StopTech Questions

[SpicyTuna]

I am considering purchasing stoptechs but I have a lot of questions and not a lot of people seem to know the answers. I thought before I called RRE I would post here and see what kind of response I get.....now for the 10 million questions:

Do they clear 17" rims? Are spacers required? I read on stoptechs page that they set their front kits up so that they work like stock with the rears. Is upgrading the rear a bad idea? Good idea? Right now I have the AEM gsx kit that uses the stock calipers. My fronts lock up super early compared to stock. Mike@RRE told me that upgrading the rears would help. But if stoptechs are set up like stock then maybe I dont need to anymore? Does anyone have them installed? opinions? Anyone have them on a dsm w/o abs? how are they?

Thanks for any input....if anyone has pictures I would love to see them too.

 

[kn69]

17" and 18" rims may clear depending on the type of wheel used. One example is 18" SSR comps that will not clear the calipers and 5mm spacers are required. If you want a detailed list of wheels that will fit the stoptechs, call or email Luke at Tirerack.com. He has a list of wheels that will clear. The outer diameter is not the problem, it's the huge 4piston caliper that sticks out so much more than the stocks and Baers.

Not sure on your rear upgrade question, but my buddy has the stoptechs on his 2G and kept his rears stock. The brakes will not fade at Laguna, Sears or Thunderhill raceway during 30min sessions constantly going from 120mph to 40 and back again all day long. Unreal.

 

[SpicyTuna]

Originally posted by kn69
If you want a detailed list of wheels that will fit the stoptechs, call or email Luke at Tirerack.com. He has a list of wheels that will clear. The outer diameter is not the problem, it's the huge 4piston caliper that sticks out so much more than the stocks and Baers.

Is his email addy just luke@ tirerack.com ?

 

[kn69]

yup... [email protected]

 

[mrecl1pse]

SpicyTuna, if you do get the Stoptechs, let me know what set of wheels you got them to fit on. I have a feeling they won't clear my Volks since I bought a mid type. I should have bought the high type which is designed to accomodate brembo brakes and the sort if you have ever been on a Volk website.

Also let me know how the brakes work out for you. Someday, I'd like to upgrade to a big brake kit as well.

 

[SpicyTuna]

I actually dont think they are going to fit. I am running 17x7.5 racing hart 3 piece rims. I have orderd the stoptechs already though and I will post what happens.

 

[kn69]

Go to the stoptech website and download the template. You can see if the new brakes will fit your wheels.

http://www.stoptech.com/wheelfitchart/wheelchart_index.htm

 

[Sponge Bob]

Originally posted by SpicyTuna
I am considering purchasing stoptechs but I have a lot of questions and not a lot of people seem to know the answers. I thought before I called RRE I would post here and see what kind of response I get.....now for the 10 million questions:

Do they clear 17" rims? Are spacers required?

They will clear some wheels but not all. It has more to do with the shape of the wheel then size or offset. I use Enkei RPM 2 wheels, 17x8 35mm offset, they clear easily without spacers. They would not clear my enkei RP01 wheels, 17x8 38mm offset, without using 5mm spacers. I read that RRE had a list of wheels that work. I wouldn’t hesitate to bug the guys at RRE with all your questions.

Later,
Bob

 

[danemobile]

Information below is from a post I made about 6 months ago.
Hope it helps.

STOPTECH 4 piston 13” brake kit

Recently installed the Stoptech brake kit on a 91 Eclipse.
Was impressed by the quality of the product and the clear, complete directions that came with it.

The kit requires 17” wheels to accommodate the calipers and a template to check wheel spacing is available for download at the Stoptech web site.

Wheel choices are somewhat limited if you do not want to resort to spacers. They include Gram Lights 17x7.5 30 offset, SSR GT1 17x7.5 38mm offset, SSR Comps 17x7.5 38mm offset and OZ Superleggeras 17x8 40mm offset. Other choices which maybe heavier are available from Tirerack.

Kit came with 8 steel brake lines to replace the original front brake lines. 13" rotors are 2 piece, directional vaned 28mm wide and slotted. Rotors can also be ordered drilled for same price. 4 piston calipers are solid and have a bolt in bridge.

