KWarner04

So I wanted to get some input and opinions from some of you guys. I'd much prefer to discuss with people who I actually know than those just looking to up their post count.

I'm thinking about going with the Race Roots HPS Stage 2 Upgrade (link). It includes the following:

- Racing Brake One-Piece Slotted F&R Rotors
- Hawk F & R HPS Pads
- 2 Litre's of ATE Super Blue
- Racing Brake Stainless Steel Lines

I know it's only the 1 piece rotors, but not sure I need 2 piece rotors at this point in time. I also want to stick with HPS pads for now. I might move up to HP Plus, but those might be a little "over kill" for a daily driver. If I keep tracking the car more, I might change my mind.

So what thoughts do you guys have?

cornholio135

iTrader: (2)

First off I would not even buy a keychain from RR but that's just me...

Try www.Rotorpros.net

I got all four rotors slotted with yellow painted hats and generic ceramic pads shipped for $280 for the wife's LY GT. You could get the hawk pads and SS brake lines from them also..

JTtheDude

I got the brake upgrade kit from rx7store.net several YEARS back and I'm still happy with it. No complaints with this setup at all.
http://www.rx7store.net/RX_8_Brake_R...%20upgrade.htm
I've done A LOT of hard driving and the pads are just now starting to fade slightly after years of almost daily driver use.
JT

DarkBrew

I have the Racing Brake one-piece slotted rotors with SS lines and Hawk ceramic pads... It's a beautiful set up especially with the painted calipers and back plates

If I was tracking the car I'd use a higher temperature pad material.

GODFATHER

Kyle give me a call on this... if u need my number send me a pm...

mscamp02

iTrader: (3)

Im running rb slotted 1 piece sport rotors along with hp+ pads. Coming from the stock suspension to this is day and night. The amount of bite is purely amazing from this setup. I ordered mine from RaceRoots and received it a few days later.

If all you do is just a little bit of track and your 8 is not solely devoted to it the one piece rotors will be plenty for you.

Riley Craven

iTrader: (1)

No upgrade needed.

JantzenRX-8

iTrader: (9)

^^^ +1


You dont really need to upgrade unless your stuff is worn out or you're tracking your car a lot. The stock brakes are really good as is for street driving or track driving. The only thing you need for the track is a higher temp compound or you'll obliterate them before you know it.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

I disagree.

The OEM brake pads are NOTORIOUS for squealing terribly when warm and let off a ton of brake dust. It's a shame that a car that was almost $40k brand new had brakes that couldn't stop squealing all the time.
This has been an issue since the RX-8 came out and mazda went so far as to issue a TSB.

I had my OEM's replaced under warranty for extreme squealing and less then 4,000 miles later they were squealing again.
I gave Mazda the benefit of the doubt and ordered the newer part number which was supposed to address the squealing, guess what happened...

the rotors are great quality but the inner hub rusts very easily and mazda resorted to painting the inner hub to address this.
Is there anything wrong with the performance of the rotors? No, but the rust is annoying. Reason enough to upgrade? Probably not but if you're replacing pads, it's something to consider.

As for the SS brake lines; this is always a great upgrade on just about any sports car. The brake feel will be more solid and under heavy braking, there is no line flex. This is not necessary but the SS lines will last longer.


All that said, I would advise against a brake upgrade if you're just doing it for the sake of upgrading.
I took the opportunity to upgrade my pads to Hawk Ceramics, Racing Brake Drilled / Slotted Rotors and SS lines because my pads were wearing down and figured I'd do it all at once.
The 1 piece rotors will do just fine for a daily driver as will the HPS pads, I wouldn't recommend anything else unless you're constantly tracking.

Grungepup

iTrader: (2)

you really want to wait 2 months for product that will say is in stock, and then you get a shipping notice for a nonexistent package... and then the endless emails, the bad guy thread, RR apologizing, Fanboi's (insert teamrx8 here) saying that you are to impatient for not wanting to wait 2 months for a product that you thought was in stock and paid in full for.......

please, if you do anything with your brakes...... choose a different vendor.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Dude why take the risk with RR, your not saving much.

I have teh rotors from rotor pros and they perform and look great. I have had zero issues. I got the Hawk pads cheap, they are for sale all the time. I run stock pads in the rear now and the car handles great. Search for a thread about brakes by Eric Meyer and get the pads from his guy. Support the RX8 racing guys, not sleaze bags.

Riley Craven

iTrader: (1)

I was hoping someone would! Its more fun for me that way.

Was he complaining about squealing breaks? Personaly I had this problem and it was really annoying. I just changed to Hawk HPS pads and all was right with the world.

