T3 vs K-Sport vs FC brake conversions Opinions/Help needed

[OMR510]

Looking in to doing a big brake upgrade for my AE86 and have been looking at the folling 3 brake upgrades.

Firstly the T3 Wilwood Big brake kit http://technotoytuning.com/productdetail.php?p=691

The K Sport 11" ProComp big brake system http://www.ksportusa.com/asp/brake_kits_detail.asp?product_id=bk07

and lastly the AJPS FC RX7 Brake upgrade http://www.ajps.com.au/parts/fc_brake_calliper_adapters.asp

I am looking for people who have bought these kits and fitted them , any problems they may have had as well as braking performance ,pedal feel , fade etc etc

Price cost vs overall quality etc

I have 15" rims so I am not looking for a smaller kit, I dont want to change to XT130 Struts to do the Hilux/Pug conversion, I am not converting to coilovers as it is impractical where I live due to the really average roads out here.I am a mechanic so I have no problems with doing the work myself and I really want a no fuss brake upgrade to install.

Price wise the best deal right now seems to be the T3 kit at about $900AU to my door.

Sensible, informed opinions and suggestions would be appreciated

20848

[turn69up]

K sport= POS there just for show, rx7 could be the cheapest if u bought everything second hand but bit of a dick around to find all the parts and rebuild the calipers, wilwood would be easy as they come with everything just have to bolt it all together, i think u can tell them to change or leave out the disks as there cross drilled, they might not crack with ae86s being so light but cross drilling looks gay. With all of these i think u would need a bnr32 brake booster as well as upgrade the rears to balance it out a bit ,r31 diff or u can get these plates that u can bolt a twin caliper set up and think they use skyline disks and calipers i think. Never ownd any of these nor felt the need to up grade the brakes these are just my observations

[LittleRedSpirit]

Ill display my literacy here.

I vote TTT wilwood kit as the best.

Its lightweight, unlike the other options, has high quality bauer rotors from Germany in my kit, brand new forged alloy calipers, cnc dog bones, braided lines, decent pads with the kit too, you absolutely cannot go wrong. Been using it for 3 years + still on original pads and rotors, and they are barely worn.

RX7 kit works fine but there are 3 different rotor options depending on rim diameter and what brackets you can source, plus you couldn't buy the parts and rebuild the calipers for less than the wilwood kit costs to your door. Cross drilled and slotted rotors are fine as long as the cross drilling and slotting is done at the right time in the mfg process, prior to the heat treating. Cheap shit is always going to fail. Plus the RX 7 'carry-pers' will stick past your wheel mounting face and cause you issues with finding suitable wheels. You have a similar issue with the wilwoods but its several mm less protrusion so worst case scenario is 3mm spacers to fit 99% of wheels.

K sport isn't even a blip on the radar of as serious kit, cheap shit with poor poor mettalurgy like most ebay china crap and its not worth your life or mine really since we are talking about brakes here!

Some people will try to tell you the wilwood calipers cannot be approved by an engineer for road use but this is a commonly bandied about piece of misinformation. Something to do with secondary dust seals. Maybe 20 years ago but cars come out brand new with the same caliper and piston design and that passes adrs so its a non issue, maybe just an issue for a stubborn old idiot that wont accept that times have changed and technology has advanced. lol. Anyhow, people who have a different brake package will be jealous and find themselves saying things like, "they dont have dust seals so they cannot be approved for road use so your wasting your time and money". That's just something they say to feel good about having shit std brakes. bahaha. New Holdens and Fords come out with AP racing calipers on the high end performance models and they are made much the same as these are.

[FoldKing86]

http://www.hoppers.com.au/complete%20leaflet%20FEB%202007/index.html

Another option in case you weren't aware. I may use this kit, fits 15" rims.

I know of someone who is using it and can not fault it, very easy fit, local support and parts. Any option you choose im pretty sure you'll need a bigger master cylinder and need to FIDDLE with brake lines.

[timbo]

Haha told! My 2c; I can safely say that Matt's car pulls up very, very well.

[sundee]

any FYI you do not need to change the master to run the T3 wilwood BBK. AND you wont have a problem with the X drilled rotors.

[Bozu]

If I didn't have bigger brakes I probably would have gone for the wilwood kit.
Instead my car has MR2 SW20 calipers up front with redrilled 281mm rear rotors from a MR2 SW20. The calipers bolt straight onto the standard struts with help from some custom cnc made brackets and I run 15" rims as well. I still have 2 sets of these brackets for sale, check my for sale topic. Let me know if you're interested it might be a cheaper option for you.

[Sam-Q]

how about the cresida caliper with an xt130 strut option?

also running a coilover doesn't always mean a firm ride. I run a 4.9kg/mm that works really well and isn't uncomfortable.

[rthy]

http://www.hachiroku.com.au/blog/?p=2902

[Sam-Q]

anyone know parts numbers or codes for a 1" master? in that article (thanks rthy) there is a mention of a pbr unit and landcruider model. I might need to go through a PBR catalouge to see the specs.

[OMR510]

Firstly I would like to thank people for there comments and opinions.

