TIRES, not brakes, but believe me, big brakes feel a whole lot more responsive!

lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

big brakes are absolute necessity when running larger then 18in wheels ,, stock brakes are quite good but lose imo about 60-75% of the effectiveness when you plus 2 or plus 3 due to the larger mass you are trying to stop.. since doing my supra upgrade no more fear about stopping and my distance has shortened abit , ask reggiek , he rode with me and alsilverbullet and pmatrix while i hit the brakes from around 80+ with no fade


they work and work well , great peace of mind security

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

lexforlife, that's a good point about rim size. Not sure if it was just switching to 19s or maybe my stock front brakes were getting old or I just got disatisfied, but I was unhappy with the brake feel (mushy with too much pedal travel) - the StopTechs changed all that entirely.