Difficulty level of BBK DIY?

[Beedub]

i have APs.... i think the install was involved.... it took me from 6am till 7pm, but im over the top with things..... The kit itself slots in place like o.E parts, the Rear was a pain in the ass and the front rotor shield needed heavy cutting, again it took ages to do it nearly and i brought really good quality tin snips, they were blunt in no time, i used an angle grinder with a cutting wheel!!
my kit has the larger m3 rotors, fit, finish and quality was absolutely second to none, my kit has the optional enamel paint finish which still looks new even after some serious heat cycles.....

The Front AP calipers are HUGE.... be sure you have decent spacing on the front wheels, or a lowish offset, an ET 32 on a 8.5" rim gives about 3mm clearance, and CSL spoke offers decent clearance. Also take care with the Anti rattle pieces, every single AP install ive seen have them in the wrong orientation specifically the back!!

You can choose from Fully floating or fixed.... I have APf404 Brake pads for everyday and pagids for track use, you can swap pads in minutes once the wheel is off!!
good luck and enjoy!!

BTW the instructions are Awesome! and very very detailed!!! i studied them for around 2 night before the install and thing went like clockwork, i can say however it was a REALLY enjoyable process..... id love to do it again but without the time constraints, spread over 2 days this would be a really nice DIY.

[dubsesd]

Since your rear rotors are not floating, do you find issues on track? You track your car a lot so curious why you didn't get floating rears?

[mfanatic325]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

?

I have no noticable extra noise from mine.

Me neither...what kind of pads did your set come with Bill? (referring to EMP07).

Originally Posted by The HACK

Floating disc is the BIGGEST reason to get BBKs, IMO. If a kit does not come with 2 piece floaties it's not worth considering in my book.

my thoughts exactly.

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by dubsesd

Since your rear rotors are not floating, do you find issues on track? You track your car a lot so curious why you didn't get floating rears?

on advice on AP ;-) they do them but was told its not necessary for the rear, ill take their advice rather than the forum "Experts" ;-)

15+ ALL day trackdays, in full summer heat, + over 500hp, no issues ;-)

[RADRACR]

Beedub, what model numbers? I'm only seeing one model for front and rear on AP's website.

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by aestheticstorm

Beedub, what model numbers? I'm only seeing one model for front and rear on AP's website.

Aesthetic storm what is it your after ???

The codes for the floating rotors???

[RADRACR]

^ What you have, I guess. Didn't know AP made more than one application for our cars.

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by aestheticstorm

^ What you have, I guess. Didn't know AP made more than one application for our cars.

Let me dig out the part numbers.

Still think the 6 pot front is completely overkill on this car, 4/4 would be ideal IMO.

[EMP07]

Originally Posted by mfanatic325

Me neither...what kind of pads did your set come with Bill? (referring to EMP07).

my thoughts exactly.

I have pads that came with the Brembo GT kit and a set of Pagid RS 29. The pads are not the consideration i commented on.

I think the context of "floating" disc is not what I'm articulating well (not that i really care). A track buddy recent fried his stock WRX brakes with hawk pads and moved onto AP with "full floating discs" in the sense that when compared to some other BBK they have some movement which as a result have an audible noise in certain conditions i.e move on the carriers creating chatter/rattle.

I guess one could argue the definition of full/true floating based on the degree of free movement that is axial or radial to center in the caliper when braking.

[EMP07]

Originally Posted by Beedub

Let me dig out the part numbers.

Still think the 6 pot front is completely overkill on this car, 4/4 would be ideal IMO.

I'm thinking now that I agree.

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by EMP07

I'm thinking now that I agree.

100% stand by that..... 4/4 would save a huge chunk of weight as well ;-) even the 6 pot caliper is lighter than stock.....

[mfanatic325]

Not sure why yours makes noise Bill :/
Yours is a GT Monoblock 6/4 setup like mine right? Yours is way newer too. Surprised it's got any sound other than "wow! Love these brakes!"
I have Ferodo DS2500 pads on mine. Works well both on the street and at the track

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by Beedub

100% stand by that..... 4/4 would save a huge chunk of weight as well ;-) even the 6 pot caliper is lighter than stock.....

...not me.
The fronts still take a significantly higher braking load.
If you have 4 pots they should still be setup differently f/r.

Also the mass of the 6 pot is a bigger heat sink for the extra heat load.


....besides, they look the part

[EMP07]

Originally Posted by mfanatic325

Not sure why yours makes noise Bill :/
Yours is a GT Monoblock 6/4 setup like mine right? Yours is way newer too. Surprised it's got any sound other than "wow! Love these brakes!"
I have Ferodo DS2500 pads on mine. Works well both on the street and at the track

Mine does not make noise. I was referring to a friends AP set-up.

