Our New Big Brake Rotors Are In...

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Brian
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Our New Big Brake Rotors Are In...

Post by Brian »

Hi Folks,

This is a cut and paste of material I posted in the Miata.net forum in response to questions there as well as numerous emails regarding our latest updates to our Big Brake Kit.



ORIGINAL VERSION. The original kit had a different design philosophy. Though I have refined the design of the front and rear brackets over the years the hats are all the same front and rear and the rotors are all standard Wilwood part numbers and the connecting hardware is all standardized. The idea was that this was a kit for track users that needed to add thermal capacity and wanted a balanced 4 wheel setup and wanted standardized parts so they were not dependent on any supplier for spares, etc. The replacement Wilwood rotors are cheap and the pads are made in just about every compound available. Indeed the rear rotors are steel and this means they wear differently than the fronts and they need a pretty mild pad. I disagree with the "wear problems" comments. As correctly noted by others, they are steel and that means simply they don't wear like cast iron...they groove immediately and continue like that for years. That compromise was necessary to get the size we wanted back there with a standard Wilwood part number (indeed they won't shatter like cast iron can so there is some strength advantage too). Downside was can't get too aggressive on pad compound but the balance of the kit is such that you just don't need to anyway...Porterfield R4s or similar soft pads work great. This original version requires the buyer assemble the hats and rotors themselves. We will continue to sell the original version because lots of the track guys prefer it to the new setup (some folks don't like slots, some don't want to be stuck with custom rotor replacements, etc.).

NEW ROTOR VERSION. Work on this was prompted by folks wanting a cast iron rear, less work putting hats and rotors together, and slotted rotors. These three requests were regular over the last few years from mostly the street crew so I combined them all in the new setup. I actually did the first version of the new rotors with Disc Brakes Australia's DBA 5000 rotor. Nice setup that also included thermo sensitive ceramic color coatings to let you know max temp reached and a few other dodads, etc. I can still go forward on production of that version if I get enough demand but they cost more than the Racing Brake rotors. Bill at FM was already working with RB when I approached RB about a competitive bid to the DBA setup I already had finished. Bill expressed interest in our brackets and we agreed that working the new rotors together at the same source would help keep the price of the rotors down. Anyway, our brackets had gone through much refinement over the years and we agreed to start supplying our brackets to FM so they could sell the same kit without re-inventing the wheel...and the rest is history.

The new rotors are more rust resistent in the non-working parts and come preassembled with hardware that is also less corrosion prone. They are essentially the same size as the original setup (very slight production differences not relevant to use with the exception that the hats are NOT the same front and rear on the new rotors). As noted above, the new rotors do not mate with the old hats. Both FM and Good-Win Racing are running the new setup out at $100 below the price it will be after we each move the first ten kits of the new setup. With the new rotor setup we decided to include front and rear lines, the fluid, and the rear pads.

Bottom line, which fits best? As of today I must say the original rotor version. Racing Brake got really close and future batches will certainly get refined (the DBA 5000 is perfect). For those not hip to the rear steel rotor they should go with the new rotor setup. The new connecting hardware is ONE time use only and not standardized and the rotors too are not standardized so those concerned about future source issues should go original.

That should about cover the many questions I have had this last two weeks...but feel free to email me direct with additional questions. But I am off to Buttonwillow tomorrow afternoon for a day of track instructing (read: BOONDOOGLE!) so it may be Saturday before I can respond.

Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-Racing.com


PS. We sold the original kit the same way for many years which included front lines but not rear because so many customers already had stainless lines in the rear (and the new caliper in front meant they had to change the front line regardless). We also did not include the rear pads because the track guys had a million opinions on what rear soft pad was better. Front pad choice is still Qs for primary street use and some track and E (medium weight race) for mostly track use.
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
terence
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Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:45 am
Location: BC Canada
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rotor thickness

Post by terence »

Hi Brian,

What's the thickness of the BBK front rotor for both old and new version for 2002 Miata? I measured my stock is 10.6" in dia and 22mm thick, just wonder if your big brake kit rotor will be more thicker than stock.

thanks,

Terence
Brian
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Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 11:44 am
Location: San Diego CA
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Post by Brian »

Depends a little on which version you buy. New rotor version is 22mm, original style rotors are 20.5.
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
Guest

Post by Guest »

Brian quick question. I noticed you had your BBK setup for 01+ sport package with the new rotor design. I was wondering if you had a original race style kit for the 01+ sport or what the options would be for a setup like this. I use the car purely for track driving and some occasional jaunts around the block. Having the ability to order from wilwood new rotors/pads would be pretty nice in terms of availability.

Thanks!
-shane
Brian
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Post by Brian »

Hi Shane,

Sorry, have not done a rotor setup in original style that would fit the rear of an 01 with factory BBK. On the original style the hats are same front and rear. On the new style the rear hat is different...small adjustment made so it would fit the rear of your miata. Thus, only the new style fits your Miata.
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
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