The install directions mention “clearancing” the lower ball joint edges if you have replacement suspension parts. My Eclipse has low mileage and as I’m the original owner I know it has the original ball joints. Had to remove the lower third of the brake dust shields. Then had to do some serious clearancing with a medium size hammer to provide 2mm of clearance between the brake disk and the ball joint with the wheels straight. This still only gave me 1mm of clearance with the wheels turned. Have used H & R springs to lower the car by 1.4” at the front so this may have contributed to the lack of clearance.

I’d replaced the original tires with some Yokohama ES100s on the new wheels while doing the brake swap so trying the new brakes was like night and day in comparison to the old brakes and tires. Stopping was impressive.

Positives - Quality kit with clear instructions and support.
Flex free 4 piston calipers with dust seals for road use.
Thick 28mm wide rotors with standard cooling vanes and slotting.
Great braking.

Negatives - Cost $1544
Weight adds approx. 7lbs per axle
Requires 17”+ wheels with right shape
Not completely happy with having to use a
hammer on the ball joint edges.

 

[danemobile]

I'm not sure what material the STOPTECH calipers are made from.
The additional weight is a combination of the larger calipers, larger brake disks and the aluminum caliper mounting adapter plate. The weight is a negative but with the STOPTECH setup there will be no caliper flex and very little chance of the larger thicker brake disks warping.

Wheel shape is critical to providing caliper clearance but 17” dia. is a minimum. The STOPTECH web site has downloadable templates to match up to prospective wheel choices.

 

[Sponge Bob]

Originally posted by danemobile
I'm not sure what material the STOPTECH calipers are made from.
The additional weight is a combination of the larger calipers, larger brake disks and the aluminum caliper mounting adapter plate.

Let me get this strait, when you installed your stoptech kit you weighed all the stock components then the stoptech components and you saw a 7lb increase? What were the weights you recorded for each component? I know the rotors weight the same, I just checked. I won’t quote the weight because my scale is not very accurate but it is consistent. Though the ST40 caliper is larger then stock but its made of aluminum, as well its feather weight adapter bracket. I can’t see 7lbs increase. I remember weighing the stock calipers and the stopetechs when I did the install, each individual stoptech piece was less or equal to stock, unfurtnely I did not write down any figures.

But if its heavier who cares! The damn things stop the car fade free!

Bob

 

[danemobile]

Sorry if my mention of the weight penalty “adds approx. 7lbs per axle” when installing the STOPTECH brake kit upset you.

The figure was arrived at by measuring the complete STOPTECH kit, 2 rotors, 2 calipers, 8 brake lines, 2 brake pads, 2 mounting brackets and mounting hardware before installation.

I then measured the equivalent Mitsubishi parts as a complete kit and compared the results. The 7lbs is the approximate difference per axle.

I did not weigh each individual part as I did not think it would be as accurate with the scale I was using.

Hope this helps to clarify how I arrived at the 7lb figure.

I do agree with you as to the end results of installing the kit. As I previously posted the kit provides “Great braking” , “no caliper flex and very little chance of the larger thicker brake disks warping” or fading.

 

[Sponge Bob]

Originally posted by danemobile
Sorry if my mention of the weight penalty “adds approx. 7lbs per axle” when installing the STOPTECH brake kit upset you

I weighed my stock caliper, bracket and pads, they weighed in at 13lbs. The ST40 caliper weighed in at 8lbs unloaded and the pads add a couple of pounds. There is now way the Stoptech kit added weight.

Upset me? You don't even know me, how could you possible know if I was upset. Trust me, there is nothing you could write to upset me! Just because I’m writing something contradictory to what you wrote does not mean anything other then the fact I remember things differently. Also add to the fact I went out to the garage to re-weigh certain items should prove to everyone that I'm only trying to report the facts. I hate when miss information gets passed along, especially for such and outstanding product as the Stoptech brake kit.

Bob

 

[njshift]

Is there a chance that the 1g fwd brake components weigh less then
the 2g awd brake components? Maybe that is why there are different results...?

