Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums - New Product: Essex/AP Racing Front and Rear Radi-CAL Competition Brake Kit for 997!

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- - New Product: Essex/AP Racing Front and Rear Radi-CAL Competition Brake Kit for 997! (https://rennlist.com/forums/997-forum/1092948-new-product-essex-ap-racing-front-and-rear-radi-cal-competition-brake-kit-for-997-a.html)

New Product: Essex/AP Racing Front and Rear Radi-CAL Competition Brake Kit for 997!

Gents, I wanted to make 997 owners aware that the same boundary-pushing AP Racing Radi-CAL brake technology that the Porsche 911 RSR leveraged to win Le Mans this summer is now available for your car! We had a hugely successful launch of our kit for the 991 GT3 this spring, and decided to expand our lineup into the 997 market. Our brake systems will drop your lap times, increase your consistency, and lower unsprung weight, all while reducing your long-term running costs.

How is this possible? AP Racing's patented Radi-CAL calipers and J Hook discs employ technology that was previously reserved for elite professional race teams. Our systems are lighter, stiffer, run cooler, and cost less to maintain than conventional brake components of yesteryear. They are a far superior option vs. taking the OEM equipment from a different Porsche model and bolting them to your car. They're also so light, that they offer unsprung weight savings that approach PCCB territory, without all of the headaches and cost associated with carbon ceramic systems.

You can read all about the technology, owner feedback, etc. in our recent launch thread on the 991 GT3 forum:
https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3-gt3rs-and-911r/1031477-new-product-essex-ap-racing-front-and-rear-complete-radi-cal-gt3-brake-kit-finally.html

Here are some quotes from our other customers who have recently installed our Radi-CAL kit:

Quote:

The pedal feel over the ceramics is unbelievable. I drove the ceramics for nearly an hour at my last event in order to heat them up for some feel and that was still nowhere close to this setup from the start. My two favorite experiences were catching an '18 GT3 in the hands of an excellent driver, not in a corner or on a straight but under braking. My other favorite was having folks come up and look specifically under the car to see what kind of cheater parts I am using. Truly satisfying, both of those.

Quote:

"I’m out at Summit Point with the AP Radi-CAL setup on my GT3RS. Soooooo much better pedal modulation than my PCCB!"

Quote:

I find the AP Radi-CAL brake kit for my 991.2 GT3 to be fantastic. Seems to be very durable, with constant and consistent feedback even when pads are wearing-down to the last few millimeters. I also usually "win" my track day or at least am one of the fastest two or three cars at the event (even among F430 Challenge Cars and 996 Cup Cars). I've logged over 15,000 miles at Watkins and know the track quite well.

Quote:

If you are serious about using your car regularly on track these are worth consideration, as you already know having full confidence in your abilities and your vehicle is paramount to safety and speed when it comes to track days. After hearing of horror stories of people burning up their factory brake setups i knew long term I would need a better solution. I did some simple math on cost comparison between replacing factory pads and rotors vs. the AP competition kit and was instantly drawn to the cost effectiveness.

Quote:

" I have to say - the system is amazing. I couldn't be happier with the brakes on that car. In fact, I upgraded from Brembo race setup to the Radical; and quite the upgrade."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloudspin (Post 15267893)

Essex / AP Racing Radi-CAL BBK being installed on the Grocery Getter II GTS. Thanks to Jeff and the guys at Essex and to Tom, Vick and Tim at Champion Motorsports for the install. Tim’s experience with Radi-CALs on the Alfa Romeo TCR race cars he sets up has been valuable!

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...f77ebc63c.jpeg
On the lift at Champion Motorsports.

Amazing! Absolutely love these calipers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloudspin (Post 15267902)

On the lift at Champion Motorsports.

Looks awesome Cloudspin! We're very much looking forward to your impressions vs. those withered stock brakes.

I've had a couple questions on the topics below via pm and email from others considering our brake system for their 997:

Wheel fitment

The front 372mm discs are designed specifically to fit inside 18" wheel barrels! You can download the wheel fitment templates for the front and rear kits in the links below, and I inserted a pic of a template being tested in a wheel. You can cut them out and verify that they clear your wheel spokes and barrel. We recommend 2mm of clearance in all areas. The only thing you'll likely need to watch for on the wheel barrel is stick-on wheel weights hitting the calipers when rotating. Make sure there aren't any in the caliper path when installing the wheels. The rear 365mm discs shouldn't have any interference problems, but we suggest checking the template anyway.

Front= https://www.essexparts.com/storage/w...l_template.pdf
Rear= https://www.essexparts.com/storage/w...l_template.pdf

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...ac18776a72.jpg

ABS triggering / Intervention

In terms of ABS, there isn't any ABS trigger adjustment possible short of buying a race ABS system. Our kits very closely mimic OEM torque output at both ends of the car. We increase disc diameter beyond the OEM size on both ends of the car, but we counteract that leverage increase by choosing the appropriate piston sizes. That means you won't have any funky ABS intervention, etc. Changing to aggressive race pads or racing slick tires will have more impact on ABS triggering than swapping to our brake kit and keeping everything else the same on the car.

5 Lug vs. Center Lock

Our 997 system will only work on 5 lug cars. The hats will not fit cars equipped with center lock wheels.

