[s-cars] BIRA vs Big Red (ECS2, etc)

[CaptMagu at aol.com]

You guys like my thoughts??? Very funny...

Anyway, I have had the 993tt Big Red calipers for about 6 years. I have 
always been very pleased with the calipers but rotors are another story. I started 
with Coleman 2 piece rotors and had nothing but problems. I went through 3 
different sets with the same story each time. i had 2 of them turned and no 
matter what, they all warped after within 5000 miles of mounting. Just prior to my 
Big Red rear upgrade dave Jones suggested we go with the Porsche 993tt 
rotors(322x32). He had enjoyed a lot of success with these mounted to some of his all 
out 2.7tt S4s. 

Sure enough, I have run these for over 15,000 miles and 6 hard track days 
with no issues. I do run Pagid Orange pads up front on the track days with 
Porterfield R4S for the street and Porterfield R4S pads on the rear Big Reds all the 
time. Although the Pagids are noisy, I end up leaving them on the car for 
several days after the track event because the bite is so great. 

As far as bigger being better, that doesn't always work out. Brian Billotti 
was having severe dive problems(bottoming his front coil-overs) with his mondo 
calipers and 355mm rotors on the departed Edwin. He dropped back to 322x32 as 
a way of going with more economical 17" tire and rim options and to help the 
dive issues. I have fought to maintain a balanced car for braking and cornering 
several ways. First, I had my Bilstein Sports revalved 30% stiffer in rebound 
a few months ago. Second, I do run the Big Red 993tt rear calipers with 2 
piece 314x30 rotors. These calipers are the actual rear 993tt units with a 
smaller overall dimension as well as smaller pistons. This combination gives me a 
very balanced braking system with none of the characteristic dive from front 
only big brake upgrades. 

So, for your initial brake upgrade, i wouldn't go with a rotor larger than 
the Porsche 322x32. This in combination with a set of Pagid Orange pads for the 
track would provide more than ample braking the s-car.

Hap, stoppin dahkine brake talk in Evahboost, Maguire