"S" owner here...looking at BBK's...currently i'm on OEM calipers/rotors with carbotech pads....was working the track over the weekend felt i hit my limit with the OEM system. was looking at the JCW BBK Retrofit...but was curious if anyone here has had a chance to compare the regular brakes vs the JCW brakes.

even if you haven't driven both, what is your take on the JCW brakes. are you impressed. do you feel they are worth the possible upgrade?

thanks all.

 

Totally impressed. Many others that have driven my car are as well. I autocross with our Porsche club and I can tell you there isn't one Porsche driver at AX that hasn't been amazed with its capabilities.

 

I am happy with mine. They're not cheap. but IMO well worth the price. While you're at it, you need to install braided stainless lines too. That will eliminate the sponginess that some people have experienced with the stock rubber brake lines. I used the lines from NM.

 

Are those NM wheels?

 

 

Worth doing all day long, upgraded on my own car
Sorry no track time yet, but based against my r53 kit these are good

Be aware that differing master cylinder on jcw may be worth considering as well

 

yeah that's right. will have to note that...i only have about 2-3 more track events so i'm wondering if i'll just hold off until next year, but at least i have some constructive opinions on it. brakes feeling mushy right now. need to bleed them out before watkins glen as i am told that is a brake-heavy track.

they seem to be worth the investment as well based on the alternative..AP Racing is twice as much.

thanks all.

P.S. - shameless plug here...3 videos of my run this past weekend @ NJMP Lightning:
Day1 - Session 3 (Instructed) - Day1 - Session 4 (Instructed) - Day2 - Session 2 (Solo) -

 

Nice videos MP.

You might also consider Wilwood. I was talking to Jerry at NM Engineering and he said he could get the front set for the F56, but the cost was no less than the complete JCW set.

I never thought of the JCW master cylinder. I'm going to look into the cost of replacing it, just in case I decide to change it out down the road. At this time, for my purposes, the stock unit is doing the job without a problem. Admittedly, I haven't had it on a track yet, but I have wrung it out pretty extensively on the roads in the mountains of western NC, in the vicinity of the Dragon. YMMV

 

anyone notice the gauge cluster is the 3rd gen in the videos

 

 

You'll be very happy with the JCW Brembo upgrade. Get the JCW master cylinder also though. We also sell rebuild kits for them with upgraded track pistons and high temp seals if you buy a used set of JCW Brembos.

http://www.sneed4speed.com/r56-jcw-b...n-upgrade-kit/

 

Been thinking about the JCW brake upgrade kit myself... Can I ask if the feel of the brakes have improved with the kit without the JCW master cylinder chenge?

It's the brake feel I would like to improve with the std. brakes rather than braking power... I have had previous Brembo upgrade brakes on an E87 130i and thought they were fantastic for brake feel (Better than my Porsche Caymans R & S) but the Brembo brakes on a previous M135i was not particularly great for brake feel.

 

Can you tell me if the rear brake pads are any different or are they the same?

 

thanks chris. will keep you guys in mind. i assume you guys sell the rebuild kits for the f56 as well. or are the kits the same between gen2 and gen3 and i just don't know this?

 

Very impressive Marco.

 

All the R53 cars have a 7/8" bore master. The later cars now come with a 15/16 bore. This larger bore unit would be paired to the larger demands of the four pot JCW stuff. The smaller bore with that of the older single piston slider. (it's a balance of input/output on both cars)

Plumbing the larger bore part onto the earlier car could prove a challenge with the need for alternate fittings and or mounting. When done however you'd have less pressure with it meaning you'd have to push harder to stop the car. Some might like it..some won't.

 

Just got my JCW brakes fitted yesterday and all I can say is that they have transformed the car...

The pedal now has feel in abundance so i can now modulate the pedal to give so much more precise braking force... The subjective feeling is now I have around 2-3 inches of braking adjustment compared to around 1 inch previously where braking was almost on/off with very little in between...

The brakes feel better than my previous 2 Porsche Cayman brakes and would say they are on a par with the 6 pot Brembos BBK upgrade I had in a previous BMW 130i

I would go as far to say that this upgrade has more impact to the way the MCS drives than the JCW tuning kit... Recommended

 

Finally got my JCW BBK installed and bled. And after a week of testing I can confirm what 'sootyvrs' is saying about the upgrade. Easy to modulate, big increase in braking power, very confidence inspiring. Love it! If you really push the performance of your F56 you know the stock brakes are not up to the task. This upgrade solved the problem perfectly.

See attached......

Hoopty

 

Nice one... Did you manage to clear the calipers with the 15mm spacers?

I assume you don't have the JCW version of the wheels that have convex spokes?

 

I have the flat spoke 506's and the 15mm spacers still hit. So I had to go to 20mm spacers (thanks ECS). No rubbing so far, so that was good news.

Hoopty

 

Glad the 20mm worked. Thanks for the order.

 

I think I calculated I needed 18mm extra clearance if I was going to keep my Cosmos wheels so thought 15mm would perhaps catch so good to get confirmation albeit a different design oem wheel.

Glad to hear your not rubbing which was my concern hence buying JCW wheels

 

I had a 2007 MCS and now a 2014 JCW Coupe. Brakes are night and day. I don't do track though. I think the brakes are more different than the turbo/tune. Just my .02.