BIG BRAKE KITS CHOICES
- Thread starter proracer1
- Start date
Chuck 98 RT/10
Enthusiast
I like Stoptech primarily for the support at Viper Days. Not sure if one is better than the other.
REDSLED
Enthusiast
I run the Stop Tech 4-Wheel Kit. It is awesome! There are numerous choices for brake pad compounds and their customer service is great. Call Jon B as he has some great deals on the 4-wheel Kit right now. Good luck.
-Jonathan
-Jonathan
StopTech Service
Enthusiast
This will be a pretty one-sided opinion, but I'll try and be as fair as possible. First off, what type of driving will you be doing? Track only, street only, combination? Also, are you looking for a 2 or 4 wheel kit? What size wheels are you running? Are the Brembo's on the car the stock set-up or an aftermarket kit?
OK, a lot of questions and you're looking for answers. We're quite proud of our brakes and feel we offer not only the best performance, but the best value as well. I'll address all our features point-by-point which will hopefully give you some questions to ask of your own.
Our most important feature is the balance of our systems. We size the caliper pistons differently for each platform to maintain the optimal balance. This means the pistons on the front and rear calipers are different. We also have different sizes for the front of a 2-wheel kit v. a 4-wheel kit as the rear upgrade effects the balance. All this make our kits best suited to the Viper especially where the stock master cylinder is used. Our ST-40 calipers have a patented bridge that significantly stiffens our parts, making them the most resistant to deflection and expansion of amy caliper in its class. Our calipers are squeeze-forge cast aluminum held together w/ 12mm bolts that are plated with an OE type plating.
The pads we use in our calipers are a very common Porsche shape, available in virtually any compound from every major manufacturer. There is an FAQ on our website explaining the pad we use and giving many pad manufactureres part numbers, even those we don't sell. There are pretty much the same selection of pads available for the Brembo calipers, however we find the Porsche pad number is usually less expensive for any given compound. Pad size for out ST-40 and the Brembo F-40/F-50 type calipers is virtually the same.
Our rotors feature a patent pending internal vane design that flows more air than any racing rotor we have tested. More airflow means better cooling between braking events on the track. Our rotors are manufactured in Italy, so I guess there similar to Brembo in that sense... Either rotor will give you much improved cooling over the stock system. Pricing for our 355 X 32mm (14") slotted rotors is $238.00 each, which includes new drive pin hardware. 332 X 32mm (13") slotted rotors are $195.00 each and 328 X 28mm (12.9" used on the rear) slotted are $185.00 each, again all include new drive-pin hardware.
Our aluminum hats are 7075 T651 (it may be T6...) made from round billet stock. I'm not sure what material Brembo uses, either the 7075 or 6061. Our hats feature a directional standoff to improve airflow over the outer face of the rotor, improving outer pad wear. No one else we're aware of is including this type of feature. All our rotor and hat assemblies are a floating design in which we use a drive pin arrangement to attach the hat ahd rotor. Again, there is an FAQ on our website detailing this set-up. Brembo uses the same type floating arrangement with the exception of a different scheme to keep the assembly from rattling. We use an Inconel stainless steel spring washer under the head of each bolt while Brembo uses a spring clip type arrangement. Both systems have proven to work very well.
Our brackets are 6061 T6 aluminum with precision ground stainless steel studs and aircraft type, self locking Jet nuts to secure the calipers. The Brembo caliper brackets are a very similar arrangement.
StopTech makes our stainless steel brake lines in-house, meeting all the DOT certification and testing requirements. Even though not a DOT requirement, we presseure test every ine to 4500 psi (about a 3:1 safety margin). Our lines feature a clear outer plastic coating to keep from chaffing any adjoining parts. We also use very unique brackets to secure the lines with our front line mimicking the routing of the OE lines keeping them safely away from the suspension. I believe Brembo uses Goodridge lines, which are also DOT complient, but do not have the outer coating or brackets.
