You know what they say, cheap brakes make the best brakes....
Bear with me on this one, but I think my brake setup is (hopefully) finally finished. I'm sure some of you will think I'm a bit nuts for this one. But I decided to go ahead in the interest of science, and I'm more than prepared to lose the money I spent on these if they are a pile of s**t.
Fitted my BBK a couple of weeks ago and have been running it to see how well it works. So far so good. It's a replica of the current AP CP9200 caliper which I've christened the AB caliper (due to where I bought them from
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It's a 4-pot calliper with 345x28 2 piece discs.
When I say replica, they are the EXACT same dimensions and spookily the EXACT same weight that AP quotes. They can also use the same pads, seals, pistons and bleed nipples as the genuine APs.
The kit was a full BBK, bells, brackets, calipers, discs, lines and pads. Fitting was straightforward once I'd trimmed the backing plate and taken a small protrusion off the hub.
But, they leaked from the threads of all four bleed nipples. Turns out that whilst they are a replica AP, the manufacturer didn't supply the correct AP style bleed nipples with O rings. Once I'd sourced some of those from Frentech they no longer leak.
After I discovered they leaked, I disassembled both calipers, checked everything and rebuilt them just so I was happy they were ok to put on the car.
In terms of weight, the whole setup is 4kg lighter per side than the stock setup and a lot larger, obviously.
Now they are fitted the pedal is super firm, although I will be changing the pads for peace of mind. So far I'm pleased. They look great, function as they should and hopefully won't be putting me through a wall anytime soon.
They need a full outing on track and I'll update on that as soon as I can.
So the fronts are 4 pot 345mm and the rears are 345mm 2 pots. Should be more than enough stopping power now......so long as they work. Can't see why they won't, but I'll be keeping a VERY close eye on them.
In other news, the China parts keep coming.... new WedsSport replica wheels 18x8.5 et35 wrapped in the brand new Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo tyres 255 all round are now on the car. These weighed in at 8.6kg per wheel and are flow-formed for a little added strength. In the interest of science, I'll be smashing kerbs to see if they stand up to some abuse