Stagea Brakes

[Sydneykid]

I have just been pricing some rotors and pads to buy. Where is the cheapest place to get them, also the Bendix Premium 1398BP seem to be no longer available at most places?

I can get the pads for $121 and rotors range from $252 to $315 each for the same ones, DBA 4909 SR ans SL.

Can I get them cheaper?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Try the 1250 part numbers, they are more common than 1398.

Do you need the rotors desperately? I am working on a Group Buy for DBA rotors and it is going to take a few weeks as I have to complete the tests on the machined to size rears.

cheers

Edited September 19, 2005 by Sydneykid

[emanuelt]

How much will the savings be ... around about price??

Hmm might just wait then, I take it group buys are by cash, not credit card?

[Sydneykid]

How much will the savings be ... around about price??

Hmm might just wait then, I take it group buys are by cash, not credit card?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeh, that's the $1M question, if I knew how much they were going to be I would have finished the Group Buy and posted it up already. I am hoping for 15%, so that will make them around $800 for a set of 4. There may be a little bit more for machining the rears to size. Group Buys I arrange are via direct transfer, it makes the process much easier and the price cheaper.

cheers

[AlexCim]

Nice,

Now these are my next purchase, after my manual conversion, my new turbine, my new shocks/springs/bushes etc...

God, i really love my stagea...or at least i must

[muck]

dammit.. SK.. gonna have to start saving again.. u gotta stop tempting me like this

[Sydneykid]

The DBA 4000 series rotors come with temperature sensitive paint on the rotor edge.  This is the DBA instruction sheet for what the temperature sensitive paint is going to tell you.

There are 3 colours (green, orange & red) and they change colour (white, yellow & white) at different temperatures. So I will be able to tell how hot the rotors have been. This will tell me what pads and what brake fluid to use.

I will post up some pictures of the temperature paint on the rotors after 2 weeks use and work through what it means to my future choices of pads and brake fluid.

cheers 

Quick update, as you can see from the following picture, the green paint (458 degrees celsius) has started to change colour. And the orange (550 degrees celsius) is slightly more yellow. But the red is still red, not white.

I would say I haven't had many brake applications that have resulted in spot temperatures over 500 degrees. I haven't done any real heavy duty towing since I installed the rotors. So I will do another update once I have done that.

Cheers

Edited November 7, 2006 by Sydneykid

[AlexCim]

What are the benifits of slotted over normal discs?

Do they go through pads a lot quicker? Is the benifit really there?

[Sydneykid]

1. What are the benifits of slotted over normal discs?

2. Do they go through pads a lot quicker?

3. Is the benifit really there?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Suggestion follow;

1. As the pads heat up they give off gas, this gas forms a layer between the pad and the rotor, lowering the CoF. Also small particles of pad compound form a layer between the pad and the rotor, like little ball bearings. The slots scrap off the partiles and allow the gas to escape. Hence you get superior pad to rotor contact and improved braking peformance.

2 Not really, the slots remove stuff that is no longer attached to the pad, they don't remove pad material itself.

3. No it's a wank that's why race cars use slotted rotors. It's the rice factor, nothing at all to do with improved braking performance.

cheers

[muck]

can slotted discs be machined? or is that not a option on them......

im assuming they will still require some maintainance, in the course of its life...

[StageZilla]

for anyone wanting 328 mm rotors the gtr ones are str8 fit (with brembo calipers also bolt on) and are huge in comparision to stock 280mm ones

gotta love nissan and there same hub designs etc so all the brakes are interchangable on most models

[Sydneykid]

can slotted discs be machined? or is that not a option on them......

im assuming they will still require some maintainance, in the course of its life...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep, they can still be machined, down to the mimum thickness of course.

cheers

[GoldZilla]

Two questions:

1. Brad, how much were the GT-R rotors, and did you by chance happen to get a price for the single-piece units (i.e. not using the separate hat and rotor configuration)? And do you need 17" wheels (or bigger) to clear them?

2. SK, if doing the mods bit-by-bit, what would you recommend as a starting point and where would you go from there? Is it worth changing calipers too, or are the standard ones holding up well so far under the loads that you've put on them with towing, etc.?

By the way, gents, both cars looks good. SK's with the R33 GT-R wheels (I might consider these myself eventually) and THAT RB26 in your car Brad - what a dream!!! Even better that it looks pretty much stock apart from the wheels.

I love street-sleepers!

Thanks in advance,

Nick T.

[Sydneykid]

Two questions:

1.   Brad, how much were the GT-R rotors, and did you by chance happen to get a price for the single-piece units (i.e. not using the separate hat and rotor configuration)?  And do you need 17" wheels (or bigger) to clear them?

2.  SK, if doing the mods bit-by-bit, what would you recommend as a starting point and where would you go from there?  Is it worth changing calipers too, or are the standard ones holding up well so far under the loads that you've put on them with towing, etc.?