Now I will reply to some various questions, I will not convert to coilovers as I have a spring rate I am comfortable with and will be upgrading my shocks to Koni Yellow Sports as the car sits , rides and steers quite well and is suited to the way I drive and the road conditions out here
and for the same reason I wont be going with XT130 struts as the biggest problem where I live is actually getting stuff to suit the car and either involves anything from a 2-4hr drive or ordering off the internet.
I dont really want to do a brake upgrade that involves changing the M'cylider either as I like the pedal feel I have.
So far the best option that involves the least hassle for me is the T3 kit as well as value for money and braking performance.
And sometimes that is the decider, the least amount of hassle, I work on machines all day for 10hrs a day and sometimes I really couldnt be bothered throwing the car up on stands and working on it all weekend :)
When I owned my Datsun 1600 I went through all this, modifying it using Commodore calipers,180B struts, Magna rotors and on the rear R31 Calipers and rotors. Brilliant setup but I guess as I am getting older the thought of mix and matching stuff is getting less appealing.

Anyway enough of rambling , thanks again for the input so far , it has been an interesting read, looking forward to seeing more

Regards Keith

[takai]

To add another option.
If you are willing to switch to RA28/40 struts and hubs then im considering doing a run of caliper adaptors to fit the Wilwood calipers to those struts with a 300mm disc:
http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/32777-2/1000001132.JPG
You dont have to run the spacers as pictured, they are there for my +25 offset period wheels.

Its probably the best brake package you could fit under most 15" rims, and its awesome. Dropped my braking distance by about 80m over my last brake package.

You would need to get the RA28 or RA40 struts though, but they are cheap, and fit your current inserts and shocks. Calipers are easily sourced from the US for about $250, and discs are cheap locally (as opposed to the T3 kit).
It would come in a touch more than the T3 kit i reckon. Probably cheaper after you sold off the AE86 struts and hubs for 3-4x the cost of the RA28/40 gear.

[Skylar]

You just reminded me that I have RA40 struts laying around. Price on your adaptors?

[takai]

Unsure yet, depends on interest. I wouldnt think more than $200 though.

[toygt]

i run fc's with civic discs and ajps adaptors on my notch they work great, was the most cost effective and fit nicely under my 15/8 meisters the only thing with them is without a nrca they run really close to the lca

as for willwoods the pad life isn't great (from experience) when they get half worn the piston can cock off on a angle this was a few years ago and on a race car

thants my two cents

[LittleRedSpirit]

The hoppers kit is effective once you have the correct MC installed but its just a standard set of AU falcon twin spot calipers in that kit, its not exactly the level of equipment you get from the Wilwood kit. Plus the hoppers kit costs more, a lot more, at least $600 more plus the MC.

[takai]

i run fc's with civic discs and ajps adaptors on my notch they work great, was the most cost effective and fit nicely under my 15/8 meisters the only thing with them is without a nrca they run really close to the lca

as for willwoods the pad life isn't great (from experience) when they get half worn the piston can cock off on a angle this was a few years ago and on a race car

thants my two cents

The pad life on the stock polymatrix pads is pretty average on a racing car. But the range of pads you can get for them is huge, plus most of the racing suppliers carry good pads for them. Hawk HT10s, Porterfield R8s, etc are all easily available.

Also wheel fitment is TONS harder with the Mazda calipers. Especially if you want a decent sized disc.
http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/30687-1/IMG_1213_s.jpg
Thats the pure size comparison.

And this is what it looks like with a 65mm overall height disc:
http://gallery2.plebeians.net/d/29691-1/IMG_1017_s.jpg

[ke_70]

you can also just sneak 14's over the wilwoods.

the disc's are also fairly average on the wilwood kit. probley fine for the street mind you.

[AJPS]

I thought about the t3 wilwood kit but a lot of things put me off

i dont want this to sound like an ad but the reason I chose to do the fc kit

a lot of corolla people want to run 14 inch wheels (even if as a spare/temporary measure)
all the parts in the kit are available off the shelf from most auto shops (pads, caliper seal kits, rotors etc)
the calipers are available quite cheaply and easily from most importers fc and fd fit)
the brake lines are the same as ae86
the kit is only 900g more than stock
its 262mm so about 28mm over stock, think it maintains reasonable f to r balance
its made in australia - QFM pads, AJPS adapter, DBA rotor, Hyperform Brake line
all fittings are metric as per toyota/mazda (where as the wilwood ones had some issues with ke70 lines?)
its usually in stock for $500 for adapter and rotor (byo calipers)
and obviously since I started selling it a lot of people have used it with no issues in high hp cars
and a personal thing with a lot of the WRX guys taking their wilwood calipers off as the factory subaru 4 spots pull them up quicker made my mind up for me

Yes
the caliper sits proud of the hub (the FD is slimmer)
But superlites, watanbes and other curved spoked wheels fit with no spacer
With some steering arms the rotor is close to the lca but doesnt touch
Other than that, they bolt on as per factory and dont change offset

[Skylar]

I want to put like VT brakes on my corolla, simply because, I can get a range of pads to suit for close to nothing at the local autoshop. If it brings down a ~1500kg car, it'll haul a 1000kg corolla down to a stop.

In other words, I like Dave's way of using local off the shelf parts.

[OMR510]

Once again I would like to thank everyone again for their informative and helpful opinions. As of yesterday I purchased a T3 Big Brake Kit and now I eagerly await its arrival so I can fit it up and try it out.

Once my bank account recovers again (i bought a few other things on my little AE86 shopping spree) I will be looking for a decent , low fuss bolt on rear disc brake kit to replace the drums on my T Series.

Once again any helpful information would be great.

Regards Keith

[AJPS]

if its drum run the corona rt rear discs (how to list on toymods)

if you get a disc diff i can do the s13 rotor brackets