Brembo’s Gran Turismo Brake Kit
By Sean O'Hara
Look between the spokes of many high-end performance car’s wheels and you’ll often see a red caliper that reads “Brembo.” On the best rides, you’ll find the Brembo Gran Turismo 4-Piston brake kit – and though they do look incredibly cool, that’s not the reason they favored among the upper crust. The GT kit can stop a car in one hell of a hurry over and over without damage. This is a serious brake kit.
The Brembo Gran Turismo High Performance Braking System offers significant advantages over OE manufacturer’s systems — and advantages beyond most “big brake kits,” too. These discs are directionally vented for enhanced cooling, as well as drilled (or slotted) for improved consistency, continuously cleaning and refreshing the pad surface.
The rotors incorporate a two-piece floating disc assembly with a cast-iron disc mounted to a billet aluminum hat. Besides providing a mouthful of tech talk to throw at haters, this configuration delivers reduced weight. And you’re saving that weight in a component that’s both unsprung and rotating. That’s like landing on the triple-word score in Scrabble.
To top off its supercar-stopping performance, the Gran Turismo brake kit looks nuclear-hot. Really.
It’s available for normal rides like your Civic or Accord, but you’re not gonna score it with paper-route money. Expect that two-disc kit to run you close to $2,000 — for the cheaper applications.
Don’t act so surprised: these components are OE on some of the hottest cars in the world. Why would they give them to us for less?
Gran Turismo 4-Piston, 2-Piece Drilled Big Brake Kit [Brembo]
Street Pricing [Google Product Search]
September 19th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Every pair of cross drilled rotors I have ever seen begins to suffer stress cracks within a year. And they are never cheap to replace.
Really, unless you are doing serious autocrossing or just really like the bling factor, I think you are better off picking up some aftermarket slotted rotors and calling it a day. Almost equivalent performance for about a tenth the cost.
September 19th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
PeterP: This kit includes a lot more than a set of rotors. You get multiple-piston calipers (more clamping force) in sizes that allow a larger-than-stock rotor (more heat capability and more friction surface area), AND drilled/slotted rotors — which include an aluminum hat for significant unsprung/rotational weight savings — not to mention a set of braided steel brake lines.
And the single (short) run nature of autocrossing means you rarely face significant brake heat issues — the kind these would help solve. Now if you’re road racing — or spending significant time at track days — they’d match up with your driving style perfectly.
In fact, I’m always surprised at how many autocrossers I’ve seen with “performance” pads designed for track use. On the autocross course, they never see enough heat to reach operating temp, so they pretty much suck, providing less (and less controllable) braking than stock apps.
In short: you’re right that if you’re just looking for something to look good inside an open wheel, you’d be better off with a pretty rotor and some caliper paint. But if you want that *look* with functionality to go with it, this is your (expensive-ass) baby.
September 19th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Chuck… how much do those bigger front rotors weigh? How about the stock rotors? The whole system? Are you really losing unsprung weight when it’s all summed up? I imagine that might vary widely on each specific vehicle application…
Also, how is the rotational inertia of the wheel assembly affected? Even if your rotor weighs the same… you’ve got a larger radius with more rotating mass… I wonder if it’s enough to feel in steering response?