Well, it's the end of the season for track days here in the northeast.
I wanted to mention one of my mods here in particular, and that's my TCE Wilwood brakes. Seriously they were the most fun of any of my other (many) mods. I run the 13"x.81 in front and the TCE rear kit.
The fun things about these brakes?

• Watching, out of the corner of my eye, every instructor that ever rode with me stomp on their imaginary brakes, with BOTH feet when I would brake deeper then they had ever been before.
• Out-braking just about every car I ever tracked with, especially P-cars, Ferraris and even Spec Fords.
• Having P-car owners asking how the heck I do it.
• It's fun to go fast quick, but more fun to stop fast late.

Anyway, I endorse these brakes as one of the best mods you can put on a Mini. This is in no way an add for TCE. I just like letting people know what works. The TCE Wilwoods are the best brake for the $$ by far.
Thanks Todd for your help during this season and I hope to continue the relationship in years to come.

 

I too have had success with the Front 13" TCE Wilwood BBK ... Not as much as ONASLED has

Question: Does the rear setup render the E-brake useless?

 

Nope, the E-brake works fine. (I have the both the front and rear TCE/Wilwoods)

 

Well, you're welcome. Or as they say; "No, thank YOU."

This post was a breath of fresh air as I recently dropped a couple of almighty SEMA projects that I'd been working on for folks as I would not give them free product for their vehicles. I closed the door Saturday on the last one and honestly I could care less if anyone ever asked me for SEMA support again. When I have helped it has never produced results that really amounted to anything beyond some nice pics for the car file.

I'll take real world feedback and results like this any day over someone trying to sell me on how I'll move dozens of kits if I just give them one for their "Volkshummer" project car. Bunk. All I end up with is a grand or more out the window. When I propose that they pay full price and I'll give them $200 back on each one they sell.....let's just say that would actually require some work on their part.

TCE is not a shell business, spin off division, or subsidiary corporation of some larger conglomerate like some other brake companies. It's me, a couple of outside suppliers and my efforts to help supply you the customer with the best possible parts and service for the market segment. When asked why my kits are priced less than others the answer is that I don't have the overhead, advertising (and free parts give aways) of some others. Can I produce something 'bigger', 'better' or compete with the Big Boys? The answer is always "yes". But not for the price and value you have come to expect.

Your satisfaction and success have, and continue to be, worth far more to me than gambling on huge profits from speculative freebies. Thank you for all your support.

 

I agree, it's nice to have some positive feedback on an aftermarket product. Especially from a source that has "Been there, done that".

 

i have the same TCE kit on my car. Todd was very helpful in the whole process. he put up with my questions for months. i started sending him e-mails 9 months before i finally made the move. in the mean time i got aftermarket rotors, aftermarket pads, SS brake lines. I wanted to get the smaller kit that would fit under my stock wheels. Todd and my local euro-shop convinced me to quit messing around and get the BIG brake kit.

i had to call Todd the night i was doing the install because i didn't have the instructions. he answered and faxed me the instructions with in 2 mins.

on a side note: i told Todd he didn't ship me the directions. i found them just last week. like a kid in a candy store i opened the brake kit when i showed up and checked it out. i forgot to put the directions back in the box and thought i never got any. sorry Todd. you did send them....

in summery. if your going to track your car. don't do it in baby steps like i did and spend more money. get the big brake kit. i spent and extra 500 bucks on pads rotors and SS lines before i made the move. even with that other stuff i still had to bleed my brakes at least once a day on the track. now with the TCE kit it feels like the paint is going to come off the car when i stop and i can do it over and over with no worries about boiling my brake fluid.

Thanks Todd

 

Onasled,
Just curious..why didnt you get the 13.1" x 1.10" Race kit if you track the car so much?
are the 13.0" x .81" kit really enough?

TIA

-Seba

 

While I cannot answer for him on HIS reasons why I can offer up some thoughts:

1. The .81 rotor still comes in a a full 11.3lbs. Not to shabby for rotor mass given its total swept area is huge compared to stock. This rotor has (or was back in my day) use at a lowly 12.2 on the original SHO kits we ran at Bondurant and punished them daily with the full size car and four adults in it. While more mass has its advantages it's not aways all it's cracked up too be. Keep in mind the success of the factory Wilwood kits (11.75 and 12.2) are also based on the .81 rotor.

2. Wheel fit on the 1.10 is compromised by the necessity to move the rotor centerline out more- remember the hat bolts to the rotor, in the case of the 1.10 it's a shallower hat. The back side it constant to the suspension. This moves the caliper even closer to the spokes. Meaning you now have far less wheel choices. Note the problems of other kits here.

3. The rotor weight is higher on the 1.10, up to a tick under 15lbs per. That's a lot of mass to swing around and turn. Loss of some performance is a sure thing.

4. Wider rotors do NOT make for improved stopping. They DO make for greater heat sinks. That's a good thing in the most severe duty applications. But...most folks are probably not quite so heavy duty as they think with occasional track days. The HD guys are like this customer here:
http://funkadelic.org/i/misc/wayot/sjgp/GX4A4305.jpg This customer opted for the wider rotor for rather obvious reasons and is quite satisfied with the purchase.

