Pelican Pete

I have a question...

Just Dave and James R both recently mentioned how much better the Stoptech kit is over the BIRA kit.
That should be obvious, just based on the size of the rotors and calipers.

But for those of us on a budget, can anybody talk about the performance of the BIRA kit compared to STOCK A4 brakes? Or even the BIRA kit compared to a simple A8 rotor upgrade (using stock A4 calipers) ?

Sure I would love to be able to spend $2k on brakes, and even more money for wheels & tires to clear them.
But my mod budget does not permit that. I am really looking forward to putting the BIRA kit on my car. (Although I am actually planning on purchasing the kit from ECS Tuning, but it's the same basic idea as the BIRA package -- Boxster calipers over A8 rotors).
People who have installed this kit say that it is significantly better than stock, which is certainly reassuring.

But then James R is practically insulting the kit by comparing it to the Stoptech.

That is almost equivalent to putting down a chip upgrade, because the StageIII turbo upgrade is so much better. But we all know that a chip is indeed a significant improvement over stock.

Can I expect a similar improvement over stock with the BIRA/ECS brake upgrade, without having to spring for the money of the Stoptechs?

Thanks,
Peter


PS For anyone interested, Coleman can make a rotor to match the A8 rotors -- but with aluminum hats. And they might also have directionally vented vanes, but I am not sure.
(Then again for the price of those rotors, the Stoptech kit is not much more money.)

Skene @ PES Tuning

Pete.. talk to me about those Coleman rotors.... =)

Dead

quality,fit, value,ease of service........

I said the APR/Stop-Tech should work better in race/hard driving situations. That would make it the better choice if those are the situations you will be placing your car.

I believe each offers a large improvement over the OEM set-up.They each work well with the OEM master cylinder. I have no proof that one caliper design works better due to piston sizes or the construction of the caliper body. The APR/StopTech rotor would work better at being able to shed heat due to it internal vane lay-out and it's larger surface area(not just diameter but also it's thickness.)

I also think that the A8/Brembo kit offers a better value per dollar for everyday use.
If you track your car, you owe it to yourself and others on the track to get the best brake set-up you can.

OneEighth

i got my stoptechs yesterday! :-)

HDClown

You can expect a decent improvement with just the A8 brake upgrade. The larger rotor means there is less of an area getting heated as frequently and you knowwhat happens when breaks are constantly hot.

When you move to a BIRA upgrade, they take the A8 rotor and then put on a larger caliper with more pots and I believe a larger pad area. That's going to mean more grip on the rotor which is going to stop better because of more grip of the rotor as opposed to just the A8 upgrade which is increasing the rotor size to mainly help with heat issues.

As the posts have said, it depends on intended use of the car. I personally will NEVER track my A4, I have no desire what so ever, which is why I looked into A8 first, but a complete A8 upgrade with the lines runs you roughly $600-650. Now if your looking at a BIRA kit at about $400 more, your getting a much more substancial caliper over the stock A4 caliper, which appears to be worth it from what I've seen, even if its just for daily driving.

Sometimes I have issues with my stock A4 1.8T UNCHIPPED not stopping the way I'd like it to. I don't know if an A8 upgrade on a chipped car is going to keep me at mind.

The ability to stop isnever something you should skimp on IMHO.

Dead

.....diameter or the width(substantialy.)So you can't increase the surface area.A more efficient vane design may help. I don't know how much the hat design would help. It would lower the weight of the rotor. It may also lower it's ability to transfer heat or it may prevent it from transfering heat to undesirable locations. I don't know.

Skene @ PES Tuning

having an aluminum cap reduces unsprug weight... that's always a + in my book

Dead

Re: "It would lower the weight of the rotor. "

Pelican Pete

Ron, I'm not planning on getting them. RKA called Coleman, and he was quoted $300. I don't remember if that is for the set or if that is each. Either way, it is damn expensive.

If you look at the BIRA website, they also mention that Coleman makes rotors to fit the A8 spec.

That's about all I know.

Raj, care to add anything from your knowledge database?

-- Peter

emosberger

What places sell the A8/Brembo kit?