Hello guys.

My car is out of brakes and just for that and the prizes of the things I need (new rotors and pads) im decided to get into de BBK world...
My two options are.

OEM Brembo JCW: 800 dllrs

Wilwood 13'' 4 piston:
879dllrs:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Big-Brake-Ki...6e742e&vxp=mtr

or
899.99:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WILWOOD-DISC...8e2c11&vxp=mtr


Now.
The Brembo brakes comes with 4 calipers (front and rear), rear pads (no front pads), and 3 rotors (2 fronts and 1 rear), with that will need to get it painted (they are used).

And the Wilwood are new but just front kit.

My friend told me to choose the wilwood because they are not OEM parts and will look better.


Im running the BBS R90 two pieces wheels, so I will need spacers at least 15mm I guess.
With that new brake fluid (wich one?)
And larger bolts..

And the shipping cost (Im from Mexico)

Will be a pain in the *** to find pads for the wilwood kit, or rotors too?

So, in your opinion, wich would you prefer and why?

This is my car:



Cheers!

 

You could also try these - http://www.tceperformanceproducts.com/mini/kits-16/
I bought from him when I owned a DSM. Good guy.

 

I wouldn't even call those rotors true big brake kit rotors. They aren't even two piece with floating hats. If you're looking for something below $1000 these are good solutions. However, if you're more performance minded and will be going to the track frequently I would get a kit from Todd at TCE.

 

Wilwoods if you plan on racing just because the JCW has been known to melt in high temperature race settings. Wilwoods are less enjoyable at first because it can take up to 500 miles before they seat properly.

 

Thanks guys.

Be happy to help you SUPRAMO. Give me a call or email me and I'll give you the pros and cons of all the offerings out there for your car.

 

Take Todd up on the offer! This is unsolicited as I haven't bought my bbk yet (soon though) but Todd is an amazing resource for brakes. No one knows Wilwood's better and he is one of the few who know how they truly perform at racing temps. The stainless steel lines and differing pistons can really affect braking power and I can't tell you how helpful he is with this. Just do a search and see.

 

I say if you ain't tracking you car the factory JCW Brembos will do just fine on the street. And since you already have the JCW aero kit it'll be a perfect match.

 

I love how this site finds new exciting ways to help me blow even more money

 

Dang. If only I'd seen this before I bought and installed my JCW Brembos. I was just putting my street pads back in and noticed I melted the living daylights out of the boots around my front pistons--and the big brakes have only seen four track days. (sigh)

Miniman s, any chance you can point me in the direction of more info on this melting problem? I've done a bunch of searching, and this thread is the only one I've found that mentions it. I need to figure out how to rebuild these things.

Supramo, I hope you got the Wilwoods if you're planning to heat those brakes up!

 

I have a jcw race / rally car. The plastic components of my pistons melted, and partially collapsed. This resulted in uneven clamping pressure and uneven pad wear. the brake pedal never went away, but I discovered this when changing pads a couple of weeks ago. I also had never heard of this. My brakes had done around 5000km of racing btw. Most heavy duty brakes have metal components, not plastic. I did not want to change brake kits, as some of the competitions I go in require oem brakes fitted. My mechanic is currently attempting to get metal replacement parts fabricated to replace the plastic components. I will drop in later this week and see how they are getting on.

 

I think it's safe to say the JCW/Brembo set up is far more of a marketing and 'bling' aspect of owning/driving a MINI than truly a competition bred set up. FWIW the front Brembo calipers on a Challenger are crap- and they have a big BREMBO sticker on them.

The point is that for real competition use there are wiser ways to invest your money for the return. But for those who want elevated street performance and the 'look' of big brakes-----all wrapped up in one easy monthly payment; it's a great deal.

 

Street only, JCW brembro.

If you're hitting the track, Wilwood's, and Todd will give you all the support you'll ever need, with pad choice, rotors, etc (This is a HUGE plus). The other plusses of the Wilwood kit are that there are many different pads that are easy to get, and relatively cheap, pad switches are a breeze, the rotors are easy to get through Todd. I have a different kit on my car than the Wilwood's (I did have Wilwood's in the past), but in your situation I wouldn't hesitate to grab the Wilwood kit.