I love my brakes too, just saying that I think for me a 4/4 set-up would have fine. I'll admit I got a little enamored with pretty

[The HACK]

Sigh.

Forum "expert" or not, I would not go 4 front, 4 rear for performance reasons UNLESS the piston sizes are proportional. Meaning, the 4 pistons in the rear MUST be smaller than the 4 piston in the front by the same ratio or close to the same ratio as the stock bias. Not saying a 4/4 will immediately put you in a tire wall or lock the rear up when you brush the brakes, but it most CERTAINLY will decrease the actual effectiveness of the system.

It's akin to putting on track compounds in the rear and street pads in the front. Sure, I can probably drive it on track and still have a good time, but it's no where near the ideal solution.

Oh, by the way, I thought I've earned enough street cred here to be above the "forum expert" snarky comments. Obviously I am wrong.

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Sigh.

Forum "expert" or not, I would not go 4 front, 4 rear for performance reasons UNLESS the piston sizes are proportional. Meaning, the 4 pistons in the rear MUST be smaller than the 4 piston in the front by the same ratio or close to the same ratio as the stock bias. Not saying a 4/4 will immediately put you in a tire wall or lock the rear up when you brush the brakes, but it most CERTAINLY will decrease the actual effectiveness of the system.

It's akin to putting on track compounds in the rear and street pads in the front. Sure, I can probably drive it on track and still have a good time, but it's no where near the ideal solution.

Oh, by the way, I thought I've earned enough street cred here to be above the "forum expert" snarky comments. Obviously I am wrong.

^this, exactly!
you cant just pop the same 4pots on the front and the rear.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by EMP07

moved onto AP with "full floating discs" in the sense that when compared to some other BBK they have some movement which as a result have an audible noise in certain conditions i.e move on the carriers creating chatter/rattle.

99% of bbk's are semi floating (most ap systems, brembo GT, the stock z4m front discs). That means that they can move to some extent. AP uses curved washers between the bolts that hold the disc and Brembo uses special spring clips. They call that anti rattle, but it's aka semi floating.
Full floating means that the disc is free to move about in transverse direction and that causes noise to some extent. And that's what your friend has.

[inTgr8r]

^ this.
Yes there is a difference in semi vs full floating rotors.

"Street rotors use a curved drive pin washer to add tension to the hat assembly, reducing rattle. Race applications use a flat washer that allows full freedom of movement between hat and friction ring."

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Sigh.

Forum "expert" or not, I would not go 4 front, 4 rear for performance reasons UNLESS the piston sizes are proportional. Meaning, the 4 pistons in the rear MUST be smaller than the 4 piston in the front by the same ratio or close to the same ratio as the stock bias. Not saying a 4/4 will immediately put you in a tire wall or lock the rear up when you brush the brakes, but it most CERTAINLY will decrease the actual effectiveness of the system.

It's akin to putting on track compounds in the rear and street pads in the front. Sure, I can probably drive it on track and still have a good time, but it's no where near the ideal solution.

Oh, by the way, I thought I've earned enough street cred here to be above the "forum expert" snarky comments. Obviously I am wrong.

i cant be bothered to get into a debate over how many pistons is better just giving my opinion from experience, but..... i can say.... dont be so offended, man the hell up. no-one is questioning your "street Cred".

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

...not me.
The fronts still take a significantly higher braking load.
If you have 4 pots they should still be setup differently f/r.

Also the mass of the 6 pot is a bigger heat sink for the extra heat load.


....besides, they look the part

good for you ;-) im glad your happy :-)

[beta]

Here's a white paper on brake bias from stoptech. I'm definitely no expert, but this backs up everything the hack is saying (and so far everything he's said has checked out, I've learnt a lot from his threads). I know things get heated because we all have strong opinions, but there's always room to learn something new

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by beta

Here's a white paper on brake bias from stoptech. I'm definitely no expert, but this backs up everything the hack is saying (and so far everything he's said has checked out, I've learnt a lot from his threads). I know things get heated because we all have strong opinions, but there's always room to learn something new

not at one point did i say the hack was wrong ;-) nor anyone ;-) ect ect.... Fwiw i have 6/4 setup..... After a lengthy conversation with AP, id happily run a 4pot front setup IF it was available :-). He may or may not be right, i may or may not be right..... in reality, its all an opinion, thats the beauty of these forums....lets all regain reality and move the fuck on ;-)