Please let us know if you have other questions. Thanks!

"Our 997 system will only work on 5 lug cars. The hats will not fit cars equipped with center lock wheels."

Any plans to offer this kit for centerlock cars in the future?

Quote:

Originally Posted by swoardrider (Post 15301420)

"Our 997 system will only work on 5 lug cars. The hats will not fit cars equipped with center lock wheels."

Any plans to offer this kit for centerlock cars in the future?

We'd like to offer our Competition Brake Kits for as many 911 variants as possible, including center lock cars. We need cars to measure however. If you're interested in letting us measure your car (in exchange for a hefty discount on brake components), please contact me via pm. Thank you very much!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRitt@essex (Post 15302758)

I would lend you my car, but unfortunately we are 3000 miles apart. Not saying that your current hats will work with CL's, but the word around Rennlist here over the years is that the OEM 5 lug discs are the same as the CL discs. Only difference is that us CL guys have to transfer these 5 drive pins over to the lug holes of the OEM brake discs.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...5dc7f0e4c1.jpg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...d46b8c5fa6.jpg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...69409c030a.jpg

Essex / AP Racing Radi-CAL BBK on 997 GTS

I’ve had the Essex / AP Racing Radi-CAL Competition Brake Kit (Part #s 13.01.10096 front / 13.01.10097 rear) on the car now for long enough to wear out two sets of pads and one set of rotors so it seems like a good time to share my experience for anyone considering the upgrade.

Short version: if you track your 997 and are running in an advanced group or are looking to move up to the advanced group, call Jeff and make the purchase. You’ll love the package!

Longer (much) version: Impressions after 473 laps around 3.7 mile Sebring International Raceway over 14 track days running in Chin Red Group and at David Murry Track Day events plus approximately 3k road miles (mostly to & from Sebring):

They’re the tits!! (my over exuberant response to Jeff’s inquiry sometime during the first day at SIR).

Previous setup was OEM calipers, 350mm Girodiscs and either RE10 or DS1.11 pads. Never had any fade or performance issues, even in the searing Central Florida heat running mid to high 2:20s lap times. I was very pleased with the setup and found myself gaining track position into and out of corners on higher horsepower cars that smoked me on the long back straight.

As I got quicker though, pads and disc life dropped significantly, and caliper rebuilds added to the escalating consumable costs. The higher costs and the desire for improved brake modulation started me on the path toward a brake upgrade for the GTS. The vast number of race cars with AP Racing brakes I saw while walking the Sebring 12 Hour paddock in 2018 led me to investigate AP which in turn led me to Essex Parts Services.

I had been buying pads and discs from Clark at Apex for years and value his input greatly. He had nothing but great things to say about the Essex / AP kits so I contacted Jeff Ritter and went from there. The kit is extremely well engineered and built. The tech at Champion Motorsport that did my install said it was a breeze and that everything fit fine.

First set of pads was the Ferodo DS1.11. I followed Essex’s bedding instructions to the T and headed for Sebring. Brought them up to temperature gradually during the first laps of the first morning session as Jeff recommended and then went at it.

Pedal feel both on and off was much improved, particularly when trailing off like in the turn 7 hairpin where in my car you’re braking from 130 to the high 40mph range on a bumpy surface that changes from asphalt to 70 year old concrete (Sebring was built in the 40’s as a B17 training base) and back to asphalt. Lap after lap after lap consistency, all weekend long.

I got 227 laps over parts of 7 days out of the first set of pads. Fronts and rears wore relatively evenly which is a major difference from the previous setup where the fronts wore faster. I didn’t swap the pads side to side as Essex recommends.

For the second set of pads I took Jeff up on his offer to try a new Ferodo compound; the 3.12. My initial experience wasn’t positive. Braking as I usually had invoked the ABS regularly and wasn’t comfortable. I did two sessions and when rain moved in, I packed up and decided to change back to 1.11s for the next event. Got busy, forgot about doing the change until there wasn’t time so I figured I’d give the 3.12s another ago and swap at the track if needed.

For whatever reason the second time was a charm. The 3.12s want a lighter initial application but after that offer the same great modulation as the 1.11s. I got 246 laps out of that set, replacing all four at the same time. And again, pads weren’t rotated midlife due to owner brain fade.

All four discs were changed (after 473 laps over parts of 14 days) after the 2nd set of pads wore out. The fronts had maybe two more sessions in them and the rears maybe 4 – 5 sessions but I decided to go with a clean slate and not have to change in the heat at Sebring.

For longevity comparison purposes, RE10 and DS1.11s typically gave me 180 – 195 Sebring laps with the previous setups and the most laps I ever got out of a set of 350mm Giro fronts was 350; rears were closer to 420.

Increased consumable life seems to indicate the Essex / AP setup runs cooler. Additional, albeit anecdotal, evidence of this is tire pressure increase over the course of a session. I couldn’t figure out why I started having to bleed 1 – 2 psi less out of the front tires than I historically had to when coming in mid-session as ambients rose toward the 90s. The brakes were the only change made to the car, so I believe it is due to them running cooler. The fronts at least.

In addition, there is a very significant unsprung weight reduction with the Essex / AP BBK over stock. I don’t have the figures here but am sure it’s available on the Essex website.

Finally, and at long last, they’re the tits and I love them!