Thats kinda superficial dude.

Lol, lasting longer isnt exactly a great arguement when you consider the average life of the engines on these cars is so poor.

He actually is going to be tracking his car once a month (still jealous of the bastard). That said 20 min sessions only, I still dont think its neccessary or worth it.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

- ditto -

My OEM pads squealed embarrassingly. I'm very pleased with my Hawk Performance Ceramic pads and Racing Brake slotted/curved vane rotors (although concur that the OEM rotors are good). Almost silent and very low dust now.

I haven't yet gone with SS brake lines, but appreciate the value in doing so.

I got my pads & rotors from Brice at Racing Roots and was very satisfied with the price and rapid shipment.

Spin9k

Start with the important bits... how often and what run group do you do DE's? If in fact you do once a month, 1 or 2 day event...that's still a bit of tracking (1.5-4hrs). If you're in Intermediate or higher that's reason enough to prepare you car...i.e., you should have the right mods for that type of abuse.

Next...again depending on run group your pad choice is lame... that's an expensive street pad basically, ok for lower run group speeds...but... Why do you want to spend money on those when OEM is so similar in performance? But I digress...as you must know what HPS stands for?

...perhaps you should set you sights a tad higher if you want a noticeable difference in braking...like using street/race or simply race pads? They can produce real and useful differences to your overall confidence on track.

Next...good choice in rotors...but again what is your future ambition? Since you don't change rotors but every few years at best...is the extra cost of 2p all that much..? Put another way... you might put the 2p to good use now or soon in the future of your tracking... so consider what are you waiting for? ...if you've the $$$, get the good stuff now in this case so you don't have to buy it all again later when you need/want it. Otherwise, the 1 p are fine, but if you've any future goals as to losing unsprung weight (2 p save 4.4lb each) that's certainly one good place to start.

ps I hope that was fun for you

987HYS

iTrader: (1)

That'll do pig.

Highway8

iTrader: (11)

Brake Fluid: Clean and fresh stock style fluid works great, no need to waste your money. I have never boiled my fluid or had brake fade.

SS Lines: Great upgrade.

Rotors: I love the racing brake rotors, both 1 or 2-piece will work great. 2-piece if you plane to puch the car hard at the track.

Pads: I use ceramics on the steet and I have used both hp+ and dtc-60 (currently). The HP+ and DTC-60 are track only pads, dont use them on the street. They will cause noise and they are bad for the rotors.

I have not used HPS pads but from what I have heard they are a little better then ceramics but more noise and dust. You can use both the ceramics and the HPS pads for dual street and track use, it just depends on how hard you push the car at the track and how much dust/noise you can deal with.

My overall recommendation is to use your stock rotors for the street, resurface them and use ceramic pads. Buy a second set of rotors 1 or 2 piece and use them with the race pads that fit your driving.

Racing Roots: Brice seems to have improved and learned his lesson about selling custom parts that are not in stock. He keeps a bunch of racing brake rotors and hawk pads in stock. If he says he has them, he should ship the same or the next day. So if he has the best prices, then go for it. I have given him a chance on a few things lately and he has come through.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Hey brother, you are a stand up guy but you have not been keeping up with his antics. A local member here bought S-Techs that were "in stock" and he got them about 40 days after paying for them and paid $50-60 more than he should have. He just refunded another guy after complaints because he could not deliver coil overs that were paid for. I'm really tired of people getting screwed around on this board. He sure as hell is quick to take that money though.

Yeah it sounds like he has really learned his lesson

KWarner04

Wow...lots of good advice here.

Let me address a couple of points:

1. Race Roots
   I've never ordered from this guy and don't know much about him. Sounds like more than couple of people have had issues with him. That was just one package I saw as I prefer to help out those who sponsor this community we all enjoy for free. I'm more than happy to go through another vendor, or even Racing Brake themselves, that was just the first package I saw.
   
   
2. My driving aspirations
   I just completed my first track day last Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed it. As many have mentioned, I won't notice much difference with the novice group, but the instructor recommended I be moved up to the intermediate group, so I expect to be pushing the car harder the more track days I do. I want the car to be able to perform at track days, but not worry about reduced braking ability on the street. This might mean swapping brake pads before and after track days, and I'm ok with that. I just figured the HPS would be a decent balance. I didn't want to upgrade to the HP Plus because I won't be at the track all the time, just 1 or 2 Saturday's a month.
   
   As far as the rotors, I have a feeling mine need to be machined. I'm about to cross 50K miles and I haven't had any work done on the rotors since I bought the car 2 yrs ago. I doubt the previous owner did anything to them either. Rather than spend money to machine the rotors, I figured I'd upgrade them while I am at it. More of a "why not" decision than an immediate need.
   