Our 332mm front only kit is $2295. A 355mm front only kit is $2595 while a 355 front by 328 rear four-wheel kit is $4995. Our 4-wheel kit uses the stock caliper from the 1992-2000 Viper rear as a parking caliper.
I think that's about it except to say we are a proud sponsor of Viper Days, attending several events each year. We have several well qualified Viper specific distributors, all listed on our website. We chose our distributors for their value added service and technical expertise, and we fully back our products.
Sorry if that's more than you really wanted to know about StopTech. Truth be told, I'm waiting here late to unload a shipment of parts and have some time to kill...
Please let me know if you have any questions, and visit the Technical page our our website for a lot of detailed information.
Matt Weiss
StopTech
www.stoptech.com
OK, a lot of questions and you're looking for answers. We're quite proud of our brakes and feel we offer not only the best performance, but the best value as well. I'll address all our features point-by-point which will hopefully give you some questions to ask of your own.
Our most important feature is the balance of our systems. We size the caliper pistons differently for each platform to maintain the optimal balance. This means the pistons on the front and rear calipers are different. We also have different sizes for the front of a 2-wheel kit v. a 4-wheel kit as the rear upgrade effects the balance. All this make our kits best suited to the Viper especially where the stock master cylinder is used. Our ST-40 calipers have a patented bridge that significantly stiffens our parts, making them the most resistant to deflection and expansion of amy caliper in its class. Our calipers are squeeze-forge cast aluminum held together w/ 12mm bolts that are plated with an OE type plating.
The pads we use in our calipers are a very common Porsche shape, available in virtually any compound from every major manufacturer. There is an FAQ on our website explaining the pad we use and giving many pad manufactureres part numbers, even those we don't sell. There are pretty much the same selection of pads available for the Brembo calipers, however we find the Porsche pad number is usually less expensive for any given compound. Pad size for out ST-40 and the Brembo F-40/F-50 type calipers is virtually the same.
Our rotors feature a patent pending internal vane design that flows more air than any racing rotor we have tested. More airflow means better cooling between braking events on the track. Our rotors are manufactured in Italy, so I guess there similar to Brembo in that sense... Either rotor will give you much improved cooling over the stock system. Pricing for our 355 X 32mm (14") slotted rotors is $238.00 each, which includes new drive pin hardware. 332 X 32mm (13") slotted rotors are $195.00 each and 328 X 28mm (12.9" used on the rear) slotted are $185.00 each, again all include new drive-pin hardware.
Our aluminum hats are 7075 T651 (it may be T6...) made from round billet stock. I'm not sure what material Brembo uses, either the 7075 or 6061. Our hats feature a directional standoff to improve airflow over the outer face of the rotor, improving outer pad wear. No one else we're aware of is including this type of feature. All our rotor and hat assemblies are a floating design in which we use a drive pin arrangement to attach the hat ahd rotor. Again, there is an FAQ on our website detailing this set-up. Brembo uses the same type floating arrangement with the exception of a different scheme to keep the assembly from rattling. We use an Inconel stainless steel spring washer under the head of each bolt while Brembo uses a spring clip type arrangement. Both systems have proven to work very well.
Our brackets are 6061 T6 aluminum with precision ground stainless steel studs and aircraft type, self locking Jet nuts to secure the calipers. The Brembo caliper brackets are a very similar arrangement.
StopTech makes our stainless steel brake lines in-house, meeting all the DOT certification and testing requirements. Even though not a DOT requirement, we presseure test every ine to 4500 psi (about a 3:1 safety margin). Our lines feature a clear outer plastic coating to keep from chaffing any adjoining parts. We also use very unique brackets to secure the lines with our front line mimicking the routing of the OE lines keeping them safely away from the suspension. I believe Brembo uses Goodridge lines, which are also DOT complient, but do not have the outer coating or brackets.
Our 332mm front only kit is $2295. A 355mm front only kit is $2595 while a 355 front by 328 rear four-wheel kit is $4995. Our 4-wheel kit uses the stock caliper from the 1992-2000 Viper rear as a parking caliper.