 

[Todd TCE]

ST produces some fine parts and loves to brag on caliper stiffness. That's fine but it comes at a vary large weight penalty compared to many others on the market. They don't talk much about what their calipers weigh....

 

[PaulPDX]

Originally posted by kn69
17" and 18" rims may clear depending on the type of wheel used. One example is 18" SSR comps that will not clear the calipers and 5mm spacers are required. If you want a detailed list of wheels that will fit the stoptechs, call or email Luke at Tirerack.com. He has a list of wheels that will clear. The outer diameter is not the problem, it's the huge 4piston caliper that sticks out so much more than the stocks and Baers.

Not sure on your rear upgrade question, but my buddy has the stoptechs on his 2G and kept his rears stock. The brakes will not fade at Laguna, Sears or Thunderhill raceway during 30min sessions constantly going from 120mph to 40 and back again all day long. Unreal.

I checked with TireRack recently and the 17" SSR Comp WILL clear. The 17x7.5 version with 42 offset has 2mm of clearance. Stoptech recommends 3mm I think. The 17x8 with 38 mm offset will be a better choice. The SSR comp does not come in 17x7.5 with 38 offset, that is according to my contact at TireRack. 18" versions will most likely clear unless the offset is incorrect.

With big brake kits like the stoptech and the baer... templates are available. Your best bet is to email it to the vendor and ask them to use the template to do a test fit for you. If you refuse, or are uncooperative, then it's a good sign for not doing business with them.

 

[PaulPDX]

Piston area is matched to stock to match the stock master cyclinder. Increased braking power comes from increased radius from the center to where the braking is done and increase in pad surface area.

If you get a brake kit with mismatched pistons, the kit will not work. Try it, get ready to eat concrete.

 

[Todd TCE]

I think he's referring to the 'mis match' of the pistons in the caliper to the piston in the MC.

What he really means is the piston area of the caliper relative to the piston area of the MC and/or the piston area of the calipers (new) realative to the piston area of the calipers old.

And for the record; the pad size does not effect the brake torque- only to the extent of where it is placed, not how 'big' it is.

 

[SpicyTuna]

I use Enkei RPM 2 wheels, 17x8 35mm offset, they clear easily without spacers.

Are you sure?? RPM 2's fit stoptechs? I am looking at buying a set from a friend, however they are 18x8 35mm offset, should fit too??

 

[SpicyTuna]

I finally got wheels that would clear StopTech's and upgraded to StopTech's from the GSX AEM big brake kit. Overall the kit is 10x better. I took some pictures comparing AEM's to StopTechs:

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[Todd TCE]

I'd hope you'd find it much better, it's night and day between a floating caliper and a fixed one!

I see they found the value in multi hole pattern hat too....hmm, guess I'm not so smart afterall.

Looks good.

 

[TSiAWD666]

Do your calipers not have a glossy finish to them? I just installed my stoptechs a few weeks ago (sorry Todd!) and the calipers were glossy. Yours look matte, somewhat, in the pictures, but maybe there's just grease all over them, hehe.

 

[PaulPDX]

What kind of rims are those? specs? Looks very good.

 

[SpicyTuna]

Do your calipers not have a glossy finish to them? I just installed my stoptechs a few weeks ago (sorry Todd!) and the calipers were glossy. Yours look matte, somewhat, in the pictures, but maybe there's just grease all over them, hehe.

Did you get the red calipers or the black? I have a friend with reds and his too are very glossy. Thank goodness mine are matte black, I am not looking to be noticed, I just want the benefits of the upgrade. It is not the pictures at all, they are flat ("matte") black.

 

[SpicyTuna]

What kind of rims are those? specs? Looks very good.

They are Enkei RPM2's, the color is Hyper Silver, size is 18x8 +35mm offset, weight is 19.5lbs each. I am running 245 tires with no issues, and they do not stick out past the fender. Best yet, with the +35 offset they clear StopTech's.

Link to rims: http://tinyurl.com/247ex

Two pictures of the car with rims (car is filthy!):

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(It should also be noted that 17x8 +35 clear StopTech's too -- this is per Sponge Bob read up for his .10)