   
3. Brake Fluid & SS Lines
   I probably shouldn't have said anything about this because I've already decided I will be flushing my fluid and going with a high temp brake fluid. I have talked to numerous people about this and it's something they all agreed on. Once you move up to intermediate, having a higher temp brake fluid is worth it. I also want to upgrade the brake lines as everyone I know who has them loves them.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

order from Rishie at Auto RnD, he's a forum vendor here and hooked me up with my Racing Brake rotors, Hawk pads, and SS lines.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Let me address a couple of points:

1. Race Roots
   I've never ordered from this guy and don't know much about him. Sounds like more than couple of people have had issues with him. That was just one package I saw as I prefer to help out those who sponsor this community we all enjoy for free. I'm more than happy to go through another vendor, or even Racing Brake themselves, that was just the first package I saw.

GOOD, there are other vendors on the site that will deliver as promised. Why take a risk of getting jerked around.

1. My driving aspirations
   I just completed my first track day last Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed it. As many have mentioned, I won't notice much difference with the novice group, but the instructor recommended I be moved up to the intermediate group, so I expect to be pushing the car harder the more track days I do. I want the car to be able to perform at track days, but not worry about reduced braking ability on the street. This might mean swapping brake pads before and after track days, and I'm ok with that. I just figured the HPS would be a decent balance. I didn't want to upgrade to the HP Plus because I won't be at the track all the time, just 1 or 2 Saturday's a month.
   
   As far as the rotors, I have a feeling mine need to be machined. I'm about to cross 50K miles and I haven't had any work done on the rotors since I bought the car 2 yrs ago. I doubt the previous owner did anything to them either. Rather than spend money to machine the rotors, I figured I'd upgrade them while I am at it. More of a "why not" decision than an immediate need.

Having separate pads and rotors for track days is the best option if you have the means to be swapping stuff out before events. I haven't bothered in the past but that will likely change.

1. Brake Fluid & SS Lines
   I probably shouldn't have said anything about this because I've already decided I will be flushing my fluid and going with a high temp brake fluid. I have talked to numerous people about this and it's something they all agreed on. Once you move up to intermediate, having a higher temp brake fluid is worth it. I also want to upgrade the brake lines as everyone I know who has them loves them.

I have SS brake lines and I will be flushing to high temp fluid as well.

Highway8

iTrader: (11)

No I am not staying up on things. All I can say is that I ordered 2 items that no one else was selling and I received them fast and I placed a third order for some rotors. I tried Rishie with auto RND (I have allways gotten my brakes from him in the past) but this time I didnt get a reply via email and I needed them fast. Brice got them out fast.

Also, I placed a web based order with RR and it turned out 2 of the 3 items were out of stock. He emailed me right away to tell me the eta and asked what I wanted to do. I canceled the order and got my money back right away.

So if he has the best price, I say go for it but if he says its in stock and gives you a shipping ETA, he better stick to it. If not, despute the payment right away. There is no reason someone should wait weeks or months to dispute it.

Highway8

iTrader: (11)

[QUOTE=9krpmrx8;3613401]Word of caution to people thinking about using high temp brake fluid. Check the specs on the fluid. A lot of the time the boiling temp is not much higher but if you look at the wet boiling temp, it is much lower then standard fliud. So it works great for a while but you must flush it more often. And like I said, I track my car hard using full race pads and I have never gotten brake fade (never boiled the fluid).

So for the money, I would rather flush everytime I go and come back from the track with a standard fluid then leave a high temp fluid in longer because its more expensive.

Flashwing

The RX8 brake system is one of those deals where you shouldn't fix what isn't broken.

Jeff uses blank OEM rotors on I believe Hawk HP+ pads and has plenty of braking power. This is on an RX8 running Toyo 888's about about 300whp. More tire and more power than the OP is pushing so if that setup works I don't see any need for a BBK, 2-piece rotors or seriously expensive parts.

I run power slot rotors, Hawk HPS pads, ATE blue fluid and stainless lines for brakes and clutch. No braking issues and no fade. I'm not pushing the car to its limits but I could easily tell that I had miles of braking ability left on the table.

The only advantage of BBK's will be longer performance life and reduced fade. Neither of these items are necessary on a street driven car or even one that is tracked once in a while.

You can get better performance out of changing some parts but you don't need to break the bank. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just trying to sell you something you don't need.

Riley Craven

iTrader: (1)

Glad someone else in this thread had this opinion besides myself and one other.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

[quote=Highway8;3613418]
Both good points.