I think that's about it except to say we are a proud sponsor of Viper Days, attending several events each year. We have several well qualified Viper specific distributors, all listed on our website. We chose our distributors for their value added service and technical expertise, and we fully back our products.
Sorry if that's more than you really wanted to know about StopTech. Truth be told, I'm waiting here late to unload a shipment of parts and have some time to kill...
Please let me know if you have any questions, and visit the Technical page our our website for a lot of detailed information.
Matt Weiss
StopTech
www.stoptech.com
Hisserman
Enthusiast
Thanks for taking the time, Matt. Very informative.
I vote for the StopTechs for a couple of reasons. When I added HP to my car I decided to upgrade my brakes too. I had the Wilwood Grand National brakes installed on the front of my car.
It was a terrible solution, because the balance from front to back was way off and the fronts locked up under heavy braking. Since there wasn't a solution for putting Wilwoods on the rear of the car (required a lot of cutting of the stock spindles and still was not installable), I decided to go with a 4-wheel solution, i.e., StopTechs.
The StopTechs installed really easily and they are GREAT brakes. I like to drag race my Viper and in order to get skinnies to fit on the front, I have to swap out the front StopTechs with stock front calipers. It takes less than a half hour to do this since the stock spindles aren't modified.
The other reason I like the StopTechs is their customer service is way up there with the best I've experienced. About 1 1/2 years after I had the StopTechs installed, I noticed a pinhole leak of brake fluid right in the middle of the body of the caliper. I only noticed it because the paint developed a 1/8" bubble. Upon further inspection I noticed a slight bit of fluid under the paint bubble.
I called StopTech and they reacted quickly to solve the problem. Remember, this was 1 1/2 years after I had bought them. Without any hesitation, they told me they were sending a brand new caliper and a pre-paid shipping label to send the old one back for inspection.
Bottom line:
1) The StopTechs perform very well
2) The StopTechs are engineered very well and are easy to install.
3) StopTech has incredible product support and customer service.
----------------
2000 Black RT/10
Heffner 1000SCi 843 rwhp 792 rwtq 10.20 ET @ 141 MPH
Heffner Performance - Home of the World's First 9-second supercharged Viper!
It was a terrible solution, because the balance from front to back was way off and the fronts locked up under heavy braking. Since there wasn't a solution for putting Wilwoods on the rear of the car (required a lot of cutting of the stock spindles and still was not installable), I decided to go with a 4-wheel solution, i.e., StopTechs.
The StopTechs installed really easily and they are GREAT brakes. I like to drag race my Viper and in order to get skinnies to fit on the front, I have to swap out the front StopTechs with stock front calipers. It takes less than a half hour to do this since the stock spindles aren't modified.
The other reason I like the StopTechs is their customer service is way up there with the best I've experienced. About 1 1/2 years after I had the StopTechs installed, I noticed a pinhole leak of brake fluid right in the middle of the body of the caliper. I only noticed it because the paint developed a 1/8" bubble. Upon further inspection I noticed a slight bit of fluid under the paint bubble.
I called StopTech and they reacted quickly to solve the problem. Remember, this was 1 1/2 years after I had bought them. Without any hesitation, they told me they were sending a brand new caliper and a pre-paid shipping label to send the old one back for inspection.
Bottom line:
1) The StopTechs perform very well
2) The StopTechs are engineered very well and are easy to install.
3) StopTech has incredible product support and customer service.
----------------
2000 Black RT/10
Heffner 1000SCi 843 rwhp 792 rwtq 10.20 ET @ 141 MPH
Heffner Performance - Home of the World's First 9-second supercharged Viper!
Joseph Dell
Enthusiast
I have stoptech and couldn't be happier. I have front only... took just a few hours to install. Directions were well written and support was good. I love them.
Bought mine from JonB at Partsrack. Another plus... he wouldn't sell it if it sucked.