I'd not argue against wider rotors if; you have room, can spare the weight, can have a real need for it.

 

Todd's reasons were all the ones considered by myself. Anyway, the Mini just dose not need anything beefier since it's basically a slow car that can go through corners quite fast.

 

I wanted to add my 'Thank You, Todd' to the list. I've had my TCE brakes since September but I just ran my first DE with them.

Awesome Brakes. The harder you use them, the better they get. Never a hint of fade. My instructor was quite impressed and kept pushing me to move my braking points later and later as we both built confidence in the brakes.
It was fun to watch others try to follow.

After a close inspection after the event, no excessive wear and I think they are actually smoother than before the event. One thing that I noticed is that the hats are no longer jet black. I think the heat made them take on a purple tint.

I think a couple of the other MINI folks will be checking out the TCE web site soon.

 

Thanks VADER.

The hats, like the calipers in time, will fade do to the heat. Hard anodized finish fades due to heat, uv and some chemicals. *AVOID Castrol Superclean! And water on the wheels after track day use without blowing them off first!

I wish there was a way to keep them black and shiny for a long time but I've yet to find it. Battle scars I guess. Don't consider powder coat however as it tends to hold heat more. Great for car shows but not competition uses.

 

I don't really care about the color shift. You can only notice it close up. High heat has a way of changing the color of most color coatings. Actually, its the only way I would have known that the brakes got very hot. The performance never indicated it.

 

http://www.srtforums.com/forums/show...871#pos2775871

 

Todd,

I'm running 15" R Compounds on-track. Do you have something that would fit? I believe there is a kit that fits but could be wrong. Also I do have rough winters up here in Montreal, how protected are the calipers/etc, should i be worrying about this?

thanks

Amit

 

The 11.75 will fit the OD. Check the pdf (click the part number on the Wilwood site) for the required spoke clearance.

This kit can be had with the booted calipers if you feel it necessary. I'll have to check on any price change.

 

awesome, what's the weight difference with this setup vs stock? Also what are you recommending for the rears? Is it really necessary, does it upset the brake balance of the car?

I'll be knocking on your door come spring

cheers

Amit

 

I honestly don't recall specific weight differences. All the kits offer a total weight savings. The larger and or wider the rotor however the heavier the kit becomes. The majority of weight saving is in the caliper.

Both kits can work well with the stock rear or the TCE rear. Personally I feel the best combo is the 13/11.75. A kit with 11.75 on both ends can benefit from a bit more front pad than the larger front. The rear was really intended to compliment the front 13. And more in appearance than anything else.

 

After watching the video, I really want to get some nice brake on my car.

I am conparing with other brake kits.
I found that TCE Wilwood luck of 2 things which are dust cover and floating roter.
Anyone can explain what is dust cover and floating roter?
Are these important?

 

The dust cover could be two things:
(you seem challenged to relate what you are speaking of so I'll talk on both)

1. Booted calipers: The larger race calipers found on the 13" kits and those of the 11.75 kit are 'non booted' caliper. Meaning they have no dust boot seals on the pistons. The 12.2 kit does offer this however. Boots are great for all weather performance and the street user where inspection is sledom done and peace of mind long service intervals are important. On the other hand I and many others run non booted calipers in some of the most dusty conditions you can imagine and suffer no problem without them. The difference is that we tend to clean things more on a race car than on a street car. Also it's quite common for a booted caliper to melt or 'vaporize' the rubber boot under hard track use where temps are up anyhow. Are they really needed? I'd personally say no they are not. With some common sense and care you can get many years of service from a non booted racing caliper. Many years, not forever? Depends on how they are used and cared for. The FSL on the 13" kit can be replaced for about $159ea if the time comes. In the racing world that's a pretty low price to pay for perhaps five years of hard track use. You'd have spent far more than that on tires alone.

2. Dust plates: This may be the removal of the dust plate behind the rotor. That's what I do with them. Some have opted to cut, bend, reshape etc. the plate to fit a kit. Myself, I simply open it up and let the air flow to the center of the hub area be unrestricted.

3. Floating rotors. This is a rotor that is mounted on a hat (usually aluminum) where the rotor can move freely on it by way of pin mounting rather than bolts. This is designed to allow the rotor to expand and contract more freely than the fixed mount will. Pros: more tollerant of run out, better expansion properties. Cons: more costly, tend to rattle in time, faster wear on the mounts. Are they needed? Can't hurt. But unless you are building a track only vehicle the benefits won't be readily exploited in daily use. Generally this will add about $300 or so to the price of a kit so it's value is up to the buyer. Full floating rotors are what you find on a true race car- in fact when you push the car the rotors rattle. On street apps the builders try to cushion this noise by way of various mounting designs- clips, lugs, washers etc.

 

Thanks very much Todd. Your explanations is very good.
I am having another problem.
Please take a look at this thread and anwer my problem.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...207#post610207
Thank you.