Is it worth paying £1,600

[custard]

i know the VXR is high in the range but are there no bigger set ups on other vauxhalls available?there fore you should be able to fit there upgrade kits?
might be worth contacting courtney or the likes to see if they know the mounting plate specs etc to see if other set ups fit

 

[PNL]

For the amount of power your car is giving as standard I would have thought that Vauxhall would have given the VXR a decent set of anchors I dont think that it justifies the cost of replacement there is a big brake disc and six pot caliper available for the stilo made by Galfar but at the price of £2000 I wont be fitting it to my car thank you very much the EBC & OMP upgrade that I have fitted to my stilo has improved the braking considerably Im sure you can find an upgrade that could suit your car without having to pay this kind of money

 

[Jai]

Trouble is when going with second best is that if the unmentionable happens, you'll only kick yourself and wonder if it would have happened if you spent that little bit extra and got the best...

thankfully in most cases you wouldnt have to wonder for too long.......

 

[Koa]

Some very good advice there peeps, much appreciated

here's the release info on the AP brakes.

As most of you will be aware from PV show last weekend the first couple of VXRacing AP brake kits have arrived. These kits that were developed by VXR Performance Centre in conjunction with AP Racing. These 2 sets are now going through the testing phase. One set is getting as many road miles on as we can, and the other set is doing circuit testing in the hands of Tom Chilton at the VXR Track Days.
The first production batch of kits are well into manufacture and we soon need to make a decision on paint colour, so the reason for this Poll is to involve you guys with the Red and Blue colour split for the first batch. Those of you that seriously wish to purchase these brakes please add you name and colour requirement to this thread.
The front brake kit price from VXRPerformance Centre is £1,600.00 fitted including vat.
Please note the VXRacing Brake upgrade will also fit all New Astra, Astra G, Astra Coupe, Zafira and New Zafira models depending all on Wheel sizes and models.

VXRacing Brake upgrade kit consists of:
Calipers: - 4-piston Calipers finished in High Gloss Red or Arden Blue with VXRacing / AP Racing milled into the caliper.
Discs: - Ø343x26mm, Vented with curved vane braking Face Pattern
Pads: - Ferodo Fast road / track compound.
Brake hose kit: - Goodridge Braided type

Note: If you you opt for a Red kit then there are various options regarding the rear brakes from a simple colour change to the rear callipers or even an upgraded rear brake kit.

Please note following the introduction the VXRacing AP Brake kits these will be available through selected tuners and Vauxhall retailers in the future.

I also contacted Brembo about their GT brakes but have heard nothing back and that was well over a week ago so they've lost my custom.

Tar-OX's website was just too complicated to work out if my car was covered by there kits so I'll have to mail them too.

Black Diamond I couldn't find anything but will keep looking.

i know the VXR is high in the range but are there no bigger set ups on other vauxhalls available?there fore you should be able to fit there upgrade kits?
might be worth contacting courtney or the likes to see if they know the mounting plate specs etc to see if other set ups fit

I know the vectra vxr has bigger brakes, but I'd imagine any standard setup would be under a lot of pressure on a track day and likely to warp with the heat. There's also the Monaro, it may be worth enquiring about their brakes because they would need something special :chin:

By the way, the picture at the top of the thread is just an example of the colours and not a twin caliper setup

 

[Liam]

Like Custard says maybe Monaro VXR brakes are better i.e. heavier Monaro should equal better stoppers and they would likely fit straight on.

The other option is Ceramic Discs and the corresponding pads, seem to do away with fade which is a bugbear of the track, Tarox do them for Scoobies etc so may well do or are doing a set for the VXR.

Liam

 

[custard]

also re: track days.you can also aid the brakes by fitting ducting to the brakes to drive air into the brake area.demon tweeks et al sell loads of stuff.

if you were into it you could remove the front fogs and fit air scoops in there place as they look ideally placed for ducting air to the brakes

 

[charlieboy]

what about 'hi-spec' do they not do brakes for the vxr?

dont know their website but thats what they look like - \/


(yes they from ebay, but they corsa/nova fitment)

**edit : http://www.hispecmotorsport.co.uk/ - google

 

[hmallett]

"Worth" is subjective. Only you can decide if it's worth it or not Koa
H

 

[charlieboy]

if you intend to cram some more ponies under the bonnet, your going to need some tools to help stop it.

"safety first" and all that

 

[faster4_tec]

I didn't see that £1600 means FITTED

thats bloody good, as they'll have to bleed em too

while their at it, you could maybe ask about some off the hook brake fluid? (dot 5.1? no idea to be honest, but thats what I use on me mountain bike and lasts about 6-12months before its too moist)

 

[Chas Uno]

One thing worth considering before you part with your cash Koa, is how the specifications of the standard brakes compare with the upgraded brakes. I'm not sure if you've already mentioned it in this thread (sorry, my brain is fried from exams today!), but how do the standard vs upgraded calipers/ discs compare? Are the discs the same size? Do the calipers have the same swept area? Are there any perfomance graphs of braking efficiency of this system compared with the standard VXR system? These are all worth worth considering before parting with £1600.