JD
Bought mine from JonB at Partsrack. Another plus... he wouldn't sell it if it sucked.
JD
jcaspar1
Enthusiast
I have the front 332mm size and love it too. The two wheel setup stops as fast as the 4, but doesn't look as cool. You can also get a 332mm size 4 wheel setup (not listed on website) which should allow the use of skinnies up front without swapping calipers.
Brad Manhattan Beach
Viper Owner
I did quite a bit of research before going to Stop Tech many moons ago. The things that I was leary of was the fact that most after-market brake solutions required the use of an adjustable proportioning valve and modifications to the master cylinder in order to obtain their optimum performance. This was primarily done as a work-around for adapting a generic brake solution for a specific car to make it functional.
Unfortunately, the consequence to this is rear bias that could cause your car to swap ends under certain driving situations. The other consequence is that if the adjustable prop valve is found to contribute to a traffic accident (on the street), you run the risk of voiding your auto insurance and your warranties.
That being said, I can say that Stop Tech has performed for me on the street and on the track in stellar form. Their solution is not only designed for the Viper (without the need to add a an adjustable prop valve), but also adds a tremendous amount of pedal feel (that didn't exist before with the OE brakes) and bottom line stopping performance.
Stop Tech also improved performance dramatically when it comes to stopping power (which stop 45 feet shorter than OEM from 60 mph), and brake fade during street and track use. My rotor temperatures dropped dramatically, which allowed me to stay on the track for a much longer periods of time.
What separates Stop Tech from the others is the fact that they are not taking someone else's products and adapting it to fit onto a Viper. Not everything that works on the track (or other cars) will necessarily work on our cars... without a tremendous amount of engineering development. Case in point is people who are mounting Brembo Monoblock brakes on Vipers. This is obviously a well proven racing brake. The problem is that they are not designed for use on the street. They cannot accommodate a street compound pad because of the form factor differences. Because of this, you are limited to a few racing pads that make the brake ineffective until they are warmed up to racing temperatures.
Stop Tech is NOT an after market tuner adapting someone else's brake to our cars. They have specifically put a tremendous amount of engineering into designing a brake specifically for the Viper, that will work with the OE master cylinder (and ABS), and OE mounting points. Steve Ruiz is one of the most knowledgeable engineering people that you will ever meet. He has many years of high performance/ racing chassis and suspension design experience.
My recommendation is obvious, but I warn you to really do your homework in researching these solutions. The brake marketplace is NOT an apples to apples playing field. Let the buyer beware of "good deals" (especially of tuner-developed solutions... they are NOT engineers). You cannot put a price on safety devices like brakes. Do not cut corners when it comes to safety.
Drop me an email if I can be of further assistance.
Brad
Unfortunately, the consequence to this is rear bias that could cause your car to swap ends under certain driving situations. The other consequence is that if the adjustable prop valve is found to contribute to a traffic accident (on the street), you run the risk of voiding your auto insurance and your warranties.
That being said, I can say that Stop Tech has performed for me on the street and on the track in stellar form. Their solution is not only designed for the Viper (without the need to add a an adjustable prop valve), but also adds a tremendous amount of pedal feel (that didn't exist before with the OE brakes) and bottom line stopping performance.
Stop Tech also improved performance dramatically when it comes to stopping power (which stop 45 feet shorter than OEM from 60 mph), and brake fade during street and track use. My rotor temperatures dropped dramatically, which allowed me to stay on the track for a much longer periods of time.
What separates Stop Tech from the others is the fact that they are not taking someone else's products and adapting it to fit onto a Viper. Not everything that works on the track (or other cars) will necessarily work on our cars... without a tremendous amount of engineering development. Case in point is people who are mounting Brembo Monoblock brakes on Vipers. This is obviously a well proven racing brake. The problem is that they are not designed for use on the street. They cannot accommodate a street compound pad because of the form factor differences. Because of this, you are limited to a few racing pads that make the brake ineffective until they are warmed up to racing temperatures.
