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Hi all - I thought I would post my experiences on installing TEI brakes on my 2009 R57. I also have an 2010 R57 Laurel I where I will also do the same.
Some background - TEI is a brake company based in Guangzhou China. I found them doing a little research on the web. They seem to have a small following in the US Ford Focus Community and sell mostly to the Pac Rim. They are still early in their career - but growing and evolving. They not only sell - but do lots of installations. I have friends in China who visited one of their install centers as well as factory. They were impressed. I think they had some QC issues early on - but have been sorting this out.
I worked with Tracy at TEI and she is very customer focused. She convinced me to give them a shot. I ordered a couple sets of brakes ( and coil overs - but that is another post ). Total order took about 8 weeks - as it was shipped via boat. Packaging was the best I have ever seen - no issues what so ever. Overkill on foam and cardboard. Very nice
Here are the brakes: front brakes are rotors/calipers, rear brakes are rotors - reuse the stock calipers ( this might be just for looks - but to me worth the extra cost ). Front brake kit for 2009 Front brake kit for 2010 Rear kit for both cars
Okay - as some ( or most of you might have seen coming ) - I had fitment issues with my Enkei J10 wheels. These are monoblock calipers - so are thick. We tried 5 sets of wheels that Chuck ( https://mallettcars.com/ ) had in stock. My Enkei's did not fit, neither did stock JCW 17 and 18 inch wheels ( all up to a 10 mm spacer - we didn't have any larger ). However, Chuck did have a set of Sparco ( 17x7 ) , Oz ( 17 x 7.5 ) and some no name track wheels ( 17 x 8 ) that did fit ( no spacers ) Sparco Wheel mounted OZ wheel mounting - showing gap Track tire mounted - also showing part of the pile of wheels we tried on the floor
. So I switched to the Sparcos ( used - but powder coated in gloss black. About 18 lbs - so just a bit more than J10s ).
Issue 2 - again, I am sure some of you saw coming. By using the larger rotor in the rear - our ebrake line was to short - by about 1.5 - 2 inches. However, we were able to re route the lines get them to work
Initial results - We are currently bedding the brakes ( initial runs at 180 degrees, and going to do 250 next ). Completely different pedal feel so far - before I used about 30 - 40% more brake pedal. So far I like it. Whether you have more stopping power or not - who knows. One school of thought is if your brakes activate ABS, then it is hard to improve stopping power. But as I said, I like the feel better.
I'll post a follow up down the road. The car is in NC and I am in Florida, so Chuck will finish the bedding/tuning. I am thinking the front/back brake bias will be okay - not sure if it can be adjusted anyway.
Extra points to those that noticed this car is lifted !
For the 2010 - I plan to use NM RSe05 wheels. These are 17 x 7.5 and hub centric, which I like. I talked to Shelby at NM and she requested a caliper/rotor drawing. She sent me a Wilwood as a template and I forwarded to Tracy at TEI to replicate for their brakes. They did and Shelby said they should fit with somewhere between 2 - 3 mm gap. This is assuming the dimensions TEI gave me are correct. But I do like their customer service - as they turned my request around in a day
Brakes are bedded - I had my friend who has the JCW drive it and he loves it. Brake bias seems fine ( not nose standing ). He has driven it before and after and says he can feel the difference, and it is significant. I hope to get up there next week to drive it. This car will stay at my cabin in the Mountains ( hence it is lifted ).
A quick update on the NM RSe05 wheels, which are planned or the 2010 Laurel. After sending NM the brake diagram from TEI ( for the front, they did not have one for the rears, as they are just oversized rotors with original calipers ... ) with feedback they would fit, I ordered just one wheel for a test fit on the 2009 ( BTW - there is a bit of sale on these now for those who are interested ). And they fit better then the Sparco ! However, I still might need spacers depending on how the coilovers turn out on the 2010 and tire specs ( you can see the finger gap from the wheel to the Bilstein shock ). The guys at the shop loved these wheels - and they have seen many, just not these yet.
