For the full Speedhunters article and event coverage, click here
Cody Chan with his 1998 Honda Civic CX (EK) equipped a Brembo Performance system upgrade.
Simon Chiu with his 2014 BMW M3 (F80) equipped with a Brembo 2-piece discs and upgraded friction materials.
Porsche’s 911 GT3 (991) is a demanding platform on the OE brake package with unique demands (475 horsepower, over 3200 lbs curb weight, and multiple electronic braking / traction aids). The Brembo OE brakes equipped on the Porsche 911 GT3 & Turbo models are some of the most sophisticated designed for an OE application. The Porsche Brembo OE brakes utilize 6-piston aluminum fixed monobloc calipers front and 4-piston aluminum fixed monobloc calipers rear. The brake discs are heavy duty 380 x 34 mm ventilated front & 380 x 30 mm rear brake discs. The Porsche 911 GT3 brakes use a wide annulus (radial depth) front and rear pad for maximum swept area. The OE pads are also 18 mm thick front and rear which is comparable to most high performance aftermarket calipers.
Generally speaking about later model 911 platforms: The GT3 has always been more demanding on the rear brakes due to aggressive rear brake balance while the Turbo models are generally more demanding on the front brakes. While the OEM specification Porsche brakes all look similar, the caliper piston sizes, hydraulic systems and car balance can be considerably different.
There are certain limitations with the OE components on any high performance application as they are designed specifically for the car manufacturers to their requirements of comfort, wear rates in various road environments, cost and serviceability.
As the braking system’s primary function is to dissipate heat, Brembo uses purpose-designed discs in order to increase the fade resistance and thermal capacity of the system. These discs are directionally ventilated for enhanced cooling and slotted for better performance and continuously refreshing the pad surface. Brembo 2-piece discs are made up of a proprietary advanced cast-iron alloy which offers an exceptional coefficient of friction and resistance to thermal shock and fatigue.
The same Brembo Racing discs trusted every weekend in professional motorsports are also utilized in the Brembo Performance Program (GT, GT-R & Race Systems).
GMG 991 GT3 with Brembo Type III 2 piece discs. Photo Credit : GMG Racing
BENEFITS OF BREMBO 2-PIECE DISC UPGRADES:
PACKAGES INCLUDE:
GMG Racing 991 GT3 Equipped with Brembo Racing discs. Photo Credit: GMG Racing
BREMBO 911 GT3 (991) 2-PIECE DISC OPTIONS:
FRONT BREMBO 2-PIECE DISC OPTIONS: 911 GT3 OE IRON EQUIPPED
MSRP COMPLETE AXLE SET: $1,895.00
911 GT3 Front disc specifications:
– 380 x 34 disc – Lightweight
– Type III slot type
– 20 mm air-gap (wide air-gap for overall brake disc weight reduction)
– 72 vane ventilation
– 21 lbs – disc ring
– 23 lbs – complete 2-piece disc assembly
– Compatible with 911 Turbo (991) Models
911 GT3 Front “High Thermal” disc specifications:
– 380 x 34 disc – High Thermal
– Type III or Type V “Endurance” slot type available.
– 17 mm air-gap (narrow air-gap for the brake disc to have extra thermal capacity and durability under higher brake demand conditions)
– 72 vane ventilation
– 23 lbs – disc ring
– 24.5 lbs – complete 2-piece disc assembly
– Compatible with 911 Turbo (991) Models
REAR BREMBO 2-PIECE DISC OPTIONS: 911 GT3 OE IRON EQUIPPED
MSRP COMPLETE AXLE SET: $1,895.00
911 GT3 Rear “High Thermal” disc specifications:
– 380 x 30 disc – High Thermal
– Type III slot type
– 16 mm air-gap
– 48 vane ventilation
– 20 lbs – disc ring.