Stop Tech is NOT an after market tuner adapting someone else's brake to our cars. They have specifically put a tremendous amount of engineering into designing a brake specifically for the Viper, that will work with the OE master cylinder (and ABS), and OE mounting points. Steve Ruiz is one of the most knowledgeable engineering people that you will ever meet. He has many years of high performance/ racing chassis and suspension design experience.
My recommendation is obvious, but I warn you to really do your homework in researching these solutions. The brake marketplace is NOT an apples to apples playing field. Let the buyer beware of "good deals" (especially of tuner-developed solutions... they are NOT engineers). You cannot put a price on safety devices like brakes. Do not cut corners when it comes to safety.
Drop me an email if I can be of further assistance.
Brad
Stop-Techs are great brakes, and I'd love to believe that, but there is no way it's true for an ABS car (you don't really believe it will reduce the stopping distance to less than 80 feet do you?), and I frankly doubt it's true for any Viper assuming you use the same driver. 45 feet from 60 mph is a LOT. Do you have a source for that claim?
jcaspar1
Enthusiast
This is from the Stoptech literature for front 332mm upgrade:
Test Results:
• 60 - 0 113 feet versus 155 feet (source R&T 7-98)
• 80 - 0 202 feet versus 278 feet (source R&T 7-98)
• 100 - 0 315 feet versus 353 feet (source MT 8-00)
Test Results:
• 60 - 0 113 feet versus 155 feet (source R&T 7-98)
• 80 - 0 202 feet versus 278 feet (source R&T 7-98)
• 100 - 0 315 feet versus 353 feet (source MT 8-00)
Thanks for the info, and now we know where the claim came from (I didn't think Brad made it up). But it looks like they're comparing a pretty pathetic result from a magazine road test of a non-ABS car with what they got after their brake upgrade on a different car with a different driver. The ABS cars usually "test" in the 120-123 foot range. It's basically apples and oranges, and I still say the brake upgrade alone would not reduce the stopping distance 42 feet on the same car with the same driver, and it obviously won't do so on an ABS car.
JGarrett
Viper Owner
Great discussion. Of greater importance than adding power this should probably be one of the first mods. More please....
Jim
Jim
SoCal Rebell
Enthusiast
I had the 4 wheel big brake package and loved it, great on the street and even better on the track. Their customer service (Matt) is second to none, this is a no-brainer. 
DChan415
Enthusiast
Has anybody got any feedback on the Brembo big brake kit?
jrkermode
Enthusiast
Regarding stopping distances, even the StopTech website tells you that for a single stop tires do most of the work. Some gains may be had if the brake balance (front to rear) is off, but that advantage may be minimal on an ABS car.
The big advantage of big brakes is their ability to deal with the heat. Larger components can store more heat from a single stop. Bigger pads "insulate" the brake fluid against the heat. Improved cooling can reject the heat better prior to the next stop.
Keep in mind the StopTech systems are designed for stock cars. If you run stickier or wider front tires, you may be getting a whole lot more weight transfer under braking. That could mean you need a different front to rear balance than a stock car. StopTech can probably accommodate for this since they make calipers in a variety of piston sizes. Just be sure to let them know if you are running a non-stock tire set-up.
The only negative comments I have ever heard about StopTech is that their rotors don't last as long as PFC or Brembo rotors.
The big advantage of big brakes is their ability to deal with the heat. Larger components can store more heat from a single stop. Bigger pads "insulate" the brake fluid against the heat. Improved cooling can reject the heat better prior to the next stop.
Keep in mind the StopTech systems are designed for stock cars. If you run stickier or wider front tires, you may be getting a whole lot more weight transfer under braking. That could mean you need a different front to rear balance than a stock car. StopTech can probably accommodate for this since they make calipers in a variety of piston sizes. Just be sure to let them know if you are running a non-stock tire set-up.
The only negative comments I have ever heard about StopTech is that their rotors don't last as long as PFC or Brembo rotors.
