Im new to the forum and was not sure where to ask this, but i thought since we where on the topic of brakes i would ask. I have an 03' Cooper S in need of a brake job, i was thinking about doing the stock rotors with the EBC Greenstuff pads all the way around. I was just wondering what everyones thoughts. I drive my car daily and do occasional auto x. Everyones opinions will be greatly appreciated.

 

Biased perhaps but given you'll want new rotors, new pads and possibly some ss hoses for the car...an affordable big brake alternative might be money better spent.

You'll not only get the items you need but more. You'll get the weight savings benefits, improved feel and response, a bump in rotor size and mass, easy pad changes for the AX events and an opportunity for the system to grow with you; alternate hd track rotors and track pads should you choose to go that route.

While it may seem expensive, the couple hundred bucks more could more be more than offset by the functionality and value. Be happy to get you into something budget minded if you're interested.

 

The Greens are good, but doing any autocross you'll want more. Go ahead and get the reds they have much better bite lower dust, and perfector for a daily driver but can be used for the occasional autox
http://www.waymotorworks.com/ebc-red...r50-53-52.html

 

The Reds are not that much more so i will problay go with them. But if you do not mind me asking what are you running on your car? I have been seeing alot of JCW brake upgrades or the R56 brakes being put on an R53 none JCW is it really worth it to get the JCW rotors pads and calipers, and put them on my R53?

 

Does anyone know if I can order R53 JCW rotors and they will work with the R56 calipers? I sourced some Calipers from the junk yard but the rotors were completely worn out. The rotors cost me $25 so I figured it would be worth it to just buy new rotors. I'm split between either Powerslot rotors for an r56 or JCW Rotors for R53, anyone know a reason I should go with one over the other? Also, If I order Stainless lines, I should go for the r56 ones correct?


thanks guys.

 

@ishoelaceee I have this setup and it was a MUCH improved upgrade. If you aren't getting them out of a junker it can cost a bit to do the swap. I think Todd with TCE can be close to the same cost for a better setup IMHO.

@ForcedFed4 Yes the rotors should be the same. The R56 calipers ARE the first gen JCW ones. so yes they should mix and match. It might be cheaper to get the R56 rotors since there are technically more of them out there and anything that says it's for a JCW usually has an extra premium attached to it, just for the name.

 

I have the R56 calipers and rotors. I am pretty sure the JCW R53 rotors are the exact same as the stock R56 rotors so I agree with OldGameFreak to just look for a set of those. Nice upgrade and bolts right on. You will definitely need the R56 lines as the connection is different to the caliper from the R53s.

 

Sweetness, I think I'll just order some stoptech slotted
R56 rotors and stainless lines, I'm excited to get a little more stoping power!

 

Good choice on the rotors. Centric Powerslots (same as Stoptech as they're the same company) are excellent. Don't bother with the cryo treat. They might wear a bit longer, but they cost more as well. Not worth it.

JCW rotors are fine for looks with the holes, but any racer or track day enthusiast will tell you to avoid holes.

SS lines are fine, but unless there was something seriously wrong with your stock lines and they were ready to blow, don't expect greater stopping force with them. All SS lines do is change the feel of the brake pedal. And if the stock lines are in good shape, the change in feel isn't all that much.

The biggest difference in braking performance comes from your choice of pad and then making sure that you bed them in properly.

 

He'll need different brake lines if he's putting R56 calipers on his R53 though, so SS lines make sense in that situation unless he also was able to get the lines when he got his calipers.

I've had this full swap sitting in my garage all winter. I should do it soon.

R56 front calipers
Stoptech street performance pads
Centric (stoptech) premium blank face rotors
Stoptech front R56 SS lines
Stoptech rear R53 SS lines
ATE super blue

- drew

 

R56 calipers and rotors are an excellent upgrade. Pick up good used calipers and get some Centric Powerslot rotors. The stock 1st gen brakes reallly aren't up to heavy use. The JCW big brake package was/is excellent, short of a full Stoptech upgrade, and work very well. And, as other have mentioned, the stock R56 brakes are the same as the first gen JCW brakes.