– 22 lbs – complete 2-piece disc assembly
– Compatible with factory braking brake (e-brake)
– Compatible with 911 Turbo (991) Models
PORSCHE 911 GT3 (991) OEM DISC WEIGHTS – FOR REFERENCE:
– Front, 380 x 34: 24 lbs
– Rear, 380 x 30: 23.4 lbs
PORSCHE 911 Turbo (991) OEM DISC WEIGHTS – FOR REFERENCE:
– Front, 380 x 34: 27.8 lbs
– Rear, 380 x 30: 24 lbs
2015 BREMBO RACING AND PORSCHE MOTORSPORTS INVOLVEMENT:
Brembo Racing works very closely with Porsche Motorsport as a technical partner on multiple factory motorsport programs. Some of these include, but are not limited to, the 2015 spec Porsche 919 Le Mans Prototype program for the LMP class and the 911 (991) RSR for the GT Class. The 919 Hybrid is Porsche Motorsport’s latest fully factory supported effort since 2014 and features various cutting edge technologies which will eventually be carried through to road going vehicles.
LMP Class:
For 2015, to be competitive in the top prototype class, the Porsche 919 Hybrid has been re-engineered from the ground up. One of the many key changes is a Brembo Racing carbon brake package to maximize braking performance and reliability since the new 2015 model has an upgraded chassis, aerodynamics and has more power compared to 2014.
Brembo Racing Porsche 919 brake package:
Brake Calipers: Brembo Racing motorsport calipers.
Brake Discs: Brembo Racing carbon-carbon brake discs.
2015 Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 Car. Photo Credit: Porsche AG
GT Class:
Porsche’s 911 (991) RSR is built to compete at the 24 hours of Le Mans and is the most sophisticated GT racing sports-car offered by Porsche Motorsport unlike the Cup Cars designed generally for customer / private teams. The 991 RSR is also specified with a Brembo Racing cast iron brake package. Teams can choose disc and pad configurations based on their individual car balance, setup, circuit and brake demand.
Brembo Racing Porsche 991 RSR brake package:
Brake Calipers: Brembo Racing motorsport calipers (6 piston – front, 4 piston – rear)
Brake Discs: Brembo Racing 380 mm and 355 mm cast iron brake discs.
Brembo is the OE brake supplier to Porsche, offering Performance upgrades for the various 991 platforms (Carrera S, GT3, Turbo models) using similar components and technology developed for professional motorsport.
MOTORSPORTS IMAGERY
Photo Credits: James Boone, Porsche Motorsport
This article was originally posted by Modified Magazine. Click here to read it.
We’ve received quite a few emails lately asking us to explain what the advantages are of cross-drilled and slotted rotors, as compared to the blank rotors most cars come standard with. We’ve also had requests to explain why many slotted rotors these days have curved or J-hook shaped slots, rather than straight slots. Rather than giving you the Wikipedia answer, we went right to the source by once again contacting Mark Valskis at Brembo North America (some of you will recall his contribution to the big brake kit Tech Talk story in the May ’11 issue).
As most of you already know, the basic function of a brake disc is to provide a mating surface for the brake pads so that when you stomp on the brake pedal the friction material that makes up the pad is squeezed against the rotors (by the calipers), converting forward motion into heat as the car slows. That heat is then radiated to the atmosphere as air flows over and through the rotors (and the rest of the braking system), completing the conversion of kinetic energy into thermal energy.
According to Mark at Brembo, cross-drilled rotors came into being because of the need to evacuate gases or water from the interface between the disc face and the brake pad surface. As Mark further clarified, “Modern brake pads don’t have an issue with out-gassing like they did many years ago, but the cross-drilling is still helpful for use in wet conditions, especially when the pad surface area is large. Additionally, cross-drilling increases the surface area of the disc, and this aids in disc cooling (one factor in brake disc cooling is the ratio of surface area to disc mass). The most significant feature of the holes (when done correctly) is that they continually refresh the brake pad surface, providing improved performance and greater disc life. As the holes pass the brake pad they essentially clean the surface, helping to prevent pad glazing or hardening. This effect can be easily observed on a drilled disc near the outer edge where there are no holes. In this area, the pad surface is not refreshed and you will typically see greater disc wear in this unswept area.” It’s also worth noting that this type of pad refreshing by cross-drilled and/or slotted rotors helps maintain more consistent frictional performance.