My only complaint with the Wilwood kit is I wish it was little stiffer, I did get some pad taper with it, but I think it's been addressed with the newer calipers since I had it on my car, and there are other solutions to that.

 

I use and recommend the Wilwoods. I do not track my MINI, but I do some aggressive driving from time to time. The Wilwoods have been great. You just have to be patient to get through the break-in period. Of course, I bought a complete system along with the parking brake cable and stainless steel brake lines.

 

I want to point that the first ebay link is not a Wilwood kit. Wilwood does not offer a one piece rotor kit in any way for the MINI. That doesn't make it a "bad kit" only that a company is playing on the good name of Wilwood hoping to trick you into something it's not.

While it's true that I do some of the same, all my house kits are clearly listed as TCE/Wilwood kits to distinguish (and be proud of them) from the other true factory listings. Any company can purchase a Wilwood caliper and try to market it as a Wilwood kit- as I see it; if they believe in their product they should but their own name on it. Otherwise I view it as deceptive.

 

Has anyone tried the Stoptech BBKs? I've heard some good reviews about it on the Audi & VW forums. Expensive though. I think they're close to 2k.

And if its bling you want from your rotors, check these guys out Adams Rotors.

 

Here is a good option at a great price.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ombo-spcl.html

When I had to make the same decision many years ago about replacing stock brakes or going to a BBK, I did a large comparison (various stock and BBK options) based on a 100,000 mile plan for driving my car. The Wilwood BBK won the comparison due to low initial cost, fair prices for replacement parts (rotors and pads), and longer lasting parts (for example much thicker front pads than OEM).

I have had the 13"/11.75" kit for many years on two different R53s (over 100,000 miles).

 

I could never justify the costs of Stop Tech. What kills you is not only the price up front, but the pricing for service parts. And believe me, if you track your car you'll be replacing seals and rotors! For what you get in a Wilwood kit it's a tremendous value.

 

The stoptech kit is overkill and HEAVY. Some people have had problems with it as well.

 

The boots are relatively easy to replace but if you melted the pistons it's much more difficult to replace and you may just have to replace the calipers.

 

For anyone following this thread I thought I would give some feedback about repairing my JCW brembos.

These are used in a race car / rally car.

It turns out the brembo brakes are a bad cheap design, with plastic pistons. Mine all had heat damage and 2 had completely collapsed. The plastic seals had also melted.

Repairing the seals is simple, and BMW sell a repair kit, which is pretty cheap, part number 34106784593 part number 5 here http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...57&hg=34&fg=05

My mechanic at the race shop had metal pistons fabricated by a specialist to replace the original plastic ones, and all is now fixed.

So to anyone using these brakes on the track keep a close eye on them. Melted seals seems to be relatively common, and easy and cheap to replace. I suspect melted pistons is much less common, and probably only with severe track abuse, but keep a close eye on them when changing pads.

Robbo

 

I wish people realized what a difference there is between what they perceive and reality. The JCW Brembos are a nice addition for the marketing of the car and are a good way to drive up the costs to make the car more exclusive. I get that. But what the consumers expect for their money is simply not what they get- You're not getting Brembo racing brakes, you're getting a Bremobo OE division, contracted by the thousands, lowest production cost knock off they can produce and sell to BMW for $49ea. As I said before; the Challenger front stuff is pure crap and sold by the same means.

 

I purchased a kit from todd this spring. I have to say that he is going ot be your best bet for an upgrade. He helped me choose what was going to work best for my application and actually took the time to educate me on what I was buying. For the customer service experience alone I would recommend them, But the kit that was put together and is on the car now exceeds even my expectations. (Which were pretty substantial)

 

