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There is another Carbon Ceramic alternative to the typical PCCB or Brembo ceramics on the market now, the same used by Koenigsegg, Singer and very unique high performance applications like the NIO EP9 and upcoming Aston Martin Valkyrie. Surface Transforms ceramic rotors are much more cost-effective and better performing than the PCCB/Brembo ceramics while maintaining the advantages of ceramics over steels. Due to their unique manufacturing process the Surface Transforms ceramics limit the carbon oxidation to the face of the rotor, allowing for them to be Refurbishable (up to 4-5 times) while maintaining their structural integrity. This is unlike the PCCB/Brembo ceramics which oxidize the carbon content from the entire rotor losing structural integrity over their lifespan, not allowing them to be safely refurbished when the friction layer wears out. As Surface Transform ceramics last the same if not longer than the PCCB/Brembo and each refurbishment resets the wear life, their life expectancy is 4-5 times longer than that of the PCCB/Brembo ceramics. Additional benefits on the ST rotors are as follows below.
Average of 50% less expensive than PCCB Rotors ($11,998 complete set)
3x the heat conductivity and faster heat dispersion
Operating temperatures approximately 200 degrees lower than PCCBs
Noticeably reduced brake pad wear
50% less weight compared to the equivalent GT3/GT4 steel brake systems (average savings of 45-50lbs of unsprung weight!)
We have arranged to be Surface Transform's North American Exclusive Distributor. We are also an authorized Pagid Dealer and Carbon Ceramic Specialist. Feel free to give me a shout for further details or any Surface Transform/Pagid inquiries.
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Very, very interesting John and Trakcar.
What, if any downsides in street use? Noise? Very curious, having taken the plunge with PCCB for a primary street car while wondering if I will track it from time to time—or catch a pebble in a caliper.
I just spent half a week playing with ST rotors VS steel rotors at Sebring and heading back Monday.
There’s a lot of words here but basically PCCB are double the price and not refurbishable.
So if you want CCB then you want pay half with price 5x more life. Your car times out before the rotors do.
There isn’t a third option for CCB.
Im lucky to be close to the Importer Autoquest.
John couldn’t have been more helpful.
Plus resale value. If I want to sell PCCB on Rennlist for example that are on my shelf, you need to get them weighed and together with the buyer figure out the value but basically if they have been tracked, they are iffy.
The ST rotors are diminishing in value, every time you refurbish them about 20% because you can refurbish them up to 5x.
Next; do you want ST rotors VS steel?
Cost: New OEM rotors are $3,000 VS $12,000 but refurbishing is cheaper then new steels and refurbishing is less often then buying new OEM.
Pads are cheaper and lost longer VS steel options.
Cleaner: Your wheels stay clean. Some care, for you FYI to paint calipers is about $1000.
Better braking: instead of the brakes going off slowly over a 40 minute session, the ST stay fresh.
Same brakes and feel lap 1 or lap 20.
Better grip: Instead of cooking the front tires after lap 5, grip stays much longer with less degradation due to much cooler front rotors.
The bad; they make for weak night driving photos because they don’t nearly glow as bright as the steels. But then again, now I can see my catalytic converters lit up better.
Ill keep reporting in on time on my rotors between refurbishing them.
so far they blow me away and I onl regret not swapping sooner.
Thanks for the write up. How do you know when it’s time to refurbish the ST rotors? Just number of track miles?
The bad; they make for weak night driving photos because they don’t nearly glow as bright as the steels. But then again, now I can see my catalytic converters lit up better.
No modification is required for this pccb replacement rotor kit (We also have a hardware kit that allows standard (red) calipers to install this oversize kit)
This is where needs to be widened (from 34 to 37mm; 1.5mm per side) for a thicker CCM rotor (34mm) with proper clearance.
Another distinct advantage, other than low initial buying and replacement cost than pccb option, is this RB-CCM rotor kit is built with same CCM disc for all four corners, so they are totally interchangeable just like tires. For example if your front discs are more consumed (which is usually the case for tracking), you can swap the front pair to the back, or one side (driver/passenger) to the other (CCM discs are not directional)
Very flexible and economical; you only need one spare disc to cover all four.
All kits are precisely engineered for a perfect fit and guaranteed to perform better than any competitor's build and OE. The 380/380 kit is the same exact set up as we built for David Donohue for his Pikes Peak Racing.
What, if any downsides in street use? Noise? Very curious, having taken the plunge with PCCB for a primary street car while wondering if I will track it from time to time—or catch a pebble in a caliper.
No real downsides Stout, the correct pad choice would lend to comfortable street manners.
In regards to catching a pebble or the like, the ST rotors offer some more protection over the conventional ceramics. If you drop/nick/chip or somehow damage a conventional carbon ceramic rotor, due to the composition of the chopped carbon fiber resin there is nothing to stop that damage or crack from potentially spreading throughout the rest of the rotor. This is why even the slightest bit of damage warrants it being thrown away. ST rotors are much more resilient to damage due to their layered and interwoven carbon sheet composite. Therefore there is much less chance of ruining the integrity of the rotor via small accidental damage like chipping a rotor pulling a wheel on and off, pot marks on the surface after going off of the track, or as you said...catching a pebble in the caliper. Food for thought as always : )
ok - I"ll bite - let's say I get some of these - and they can be resurfaced…
please explain the process from the point of view - I drop the car off at my local shop - then what happens? how long does it actually take in duration? and what does it cost? who can do this resurfacing, and is there more than one shop/person/institution I can choose from for this resurfacing operation (i.e. what do I do when the current people "move on").
