Tom's rear brake upgrade worth it???? also which pads?

[Invasivore]

I have the stock 17 inch wheels on my car but want to get the most out of my brakes for now. Is "Tom's rear brake kit" worth the it or is there a better alternative? Also, the pads that are on the car dust like crazy. Is there a pad that is quiet, no dust and brakes well?

 

[crazyspeed]

I installed Tom's 40mm rear calipers( about $900 ?) on my 1997 GTS and am very happy...no more flat-spotting front tires. I also installed Carbotech pads ( about $400 ?) and Castrol SRF fluid ( $70 )

I have 18" Hennesy wheels so I could have opted for bigger brakes ( and put the $1,370 toward that) without expensive wheel replacement...but I am happy with this set-up.
> Carbotech pads work great for HPDE and for street use...noise not a problem...but lots of dust
> Castrol SRF has I believe the highest WET boiling point 540 deg. .great stuff..all you need is one liter
> I use the stock rotors (refinished) ...they are very heavy but indestructable..will not crack or warp


HTH

 

[Lexciting]

They will definitely make a difference in stopping. I would definitely recommend them, especially with emergency stopping now. This distance now is definitely shorten.

 

[Invasivore]

Are there any dustless pads out there that perform?

 

[Sybil TF]

I got lucky on mine. The previous owner spent almost $6,000 on a wilwood stage2 upgrade that fits under the stock wheels. It stops on a dime!!

 

[Fatboy 18]

I have Tom's 40mm brakes on my car, best upgrade for the money. I would recommend them, the car stops now with none of the usual front wheel lock up.

As for pads, it really depends on what your use of the car is? I currently use EBC reds on the front and Pagid pads on the rear from a European Renault Laguna which cost around £25.00 they last around 3000 miles and that includes a bit of track driving , lots of options out there.

 

[REDSLED]

I got lucky on mine. The previous owner spent almost $6,000 on a wilwood stage2 upgrade that fits under the stock wheels. It stops on a dime!!

So what's your point? How does your comment help out the OP? Please define Stage 2 Wilwood? No Viper stops on a dime. Congrats on your $6k brake pad and rotor upgrade.

 

[Invasivore]

For now, I will be rarely tracking the car for road racing. I would say aggressive street use would be best to describe my driving style.

 

[viper067]

Tom's brake upgrade is excellent for the agressive street use as well....balances out the braking so you won't lock up the fronts and smash into that guy in front of you

 

[Fatboy 18]

Stock pads should be fine, but you could use the EBC reds on the front for a bit more bite

 

[Invasivore]

Stock pads should be fine, but you could use the EBC reds on the front for a bit more bite

Why not add them on the rear as well?

 

[Fatboy 18]

You could do if you do a search there are many threads on brake pads

For track use Performance friction pads are well recommended but not for street use.

 

[Invasivore]

You could do if you do a search there are many threads on brake pads

For track use Performance friction pads are well recommended but not for street use.

I thought red stuff was a street pad? So why not add them to the rear as well?

 

[Invasivore]

I guess you're not answering that lol. Anyway, where do I get Tom's upgrade? What about stock vs aftermarket rotors?

 

[Fatboy 18]

I did answer that question, saying you could add EBC reds if you wanted to, I've not ever bothered but others might chime in?

As for discs, Viper parts America had a great deal on replacement Brembo stock discs.
I have Baer eraddispeed 2 part discs on my car which came with the car (lighter than stock rotors). Roe racing also stocks 2 part rotors and hats. When my rotors wear out I'm changing to the roe set up. Slotted only, no holes. One of the guys in the UK purchased the EBC dimpled rotors and had one crack on him during some spirited driving, so I would not recommend those

Of course all this depends on your budget, the rotors I have been talking about are all the stock size 13 inch ones, you could go for the big brake kits but you need deep pockets for that upgrade

 

[Dom426h]

Stock pads should be fine, but you could use the EBC reds on the front for a bit more bite

Bite just describes the initial feeling of the pad contacting the rotor. Dosnt describe the overall performance of a pad...
Bite comes more into play when talking about track pads.

EBC Red is a "performance" street pad just like the stock Brembo Pads & the Hawk HPS. I have heard the the stock brembos perform better than the aftermarket street offerings but have not verified. I have only tried the Reds & HPS and slightly prefer the HPS. I have used them both on the track and they perform fine when paired with street tires.

The biggest diif between these 3 options are price. The full set of OEM pads retail for like $500 at your local dealership as where the EBC or HAWKS can be had for about $200.

For the same price of the OEM's you can do EBC's or Hawks WITH a full set of stock brembo rotors.

 

[Bonkers]

Are there any dustless pads out there that perform?

Unfortunately dust is the byproduct of an efficent pad - youre
not going to find a "dustless" pad that works well (or at least
that I know of.) Ive said many a time that Toms brakes were,
without question, the best performance upgrade ive done to
my car. Amazing how such a simple change can make so
much difference.

Unlike most though, I run EBC greens. Im a hard street driver
and never had any issues with them. These are very
not-track-friendly pads, but theyre cheap, quiet, easy to find
(my autozone had them in stock last time I went in) and have
minimal dust. If youre looking for something commuter-level
thats my recomendation.

 

[uvbnbit]

Back to OP's post #14. Where do you get the upgrade? Seems last I heard, Toms website was down? ? ? ?

 

[Viper98912]

PM Tom directly on here

 

[Invasivore]

Bite just describes the initial feeling of the pad contacting the rotor. Dosnt describe the overall performance of a pad...
Bite comes more into play when talking about track pads.

EBC Red is a "performance" street pad just like the stock Brembo Pads & the Hawk HPS. I have heard the the stock brembos perform better than the aftermarket street offerings but have not verified. I have only tried the Reds & HPS and slightly prefer the HPS. I have used them both on the track and they perform fine when paired with street tires.

The biggest diif between these 3 options are price. The full set of OEM pads retail for like $500 at your local dealership as where the EBC or HAWKS can be had for about $200.

For the same price of the OEM's you can do EBC's or Hawks WITH a full set of stock brembo rotors.

why did you like the Hawk's over the EBC reds? Did you have the Ceramic Hawk's or standard HPS? front and back?

 

[Dom426h]

why did you like the Hawk's over the EBC reds? Did you have the Ceramic Hawk's or standard HPS? front and back?

EBC Red & Hawk HPS Is what i have tried so far. I remember when switching from whatever ??? was previously on my Viper to the EBC Red's noticing what felt like less braking power. Then again i guess the bottom line is that i was still able to readily lock up the wheels when doing performance events at the limit. The Hawks felt better from what i remember when i switched last year but in reality i think they both performed about the same on the track when fully heated up. So i dont think you can go wrong with either. Same brake dust but thats the least of my worries as i dust my wheels off with a microfiber every-other drive to keep my HRE's gleeemin clean.