 

I'm fully aware of the benefits involved with SS lines, I am only going that route because the ones from the junk yard were cut when they removed them (wouldnt' let me remove the brakes for "insurance reasons"?) so I need some form or r56 lines and SS lines are pretty affordable.

Has anyone had any luck with Hawk pads on a Mini? I have used them in the past on e30's and miata's and loved them!

 

I hate Hawk street pads (HPS especially), but their track pads are okay.

 

hmmm... well my other choice was EBC RedStuff, maybe I'll go that route

 

No experience with EBC personally, but for a cheap street pad, my Stoptech pads are awesome.

 

I run Hawk HPS pads on my JCW cabriolet front and rear. Work great. Initially, I wasn't all that happy with the "bite" and it took more brake pedal to get it to stop than the stock setup (yes, they were properly bedded in), but after a while, they started working really well. And you can use them pretty hard without any fade. I'm thinking that part of the problem was that I put on factory JCW rotors at the same time and because they're drilled, the swept area was reduced. I've just placed an order for Stoptech Powerslots and another set of HPS pads and I'll see how they work. I'm planning on doing a track day with the local Shelby club.

One of they guys in the club runs HPS blue pads and won't run anything else other than Hawk. But then that pad is quite a bit different from an HPS and not suitable for the street.

Another option is their HP plus pads. They're still suitable for the street temperatures but can run up to 800 F. (HPS pads are good to 700 F.) They supposedly offer noticeably more "bite" then the HPS, but at the sacrifice of noise, dust, and more rotor wear.

 

My experience with Hawk hps pads for daily driving is not a lot of initial bite but they get better with some heat and a good transfer layer. I use hp+ on the Civic for street use and dtc60 for track use with excellent results. I just put hps's on the R53 with R56 calipers but will probably go with hp+'s for better feel.

 

See, both those descriptions are exactly why I don't like them.

Zero initial bite, horrible feel, too much effort to get them to work. Not what I want in a street pad. The stoptechs are better in every way and pretty darn cheap. It doesn't make sense (to me) to spend more and deal with the HPS shortcomings.

HP+ are fine except for the noise.

- Andrew

 

Where did you find that deal? I need new stuff all the way around.

 

Might as well just get the calipers and buy new rotors and pads,

I'm not a big fan of using used brakes.

 

Didn't realized we were talking used here. I will only buy new when if comes to car parts.

 

hi would like to ask which is better buying a stoptech bbk or willwood bbk or buying a jcw caliper/r56 caliper brakes? thanks

 

That's a great question. Problem is; there's no right answer.

I've stated before that you have three criteria to debate as a buyer:
1. What size wheel do you run?
2. What are your expectations/intended use for the product?
3. What's your budget?

Compromise says "pick two". You'll never achieve all the goals with one purchase. Somewhere something has to give. It doesn't fit, isn't up to the task or costs too much.

If you're asking which one will produce shorter stopping distances the reality is that for one or a few short hard stops; none of them. For repeated harder use the larger and more robust products become more durable. But again; if they don't fit your wheel or wallet it become somewhat moot.

 

thanks i'm running 17's (bbs r90). more for street use. budget well if i can get a good deal on anything i might as well buy it. currently someone is selling me a jcw caliper only. (so i'm not sure what else i need to buy (rotors, brakelines i think)

 

If you have calipers you'll need: pads, rotors and ss hoses to complete the build. The total investment? Mmmm. Maybe $400? I'm not really sure. Here you'll have a nice system for street use but certainly not big brakes.

For about double that amount you can move to a Wilwood 12.2" kit complete with everything necessary in one package. Here you'll have moderately big brakes and a very nice upgrade to what your car could/should be.

For about three times the money you can move into one of my 13" kits and really begin to fill up the wheel for both looks and function. The larger brakes are simply more efficient and do the same thing all day long with much lower stress put on the parts.

At roughly four times the money you can shop some of the Stopteck suppliers and get a very track worth package. It remains very streetable also but for most folks it requires pretty thick wheel spacers as this kit, unlike some of the above options, is only produced in a 'wide rotor' version.