Cameron

I am expecting to have some additional power in about a month and am considering upgrading the stock 'S4' brakes on my '91 GT to the GTS front brakes. I believe that for tracks like Sebring which are very heavy on the brakes, I will need more fade resistance.

Please provide your before / after experience if you have done this upgrade and it has been successful or unsuccessful in addressing a brake fade issue in a track / DE environment. It would be a $1200 upgrade and I appreciate you sharing your experience with me before I make this decision.

bfellows

I'm assuming you've already upgraded your pads and fitted braided hoses?

Cameron

Bert,

Current setup is stock calipers with Hawk Street Plus pads on all 4 corners with cast hole rotors, braided hoses and 33 bar (IIRC) rear brake bias valve.

Adam C

What kind of power are we talking about? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm?

bfellows

Brake fluid spec?

Blown Beast

Your not going to notice much of a difference between the two, (I couldn't tell any difference on mine)exspecially since you have already done the pads,rotors, super blue,and braided lines. JUST MY .02

Cameron

Fluid is Castrol SFR. Power will be subject of another thread - want to try to build some suspense!

Thanks for your feedback, BB.

Others?

Cameron

BB,

Should have asked - were you fading your brakes before the upgrade?

Sab

BB,
what is that silver contraption in front of or on top of your radiator? Airfilter?
I am very interested in placing a nice looking airfilter somewhere up front there.
Sab.

Blown Beast

yes, but I believe it was due to old fluid and old stock pads that were thin. Big brake upgrades are for LOOKS ONLY....IMOI

Unless you step of to 15in/380-mm rotors.

Blown Beast

Sab, Yes it is a custom air box that is in front of the radiator and brings cool air in and over the radiator to the S/C.
Sorry about the off topic.

Cameron

Not as far off topic as you might think.

Dennis K

Well I did the upgrade from GT to Big Reds after about my 6th or 7th track day. I did have one fading incident with the old brakes, but that was due to old brake fluid. I got the Big Reds mainly for cosmetics but I've done 55+ DE days on them since and really have come to appreciate their ability.

They're confidence inspiring because I've never even had a hint of any issue whether it be fade, goofy pad deposition, rotor cracking, etc. I go out on track, pound on them for 3-4 hours and drive home. Other DE guys are bleeding fluid, changing pads or rotors, generally fussing with the brakes. I've always used Pagid Oranges and Motul 600 and the brakes have been idiot-proof.

Now the question is would I get such good performance from the stock S4/GT brakes with the same pads & fluid. Probably, but I feel like there's a greater margin w/ the Big Reds. For track stuff, I'd spend money on brakes and shocks before power mods.

Driver technique comes into play also. I have seen people fade Big Reds or even Bigger Reds (F50 355mm Brembos) by hammering the brakes unnecessarily.

TeufelHei

Cameron, if your looking for a home for those S4 brakes, let me know. I'd be happy to help offset the cost of your upgrade.

fst951

Is SFR a silicone based brake fluid? For some reason I thought it was.

If so, you may want to check with compatability issues.

Good luck.