Rotor Education Tech Talk Cad Drawing
These CAD drawings of a slotted and ventilated Brembo brake disc illustrate just how compl
Some of you may not be fans of cross-drilled rotors because you’ve seen cracks in the disc surface radiating out from the drilled holes, but as Mark points out, not all drilled discs are created equally. “Brembo has a long list of requirements for drilled discs. First, the holes are not just simple cylindrical holes. They have a more complicated shape that requires special tools to create. We also have strict requirements on hole density or the number of holes per given surface area of the disc. Additionally, there are requirements for the hole size and placement of the holes, including distance between holes, distance from braking surface edges, distance to disc vanes, angular offset of holes and more.”
But even with the highest quality cross-drilled discs, there can be issues with thermal shock and fatigue around the holes when using very aggressive racing brake pads. As Mark explained, “Slotted discs were developed to provide the benefit of refreshing the pad surface, while being able to be used with top-level racing friction materials. Drilled discs provide the same benefit [refreshing the pads], but also increase the cooling of the brake disc. With top-level racing materials, the heat input is very rapid and the increase in localized cooling around the holes can cause issues.” So slotted rotors were developed as a solution to a very specific problem associated with extremely aggressive friction material normally associated with racing, though if you’re anything like me and run some pretty aggressive brake pads on the street as well as at the track, then slotted rotors may be the right choice for your car.
Rotor Education Tech Talk Cross Cut
These CAD drawings of a slotted and ventilated Brembo brake disc illustrate just how compl
As for the shape of the slots, Mark had this to say: “The different design of the slots is due to extensive research and development, including [brake] dyno testing. Due to the fact that track testing is required, and thanks to strong collaboration with many top-level racing teams, Brembo has developed a very broad knowledge of the many different types of slot shapes possible when machining discs.” Since this type of extensive R&D is really outside the scope of all but the biggest brake system manufacturers, a lot of what you’re seeing in the aftermarket are companies copying what leaders like Brembo are doing with respect to slot shape, slot spacing, slot depth and so on.
Ultimately, the slots are all designed to do the same thing (refresh the brake pads), but different shapes no doubt impact the aggressiveness with which the pads are refreshed and also likely affect localized cooling of the disc. And speaking of cooling, the internal structure of ventilated rotors plays a very important role here. “The mass of the disc is the determining factor in how much energy the disc can absorb, while the design of the internal geometry helps improve the disc’s ability to shed the heat,” Mark explains. “The key factor in the use of a vented disc versus a solid disc is the increase in the ratio of disc surface area to mass. Heat transfer to the air occurs only on the surfaces of the disc that are directly exposed to air; so the more surface area, the better the disc can shed the heat.”
Rotor Education Tech Talk Display Model
This NASCAR braking system provides some interesting insight into disc slot design – note
As for the internal vane structure of a ventilated disc, Mark adds: “There are limitless internal vane structures that are possible. Design of the vane structure has a dramatic effect on the performance of the brake disc. Some designs, such as directional curved-vane discs actually improve the airflow through the disc by turning the disc into a centrifugal pump. However, the cost of implementing this is increased due to the need for unique left- and right-hand discs. Brembo has patented a ‘pillar vane’ internal geometry that provides nearly all the airflow advantages of the curved vane discs while being able to use the same disc on both the left and right sides of the vehicle.”
Who knew so much technology goes into these seemingly simple iron discs (the material composition of brake rotors being a topic for another month). But when you consider just how vitally important the braking system is to safety and performance, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that industry leaders like Brembo are constantly looking for ways to improve the design of their brake discs.
Rotor Education Tech Talk David
Send your feedback to dpratte@modified.com
Read more: http://www.modified.com/tech/modp-1111-rotor-education-tech-talk/viewall.html#ixzz27PLW71oM
We spend a day with Risi Competizione at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, CA
One cool thing about working with the Brembo brand is the people that it attracts. These are the types who are drawn to having the best, and they don’t compromise on anything which also exemplifies the type of work they do. One such person is die-hard Brembo fan Mario Lozano aka “Super Mario” from TSR Fabrication in Gardena. Most know his name in the Datsun 510 community, but his personality goes beyond Datsun’s, and you can see the artistry and passion he has come through everything he builds or fabricates (Nissan, Porsche, etc). To see more of his work, click on the links below:
Here’s some articles on him:
The Brembo CCM-R disc is a product of many years experience accumulated by Brembo in the field of carbon brake materials used in F1, combined with the expertise acquired by the company in CCM applications for road use.