By the way, gents, both cars looks good.  SK's with the R33 GT-R wheels (I might consider these myself eventually) and THAT RB26 in your car Brad - what a dream!!!  Even better that it looks pretty much stock apart from the wheels.

I love street-sleepers! 

Thanks in advance,

Nick T.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Nick, the improvement from using the DBA slotted rotors, some decent pads and bleeding the brakes is quite a lot. I can easily outbrake (activate the ABS) with the standard wheels and good 225/50/16 tyres. Thats' with the suspension upgraded and proper alignment as well, so there is plenty of traction. I haven't tried it with the 17's and the super stickies, the tyres are still a bit new to abuse them.

I was having some problem with brake fade when towing in stop start traffic. But that was the compliance pads and brake fluid, I haven't had any problems since the upgrade. I haven't felt in danger of hitting things like I did a couple of times previously. For $800 or so, it was well worth it. If the pad compound isn't up to it, I have a more aggressive, higher temperature and CoF option that I can try.

I don't realy think I will need to upgrade the brakes anymore than that for my purposes. I simply can't justify the cost for what I use the Stagea for. An example, for a set of R33GTR callipers (not Brembos), a rebuild, slotted rotors, new brake hoses and decent pads I would be looking at $2K. I can easily spend that money on parts for the race car, that I know it needs.

cheers

PS; the height looked good at 340/330 mm but it was a bit low, scraping on some speed bumps (with the standard exhaust) and occasional bump stop hitting. Particularly in the rear with 200 kgs of load. So I have raised it up 8 mm (one circlip groove) front and rear, I have also backed off the front stabiliser bar a bit.

I will try that for a week or so and see how it goes.

Edited October 4, 2005 by Sydneykid

[AlexCim]

How are the rear discs holding up?

[StageZilla]

Two questions:

1.  Brad, how much were the GT-R rotors, and did you by chance happen to get a price for the single-piece units (i.e. not using the separate hat and rotor configuration)?  And do you need 17" wheels (or bigger) to clear them?

2.  SK, if doing the mods bit-by-bit, what would you recommend as a starting point and where would you go from there?  Is it worth changing calipers too, or are the standard ones holding up well so far under the loads that you've put on them with towing, etc.?

By the way, gents, both cars looks good.  SK's with the R33 GT-R wheels (I might consider these myself eventually) and THAT RB26 in your car Brad - what a dream!!!  Even better that it looks pretty much stock apart from the wheels.

I love street-sleepers! 

Thanks in advance,

Nick T.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hey nick cheers for the comments it looks and goes good.. when it goes, wait till the rebuild is done and ill be testing the strength of every stagea component i can tell u that hehe

ok the gtr 328mm rotors with alloy hat are retail $600 each side, i managed to get them through a friend who has an account with coventrys so i paid $480 each side.

note the gtr rear 300mm rotors dba slotted one piece where about $300 each so i think the alloy hats jack the price up alot

the 330mm rotors and brembo calipers only JUST clear my 17' rims luckily

heres a few pics up close...

[Tangles]

Repco sell the DBA4909 slotted rotors for $217 each.

They also sell the Bendix Premium 1398BP front pads for $125 plus shipping from QLD.

[Sydneykid]

Repco sell the DBA4909 slotted rotors for $217 each.

They also sell the Bendix Premium 1398BP front pads for $125 plus shipping from QLD.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do they actually have stock of the Bendix Premium 1398BP's? I'll take 2 sets if you can get them. I had our local Repco guy search through every branch looking for stock. He only found 1 set, they were in Adelaide on the computer but when they went to get them, they weren't physically there.

Cheers

PS; The Lucas European pads stop well, no squeel either, but (like all European pads) they make brake dust, lots of brake dust.

Edited October 13, 2005 by Sydneykid

[Ska]

Have you guys called up these guys:

Brake Distributors of Australia

(07)5569 2207 or 0414 868 555

They sponsor the SAu QLD club and are DBA dealers. I have dealt with them before for my old 33's brakes and found them great on price, but I got a discount for being club member of course

[Tangles]

Do they actually have stock of the Bendix Premium 1398BP's?  I'll take 2 sets if you can get them.  I had our local Repco guy search through every branch looking for stock.  He only found 1 set, they were in Adelaide on the computer but when they went to get them, they weren't physically there.

Cheers

PS; The Lucas European pads stop well, no squeel either, but (like all European pads) they make brake dust, lots of brake dust.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi SK,

I got my wife to do the legwork and ask for pricing (Im at work, she was getting fuses for my abs/4wd problem), word was that there was a set in Queensland.

Maybe I should snap them up!!! :lol:

[Sydneykid]

Have you guys called up these guys:

Brake Distributors of Australia

(07)5569 2207 or 0414 868 555

They sponsor the SAu QLD club and are DBA dealers. I have dealt with them before for my old 33's brakes and found them great on price, but I got a discount for being club member of course

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep, a few months ago. They don't carry stock of Stagea pads (no surpise there) they just get them on order from Bendix. But Bendix don't make them anymore so they don't have stock themselves.

cheers