James:
Based on Paolo's comments, I think that he is addressing a full racing application with the Brembo Monoblock brakes. They use these same brakes on the Oreca Le Mans cars. The Stop Tech is not designed for or targeted at this marketplace. It is targeted on people that use their Vipers on the street, with occasional track days. The price point and the actual performance reflects that.
If you are going to spend big money on racing brakes, it makes most of the options presented to you a moot point. There are some very high priced brake solutions for the street, but it's hard to beat the experience and input of the engineers at Stop Tech and Dan Cragin (of Claude Short Dodge).
Just an FYI, there are also pretty high priced ABS systems made by ViperSpeed (Ben Madley) and Silver State Racing (Jason Tarnutzer). They need your car in their shops for about 2 weeks to machine the fittings to accomodate the new system (these are NOT kits). The committment to this is pretty serious, and it would be difficult and expensive to return your car to stock (if you decide to sell the car later on).
Be cautious of different vendors who are out there that are adapting someone else's brakes technology to Vipers. They are most likely NOT engineers, and do not know the intracacies of the brakes design or it's limitations. Stop Tech does design ALL of it's components that go on all of their brakes. From the patented rotor designs, to the stainless steel lines and calipers. Don't be fooled that just because someone has a 6 piston caliper, that it can stop you better or be controllable under stress. Pistons can be designed with a large variety of combinations to achieve a purpose. The guys at Stop Tech have a long hisory of race proven brake engineering and design.
Whatever direction that you decide to go in, do your homework very carefully. This is not a bolt on part like a header, that is not without serious consequences. Don't take this decision lightly, because it could been the difference between serious injury or worse. You want to know ALL od the pluses and minuses with each system that you are considering. You need to talk to references that use the brakes for the same applications that you do, and have a similar skill level as you.
Understand that there are guys like Paolo, are serious committed racers, and understand their cars at a much higher level than the rest of us. They also have driving skills that will get them out of situations that most of us will never see. Decide where your priorities are with respect to:
- Safety (for street and track) and real stopping numbers?
- Controllability,sensitivity (pedal modulation) and brake bias?
- How well does the brake system interface with the Viper's stock master cylinder and wheels?
- How well does the system perform for your application?
- Replacement costs and can my Viper Tech service and install it?
Even with a bottomless wallet, you could be making a decision that you might regret. Please do your homework and ask vendors to provide hard facts and performance numbers (as well as how they got the numbers). I have heard of nightmares with certain brakes that only came out on the race track (when the driver found out about rear bias as he followed his rear end down the track). Be wary of vendors that recommend proportioning valves or modifications of the stock master cylinder (as in pulling O-rings).
Finally, use resources like Dan Cragin who have a tremendous amount of experience installing after market brakes. It's easy to get blinded by the sales talk that everyone throws around.
Good luck in your search. Email me if I can be of any further help.