2016 FIA GT3 specification Audi R8 LMS featuring Brembo Racing brake components and endurance race friction.
Photos: Audi Sport
Close-up of the Brembo Racing system.
Seat belts fixed to the seat have some advantages. However, until now, there is no specific FIA standard that regulates the construction of the seat to make it resistant to the loads transferred from the belt in an accident.
The reason why it’s connected to instead to the body, is that the roll-bar is integral to the whole body and it’s able to dissipate impact energy better with a properly designed cage. It’s also able to resist better than a threaded connection built into a body of a composite material. Additionally, until a few years ago it was much easier to simulate the dynamic behavior of metals compared to composite materials, making the predictability in the event of an impact “safer” and the level of protection more reliable.”
Q: Race Technologies | Brembo Official Partner: We approached Brembo Engineering with this question “Can I use Subaru WRX STI Brembo calipers (Original Equipment) on my Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S, or Toyota GT86?”.
A: Brembo Engineering: You cannot use 2002+ Subaru WRX STI Brembo O.E. (Original Equipment) calipers on either 2012+ Subaru BRZ, 2012+ Scion FR-S, or 2012+ Toyota GT86.
Subaru WRX brake system: 4-piston calipers with 1-piece 326×30 rotors. Retails for $1,795
Here’s why:
Officially Released Brembo Performance Upgrades for the BRZ/FR-S/GT86
Brembo had worked directly with Subaru to develop the WRX STI brake package. This OE (Original Equipment) brake system was designed within the manufacturers specific parameters which typically isn’t necessarily meant strictly for high performance use. Instead, this system has to cater to a wide range of requirements such as price, environment (rain, snow, or shine), and NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) which are related to your average user who will drive primarily on the street vs. significant track usage.
Beyond Brembo OE are Brembo Performance upgrades which are designed specifically for modified cars with increased horsepower, aero, increased grip, or other enhancements. For these applications Brembo offers several solutions to match your cars performance requirements (you can consider these as “stages”, i.e. “stage 1 to stage 5”) which may also further extend into the Brembo Racing program.
Below is a listing of some of the benefits of a Brembo Performance system over a Brembo OE STI brake system. These are Brembo’s official offerings for the Scion FR-S, Toyota GT86, and Subaru BRZ.
Notice the disc sizes offered range from 332×32, 345×28, and a 355×32. Also all of these discs are 2-piece discs which utilize a lightweight billet aluminum hard anodized bell with outer iron disc which is substantially lighter than a 1-piece solid iron rotor.
Brembo Performance GT Systems (street and track):
Brembo Performance GT equipped cars:
There’s a drastic difference between a OE Brembo system which is designed within the constrictions set by the vehicle manufacturer, and a Brembo Performance GT-R system which is designed to offer the highest performance possible. One such example of that is the GT-R’s calipers are a billet CNC’d monobloc design with an extremely durable nickel plating. Additionally, this caliper is on par with a Brembo Racing component with its high thermal resistance, twin piston seals, and stainless steel ventilated piston inserts. This entire system has the broadest range of performance (street, track, and racing) than any other system offered on the market. This is the ultimate big brake system upgrade.
Brembo Performance GT-R Systems (street, track, race):
Designed specifically for track enthusiast while being a cost effective solution. This system offers several track specific features such as the calipers quick pad release, hard anodized finish, and stainless steel piston inserts for increased thermal resistance. The disc is a type III for high initial bite and quick release characteristics and a 72 vane count for high thermal capacity and heat dissipation.
Brembo Performance Race Systems (track and race):
Brembo Performance Race equipped cars:
No other high performance brake company can offer the expertise or range of product that Brembo offers.
You can find more information here.
Brembo Performance and Brembo Racing 