Mech33

Maybe the bolt-mounted too, since you need to clear the rotor with the pads and caliper still.

ExMB

From this pic one can see that during the test fitting they removed the sensors from the pads in order to make caliper removal easier.



From this picture it appears you may be correct since the length of the flex line is equal to the length of the hard line; in that bracket removal is still required.



How much of a difference would it make if the banjo fitting is replaced with the std fitting while adding a bit of extra length?

jphughan

Bummer about those lengths if true, although hopefully in that case Spiegler would be open to getting their hands on a GT4 with the Tarett stud kit to engineer a V2 of this product, like AP Racing/Essex did with their rotor hats to simplify things for their customers when they discovered the GT4 set screws had a different head shape.

Track Junkie

Spiegler also builds custom brake lines to your specifications. Whatever you want.

https://www.essexparts.com/spieger-custom-ss-lines

ExMB

True, but at what cost? Is there an NRE charge? Who would own the design afterwards? How much R&D can an individual really do? Look at the time it would take to get the correct measurement so one won't have interference or be too loose. Would that person be able to do it on jack stands or would it be better to have a lift for this R&D?

Its a good idea to look at that option but in the end I believe that many would stay with status quo and the PITA it is.

I guess another option would be to build them with quick disconnects.

Link

needmoregarage

Possibly interested in group buy.

Mech33

Simplest alternative is probably a 4-line kit that just replaces the hard line from the bracket to the caliper with a longer, flexible line to make brake changes easier (front and rear). Leave everything else as-is.

ExMB

On the rear I could live with a 1-piece replacing both since the hard line there is so short. On the front maybe there exists an option already in the real world but I don't know the thread size on the fittings; is it 10 x 1 mm?

ExMB

Been communicating with BGB who saw the thread and asked me questions. Might help if John gets more calls of interest on this.

C4SGRPDK

I'm interested in a GB as well.

needmoregarage

Are there any concerns about increased possibility of damage to the soft lines that replace hard lines? The closer to the caliper the more the line is subject to road/track debris.

I understand the reasons for wanting a soft line over hard line for brake pad swaps and being able to move the caliper more easily. But is there a trade off in potential damage to a soft line, versus the OEM hard line?

Shandingo

I would not be concerned abount the "soft" lines taking damage from road debris. Most cars have rubber lines going to the caliper and I have never heard of that causing issues. Furthermore the soft lines in this kit are steel braided. I agree with the other posts that sufficient slack for removing the calipers with mounting studs installed is the most concerning issue at this point. I have been urging Essex for a couple of months to make something to address both the mounting issue and brake line issue. Not sure why they would have decided to ignore the mounting issue, as the stock calipers clearly need studs to avoid damaging the uprights from repeated brake pad changes.

ExMB

9-28-15

JRitt@essex

Gents,
Sorry for the silence on this one...I've been traveling for the past 10 days or so. I typically don't unplug, but I was on top of a mountain with extremely limited access to the web.

Thanks for the input on the product. We are listening...We're going to bring a car back in and take another look at it (hopefully next week).

We hadn't taken the aftermarket caliper stud issue into account (although we should have). Are people running studs on the front and rear, or is the front the primary issue? The rear lines are longer and I'm guessing they probably won't be an issue.

On the banjo...I believe Spiegler's idea was simply to keep the line out of the way. When we take the stud issue into account we'll look at the orientation of the line and see which type of fitting makes the most sense for appropriate routing of the line.

We talked about possibly using quick disconnects on the line, but the good ones that actually work (like Spiegler's) are too expensive to be practical for most people (a couple hundred dollars per fitting).

As for a group buy, that's not something we've ever done or plan to do. We're talking about a total price of less than $300. That's lower than a single set of brake pads or 1-2 brake fluid flushes. You probably can't even get a cup of coffee in the waiting room of your local Porsche dealership for that much! Our brake lines will likely be on the car for as long as most people here will own it. I'd say it is a rather low cost of entry given the added performance and convenience our product offers. I know that $13 brake lines built by a 9 yr. old in China are easy to come by on eBay, but that's not what we're talking about here.

Thanks again for the feedback!

Dr.Bill

Jeff,

Caliper studs are used front and rear. With the new 'improved' (i.e. cheaper) calipers, brake pads cannot be changed without removing the caliper. No more simple change from the top.
So, any replacement lines would need to take that into account and would likely need to be slightly longer than the stock ones.
If they can also bypass the brackets, that would be a huge bonus. Particularly the front one as it's the harder one to remove.
Not sure what Porsche was thinking with the stock setup?