Brake upgrade. So many which one should I go for?

[Duce]

Hello everyone,

I want to upgrade my brakes, as we all know the stock are pretty bad.

I ve been looking at several messages and I still have not made my decision yet.

I use my Viper mostly on the road, except a few track days a year. In fact, last time I went to Imola I got my b**t kicked by my friend with his Porsche GT2, and my brakes were totally fading after 2 laps only!!!Ridiculous!!!

So, all I want is a very well balanced and powerful brake system that can be very good on the road as well as keep braking well on few track days.

Can anybody help me in finding the right solution for me?

Also, nobody apart from Mov'it in Germany seems to state the advantage in feet or meters between stock and the new upgraded brakes. Anybody out there that has measured the real difference before and after the upgrade?

Thanks and keep up with the good work!

 

[Mike H]

Having brake fade in 2 laps has probably nothing to do with your stock setup. Sounds like you are way too much on the brakes. Try using a good pad (new at track events) use a good 600 degree brake fluid, and maybe some in car instruction.....it sounds like you are heavy and too long on the brakes. I raced my 96 street Viper and it takes up to about 30 minutes before I start to feel fade. Hope this helps.

 

[ElDiablo Viper]

I upgraded to front Stoptech from Bill Pemberton at Woodhouse. It was the best mod for the $$. I also have race brakeman pads and and 6.0 Brakeman fluid. it worked were good on the track and is great on the street. I would change the pads for the street or they will be noisy.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

I've never had a problem with stock brakes?

 

[jcaspar1]

What are the results from the Mov'it setup. Here is the data on the StopTech 13" front upgrade:

STOPTECH has designed the kit to be compatible with the stock Viper® master cylinder and rear pressure limiting
valve. The Viper® kit features caliper piston sizes selected for use with the Viper® master cylinder that promotes
positive easy to drive brake modulation and enhanced threshold breaking. Using stock (MXX3,275F/335R)
tires and our standard front Big Brake Kit, the following stopping distances were recorded (we use the STALKER®
radar system used by most automotive performance magazines):
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)

 

[Duce]

Thank you very much guys for your replies. It looks like the first step should be upgrade pads, brake fluid and, if I feel like spending some $$$, add a complete brake upgrade.

The are a few upgrades I like:

Stoptech- i love the data, thanks Jeff

, but is it easy to install? My favorite mechanic is very familiar with italian cars, but not with vipers...

And what about Wilwood? I will do some research on that upgrade.


Thanks again for your suggestions, and keep em coming. Meanwhile enjoy the rest of the day!

 

[Sonny 00 GTS ACR]

If you have someone familiar with the Mov'it system I can tell you that they worked well for me. There was some drilling required of the rotors and some initial machining to mount the calipers, but they worked very well. Several top ViperDays competitors used them in 2001-2002 and some still do. We elected to change the fronts to Brembos for 2002 in order to use a larger 2-piece rotor.

Good Luck!

 

[GaryA]

I had the Wilwoods on the front and the stock calipers on the back. It was better than stock, but the fronts locked up occasionally. I changed out everything and went with the StopTech Big Brake kit and really love it.

 

[Duce]

Sonny,

What I like about Mov'it is that I can go up to their headquarters in 3 hours and have them do the dirty work.

I still get a lot of good feedback from Stoptech though, I wonder if my guys at the Ferrari dealer Rossocorsa can figure out how to mount them well.

Cheers,

Guglielmo

 

[jcaspar1]

I have a StopTech kit on order from PartsRack so I have not installed one (yet). I have read the instructions and it seems really easy. Just a bolt on job. No cutting of anything and can be returned to stock. This is for the 2 wheel kit. If you want I can email you the instructions or you can download them from the StopTech website. Per Stiptech, the 4 wheel setup is marginally better at stoping distance (1-2 feet) but has some better cooling for the rear rotors. There is a 4 wheel setup for both 17 and 18" wheels from StopTech.

Do you have any numbers for the Mov'it kit?

 

[DEVILDOG]

StopTech...easy install, great performance, pedal feel and modulation. BTW, you can get black or red calipers. You should be able to kick GT2 butt! Good luck.

 

[REDSLED]

I agree with Mike. Use the peddle in the middle less and use the peddle on the right more.

If all else fails just bite the bullit and purchase Stop Techs (might be overkill if only 2 track days a year)

 

[Achilles99]

While we are on the question of brakes, I have a quick question... how does changing only the fronts help overall braking? Does is somehow change the brake bias, also? It seems like people have no problem locking up the stock front brakes... how does an aftermarket kit actually work?

I would think that you would have to change the stock fronts and rears to get the best performance... I'm surprised that changing out all 4 only helped by 1-2 feet compared to changing out 2. If this is the case, I'm all for saving money and going with 2

!

Jon B, Pemberton... any comments? Whoever gives me the best answer gets my business

 

[Janni]

While I don't have anything to sell, I think I can answer. Changing the stock fronts ONLY (a la the StopTech front brake upgrade) actually REDUCES the piston sizes in the front caliper, reducing the front brake power, thereby changing the brake bias and COMPARATIVELY driving more brake to the rear. Good street solution.

However, if you want to upgrade to a four wheel set up, you cannot add on to the StopTech system later, you'll have ot buy all four calipers, as they change the piston sizes again, to readjust front / rear bias.

Serious brake upgrades are all four calipers. Talk to the ViperDays race guys and race mechanics (Eddie Martin @ Bill Luke Dodge) for real world performance / durability.

The "best" upgrade really depends upon your application and how you drive.

 

[Vreracing]

I trust JonB pretty well.

He recommended the 4 wheel StopTech to me.

That's about all I know.