I drop my car off at my shop Monday March 5th - my shop pulls the rotors same day and has them ready for shipping by 3 pm same day (what is shipping materials to safely transport these 11k discs)…
ok - I"ll bite - let's say I get some of these - and they can be resurfaced…
please explain the process from the point of view - I drop the car off at my local shop - then what happens? how long does it actually take in duration? and what does it cost? who can do this resurfacing, and is there more than one shop/person/institution I can choose from for this resurfacing operation (i.e. what do I do when the current people "move on").
I drop my car off at my shop Monday March 5th - my shop pulls the rotors same day and has them ready for shipping by 3 pm same day (what is shipping materials to safely transport these 11k discs)…
go!
Thanks for asking : ) Here is a run through of a typical scenario.
You drop your car off at your shop along with the rotors you kept when swapping out to the Surface Transforms rotors. They put your old rotors back on and package your ST rotors up. They ship the rotors back to Surface Transforms in the UK, where the turnaround time is 2 weeks to refurbish the rotors at a cost of $2k plus shipping.. You pick your car up to drive around during that time with the previous rotors installed, or you leave it there at the shop lacking rotors if they have the room for it. As for the packaging materials, we typically recommend keeping the boxes the ST rotors were purchased in as they are perfect for shipping : )
Thanks for asking : ) Here is a run through of a typical scenario.
You drop your car off at your shop along with the rotors you kept when swapping out to the Surface Transforms rotors. They put your old rotors back on and package your ST rotors up. They ship the rotors back to Surface Transforms in the UK, where the turnaround time is 2 weeks to refurbish the rotors at a cost of $2k plus shipping.. You pick your car up to drive around during that time with the previous rotors installed, or you leave it there at the shop lacking rotors if they have the room for it. As for the packaging materials, we typically recommend keeping the boxes the ST rotors were purchased in as they are perfect for shipping : )
What is the typical round trip shipping cost for 4 rotors to the UK from your location in FL for a reasonable speed (coupe days each way)?
What is the typical round trip shipping cost for 4 rotors to the UK from your location in FL for a reasonable speed (coupe days each way)?
Over the last few months it's been about $400 round trip. But just like the exchange rate in regards to product pricing, shipping rates have been known to change too so it may be more or less in the future.
No real downsides Stout, the correct pad choice would lend to comfortable street manners.
In regards to catching a pebble or the like, the ST rotors offer some more protection over the conventional ceramics. If you drop/nick/chip or somehow damage a conventional carbon ceramic rotor, due to the composition of the chopped carbon fiber resin there is nothing to stop that damage or crack from potentially spreading throughout the rest of the rotor. This is why even the slightest bit of damage warrants it being thrown away. ST rotors are much more resilient to damage due to their layered and interwoven carbon sheet composite. Therefore there is much less chance of ruining the integrity of the rotor via small accidental damage like chipping a rotor pulling a wheel on and off, pot marks on the surface after going off of the track, or as you said...catching a pebble in the caliper. Food for thought as always : )
Thank you—good info above and in answer on what the service looks like. Next question:
Sounds like these exist for the current 991.2 PCCB rotors used on Carrera, GT3, and Turbo models. Curious if something like these exist as a bolt-on retrofit for two other models:
1. 981 GT4/991.1 GT3 with iron rotors
2. 991.2 Carrera or Carrera S/GTS (these really need help)
Thank you—good info above and in answer on what the service looks like. Next question:
Sounds like these exist for the current 991.2 PCCB rotors used on Carrera, GT3, and Turbo models. Curious if something like these exist as a bolt-on retrofit for two other models:
1. 981 GT4/991.1 GT3 with iron rotors
2. 991.2 Carrera or Carrera S/GTS (these really need help)
I appreciate that Stout : )
Here is the current availability for ST rotors on Porsches, although this may change in the near future with the new generation cars. Keep in mind that this is for fitment on factory PCCB AND Iron rotors as the calipers are the same just spaced differently. All the ST kits for factory iron rotors come with the necessary hardware spacer/bolt kits to reposition the caliper to utilize the larger ceramic rotors.
991/991.2 GT3, GT3RS, 911 R, Turbo and Turbo S
997/997.2 GT3, GT3RS, GT2, GT2RS, GT3 Cup, Turbo and Turbo S
Here is the current availability for ST rotors on Porsches, although this may change in the near future with the new generation cars. Keep in mind that this is for fitment on factory PCCB AND Iron rotors as the calipers are the same just spaced differently. All the ST kits for factory iron rotors come with the necessary hardware spacer/bolt kits to reposition the caliper to utilize the larger ceramic rotors.
991/991.2 GT3, GT3RS, 911 R, Turbo and Turbo S
997/997.2 GT3, GT3RS, GT2, GT2RS, GT3 Cup, Turbo and Turbo S
981 Cayman GT4
996 (most models)
Are the hats available in black instead of gold, by chance?
Are the hats available in black instead of gold, by chance?
You aren't the first person to ask me that haha. For better or for worse in regards to distinguishing them from OEM and other aftermarket hats, ST is only making them in their signature gold/bronze finish.
No modification is required for this pccb replacement rotor kit (We also have a hardware kit that allows standard (red) calipers to install this oversize kit)
This is where needs to be widened (from 34 to 37mm; 1.5mm per side) for a thicker CCM rotor (34mm) with proper clearance.
Another distinct advantage, other than low initial buying and replacement cost than pccb option, is this RB-CCM rotor kit is built with same CCM disc for all four corners, so they are totally interchangeable just like tires. For example if your front discs are more consumed (which is usually the case for tracking), you can swap the front pair to the back, or one side (driver/passenger) to the other (CCM discs are not directional)
Very flexible and economical; you only need one spare disc to cover all four.
All kits are precisely engineered for a perfect fit and guaranteed to perform better than any competitor's build and OE. The 380/380 kit is the same exact set up as we built for David Donohue for his Pikes Peak Racing.
01-25-2018, 12:47 AM
