Brakes, brakes, and yes, more brakes...

["Frank Amoroso" <famoroso@sprintmail.com>]

To clear up any confusion...Yes, the "Big Reds" are the Brembo brakes
>that came on the 993 and 911 twin turbo!  Very nice.

The Big Reds specifically came on the '95 - '97 Twin Turbos as well as C4Ss.
Namely:

993 351 426 10 right
993 351 425 10 left

These beuties are bright red and for extroverts only. The 911 tt could be
ordered with black Brembos, but this is for the more timid among us. The '97
Turbo S came w/ yellow Brembos and I belive these were actually bigger than
the big reds (not sure though).

>
>    I imagine the "big reds" are even better, but you do need to run larger
>diameter wheels (also check offset).  I think 17" is the minimum!

This is absolutely the case. I've tried S4, S6, and BBS Pininfarina three
piecer wheels they do not clear. Luckily on the S4 the stock wheel offset is
already 40 mm and with the right wheels (TSW Hock Rs) this fits the upgrade
nicely.

These are
>also the brakes that the RS2 Avant used, and they are a street setup.

Actually, I think the RS2 used 968 club sport brakes. Dave??

BTW, an
>s4 might look real nice with a set of 993 Cup wheels on it!  Anyone tried?
>Do they fit without rubbing the fenders?

You know it! This is what I have been working on for the past several months
for my black / black '93 S4. I have the Big Reds ready to go up front with
drilled rotors and I am working on getting the rear "pea-shooter" calipers
powder coated red with drilled rotors as well. The wheel I choose is a TSW
Trophy 17x8 (will be here later this week) it is not a dead ringer for the
17" 911 carrera alloy but at $235 a pop it is close enough for me. After I
put the mesh front grill on, S-02 Bridgestones and B&B SS 4.5" oval exhaust
tip, the car will have mechanical as well as visual elements taken from the
RS2, 911tt, and 911 Carrera. I'll try and get some pictures scanned if
anyone is interested.

FYI Kinesis Motorsport makes a dead on accurate replica of the 3 piece
Carrera Cup wheel. Beautiful and extremely strong (Robert Wood recommends it
highly). Absolutley gorgeous. $625 per!! ARRgghhhh, I don't think so, I'd
rather take the $1,560 difference and go on a vacation.

>
>    Hoppen now uses the european S8 brake setup on the S4/S6's.  Supposedly
>an excellent brake setup, but I'm sure it's very $$$$$$!  I think they may
be
>titanium or something.  I think this may be the same or similar brake setup
>as on the previous S6+.

I'm not huge on Joppens kit because it is not as sexy as the Big Reds, costs
more, when you add inthe cost of purchasing S6+ struts and the labor to swap
all of this hardware. I have no performance figures so I am not sure if they
perform as well.

>
>    I too have heard the the AP 6 POT setup is high maintenance, but they
look
>a lot smaller (and lighter) than the Brembo setup, and they are beautiful.

Oh I don't know BRIGHT RED kind of does the trick for me. The Brembos are
pretty light too. Keep in mind that there is a balance that must be struck
between weight and caliper flex. The best of both worlds is probably the
Brembo mono-block caliper pioneered on the Boxster and now on the 996. It is
machined from a single piece of billet aluminum. Can you say pricey? I
believe a retrofit kit is available for 993s at somewhere around $5,500.

 His A4 AP brake setup
>does look impressive though.

I have it on authority that the Big Reds will kill TAPs AP setup. Only
problem is you can't get the Brembos to fit on the A4. I drove a 5000 w/ the
big reds, Impressive (especially in comparison to stock) to say the least.

>
>    Wilwood looks nice, but looks very similar to the AP setup.  Maybee
less?

I have used Wilwoods on the front of a 911, I liked them better than JFZs
and while a little more expensive they are a better value than JFZs.

>But, I only have experience with stock brakes and Brembos.  And, I was very
>impressed with the performance of the Brembos.

I was too. I'll post before / after results on all the brake mods when they
become available.

Just my $thousands of dolar I've got into this project...whatever that's
worth?

Frank--