When putting big brake kits on how long do the rotors last and what do you do when you have to replace the rotors? Any comparable sized rotor?

Also, when doing a big brake kit do people only add to the front or the rear also? If only the front how does that effect any issues with braking balance from front to rear?

Thanks,
k

 

Rotor Life - Depends, track the car or not, pad construction etc etc effect the life of a rotor just as it does an OEM type rotor.

On the Wilwoods I had to replace the bolts between the hat and rotor on a regular basis and safety wire them on rotor swaps. On the latest BBK aircraft style fasteners are used. The Wilwood bolts went into the threaded hat. This new (to me) kit uses a nut/bolt config to connect the hat to the rotor and with pinch nuts the safety wire is no longer needed.

When I did the BBK I did add the rear rotors and caliper relocation adapter. In my case it was solely to keep the visual balance the same. There have been quite a few discussions about the balance issue. I've had no problems and use a track compound on the rear at all times mostly because it's such a PITA to swap the rears every track day. I'm finding a 5:1 ratio where I need new front pads 5 times for each rear set.

Supposedly MINI has a balance function built into the braking system.

 

with normal use i'd say 2 years.. mine lasted a bit more than 2 years with ALOT of track miles on Wilwood's A pads

as for brake balance, that'd be something for todd @ TCE to tell ya... what i do know is unless you go with a massive BBK in the front you probably wont need to think about the rear... .. i run Ferodo DS2500 in the rear for all round use without issues