Sounds like a lot a bench racing to me. The Brembo's on the JCW are more than enough brake for 99% of the drivers out there. I track my car very hard and I have zero issues with them. It all about the pads if you are melting stuff. Stock pads were ok for street tires or in the rain if the car is driven at 8/10's. If you used them hard they will heat up and you start to melt the pads and get transfer. Currently running CarboTech X-8 in the rears and X-10's in the front track and street. These provide tremendous braking on the street and covers about 95% of the track days. If pushed very hard with racing tires I can overheat the current set up. Basicly if I am looking for a super fast lap time and I am braking late and standing on them I will start melting them. It takes 3 or 4 laps to get them to that point. Jan had a pad coming out I want to try or I need to go to X-12's for track days. X-10 are pretty loud on the street but I can live with it. X-12's would be a bit much for street. As is you better be belted in when you hit the brakes. 4 Point harness is huge help on the track. I let a buddy drive and I notice he didn't belt up but I did. We were going about 70 and I told him to hit the brakes hard. He ate the windshield. Caught him totally by surprise. "I have never been in a street car with that kind of stopping power". If I were running a full competition race car I could see the upgrade. Anything short of that you are just throwing money away. Invest in track time and days if you want to get better. Checkbook can help to a point and then it is all just experience and confidence in the equipment to be pushed harder. My 2 cents worth.

 

Also a big difference in the newer JCW's is the air getting to the brakes for cooling. I few simple mods here is a huge step up in keeping the temperatures down. Also most of my track time is cooler weather. It will be interesting to see how she does now I will have time in AZ. Easier to heat the tires but everything else is going to run hotter. Hairdrier blowing on the brakes does not offer a lot of cooling compared to cool moist pacific NW air. Just to heat the racing tires you need to push the MINI to at least 9/10's to build enough heat in them. If you don't you might as well run street tires as they will have better grip. I check brake and tire temps religiously after every run and log my data. You learn alot about set ups this way. Amazing what a 1/2 lb of air can do. I find most MINI's hit the track with way to much air in the tires and when they heat up they are greasy and all over the track from being over inflated. My race tires start out at about 24-26lbs cold. Then I check every tire after every run with 3 readings across the tire. If the middle is hotter than the outsides I drop some air if cooler add some. Goal is even temperatures across the whole surface of the tire. Driving style and talent will effect the temperatures too. Just reading the tires temps can tell you how well you are or are not driving the car. I often see strange reading in my temps by just changing my driving style looking for a lower time. If you start trail braking the fast corners trying to carry more speed your numbers will all change. Brake temps fall, the car gets smoother with better tranistions and you end up with a lower time. Tires are hotter and stickier and the brakes are cooler and happy and the car is faster.

 

Stopping power....Most of these brakes don't have huge differences in "stopping power." People change pads, or even brake kits, and feel they have more stopping power, when in reality what they have is different pedal feel. If you use a stock pad on the track, you'll quickly overheat it. You use a track pad on the street, it won't work as well as the stock pads, but will hold up great on the track. Choose the right pad for the job....

You want to stop faster? First thing you need is stickier tires.

Second, brake cooling is huge--and the JCW brakes are ok, but not optimal. You need to get air to the hub.

All that being said, I do have brakes that reduce braking distance significantly, but it's a niche setup. I've tried stock, Wilwood's, and JCW's, and the TSW BDM kit, all stop about the same, with the proper pad. The difference is fade. That's where these kits will save you big time on the track, not so much of an issue if you're driving legally on the street.

I wouldn't run Carbotech 10's up front. It's bad on the rotor, and wether you want to believe it or not, will not stop as well as a stock pad on the street, until it's up to temp. I really don't want to be the guy in front of you when it's cold and wet coming up to a stop light...

You're better off running Bobcats. The XP8s on the rear are fine, the rears don't do much anyway. At least yet. There is a kit on the way that may make a big difference.

I don't know what tire you run, but your tire temps cold are very similar to what I use. I usually start there and shoot for 33-35 hot.

Most people will tell you trail braking will increase your braking temps, especially in fast corners; I shoot for a consistent turn in speed rather than trailbraking fast corners, it's faster (for me), and save trailbraking for the slower corners, where it's a godsend.

Jan's pads you are talking about are the brakeman pads. They are the best pads I've tried to date, including carbotech, which are good, but I had some issues with pad transfer and pad fad. The only other pads I'd consider are Performance Friction; I've never tried them thought, and the Brakeman have been so good, and reasonably priced I've been hesitant to switch.