Also, maybe an upgrade of pads is all that is required for track day use. Track days will always hammer the brakes, hell, even Ferrari and Schumacher have brake problems sometimes on a race track! You may find that fitting harder/ cooler pads will deal with the heat better as it's overheating and brake fade that causes the biggest problem under hard track use. But they will be dangerous on the road as they'll be unlikely to heat up under normal use to work properly, effectively impairing your braking.

Ultimately you're going to have to make a compromise. As much as a VXR is designed as a performance car, it is also designed to spend most of its time on the public road where I can imagine its braking is more than sufficient. It you upgrade the brakes to be better on a race track, then you might find you'll reduce their efficiency and usefullness on the public road. The opposite is also true, so Vauxhall have quite rightly gone for the road set up!

Your VXR will still outbrake my Uno by 3000% whatever system you go for

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

Crikey you have deep pockets Koa You haven't said how the standard jobbies perform, do they grumble when you are stopping from three figure speeds? are they spongey? Why not look into a good set of Discs and pads like Pagid blue's, if available.

 

[Koa]

Wow, thanks for all the replies guys


@ charlieboy : Those brakes look the business, I'll look into those further, thanks for the info mate

@ faster4_tec : Yes, I'd imagine there's a few hours labour involved so it's not such a bad price. If the rears are "upgraded" it's another £200 on top, but I'm not sure exactly what you get with the rears.

@ 1986Uno45S : No graphs or anything but there's been a hell of a lot of testing with these brakes and they have proved to be extremely effective under all conditions, both on the track and the roads. There was also a video of the car being driven around a track with these brakes fitted and it was out braking a lot of high quality cars. There's the word of a very trusted guy from vauxhall who developed the VXR, and he's giving his full backing to the brakes, hence them being made available at certain dealerships.

@ Pinin : I wish my pockets were a little deeper to be honest mate. This is my main concern with the purchase. Having a big family and trying to keep the car the way I would like it means making sacrifices and basically the purpose of this thread is to find my other options before I do spend what in reallity is a lot of money on a set of brakes.
If I can find something half the price or even less that will do a sufficient job, i.e. 25% better than the standard setup I'd be happy.
I just want to cover the extra oomph the car has got with a set of brakes capable of stopping it safely.
The standard ones have been perfect on the roads, and on the track they coped fine, it just would have been nicer for more of an eye popping stopping distance.

 

[Trancendental]

After looking at sites which sell "racing" brake kits they seem to be around that price range, the AP ones I saw were £1670 or near enough for 4pot (Whats that ) front discs only.

I'd experiment with a different set of Pads before I parted with my money but if you feel it has to be done then do it, Personally I wouldn't unless I was racing for money and I was loosing races because of having to brake to early.

 

[hmallett]

Why not look into a good set of Discs and pads like Pagid blue's, if available.

The Coupe people rate 3G disks and Pagid pads very highly. I had them on my car for a few months before I sold it, and the stopping ability of the brakes easily exceeded the ability of the tyres. The Coupe is notoriously heavy on front brakes.
H

 

[Liam]

Be careful however in which pad you choose as it's increased performance on the track translates to decreased peformance on the streets from cold.

Liam

 

[hmallett]

...even Ferrari and Schumacher have brake problems sometimes on a race track!

Usually Canada where this happens, where there is a stop from about 180mph to about 50mph every 45 seconds for about 90 minutes! Somehow I think that's more than Koa will be doing!
H

 

[faster4_tec]

you want softer brake pads, not harder pads! (1986uno!)

harder pads will last longer, but generate a lot more heat in the process

believe me from mountainbiking experiance take EBC pads, they do green (all round goodness, organic I think), red (soft as putty for DH use, run very cool but last about 1race day!!!), and gold (sintered, very long lasting, yet don't melt and crumble under serious heavy braking, whilst still lasting months and months and months!)

 

[Chas Uno]

you want softer brake pads, not harder pads! (1986uno!)

Whoops, I got that wrong!

The past two weeks have been murder finishing up on my college course. Exams and assignments being completed and now my brain is fried :bang:

But I did pass my Physics test with only one mistake !:slayer: And no, the one mistake wasn't about brake pads and fade

Koa, I'd still like to see some performance graphs before I parted with £1600 for a set of brakes. A video is all very well, but a brilliant driver can make a car appear to perform, handle and brake far better than it would in average hands.

I also would have thought they'd publish some statistics showing braking distances from certain speeds, and also the same braking distances with hot brakes to show how well they deal with brake fade. Then these could be compared with the official VXR figures. Especially considering how much the brake upgrade costs.

Maybe its the sceptic in me, but the guy giving the backing of the brakes wants to sell them in Vauxhall dealerships! If they were so much better than the VXR brakes, it makes you wonder why Vauxhall didn't fit them in the first place :chin:

Either way, there's lots of info for you to go on. I'd keep on researching and see what other options are available, then make a decision.

Best of luck with whatever you choose.

Chas

 

[charlieboy]

trans - four pot referes to the number of pistons in the caliper (iirc)

mark, they may look the business but get stats and compare to other sets. dont rush into buying them cause they look good (youll turn into beau ) take your time and make sure you get the right brakes at best value for mahoney