Sport 350 Ap Brakes On My Gt3

[armynick]

Has anyone put the Sport 350 AP discs (front and rear) and front calipers on a GT3 yet?

If you have , did you encounter any problems? I'm about to do it.

[Jonathan]

I'm going to do it sometime when my disks bum out on the GT3, GT2 if going on next month I hope (Lotus sales, you gotta love 'em !)

Should be plug and play as long as the disk specs are the same, I'm having custom ones made and using a common AP part.

Rear calipers are identical brembo components, the only difference is the disk size and the caliper mounting to accomodate it.

I'm not expecting any major probs which is why I bought that setup - not only cheap / looks good but it's already been developed.

[Simon350S]

Graham GKP has the 350S AP's on the front of his...

Look yummy...

Simon

[Advantage]

Yep, I've got 'em on the front of mine. The back ones are on the 'to do' list - unfortunately, they're also on the 'to buy' list!!

I used the blue calipers (from the parts sale) and they came as a complete kit including the appropriate brackets, a set of pads and even a small tube of Loctite for the (supplied) bolts.

I didn't use genuines discs, though. I bought a pair from PUK which turned out to be a lot cheaper than the Lotus/AP ones and also a lot prettier.

There's no dramas or nasties when doing the conversion, it really is just a case of unbolt one set and bolt on the new stuff. It should take around half an hour a side, once you've got the car in the air with the wheels off.

Gratuitous picture time....

[Loose Cannon]

How do you find them Graham? 10% better, 50% etc etc?

[Bibs]

Wow

I want, I want

If only I had an Esprit... oh, hang on, I've got 2

[Simon350S]

Ummmmm....

Thay look almost as sexy in my dining room...... LOL

And my discs are bigger than yours Graham

Soon to be on my S3T with me Crono Mags

Simon

[Jonathan]

Tight fit by the looks of it - hoping I can get the 330mm disks under the 17" wheel (std is 320mm).

What size are yours Simon ?

That caliper is only specified for 315-330mm. Any more (if it fits) and you'll lose braking ability as the disk and pad wont match up and you'll lose surface friction area. Be careful that it can fit inside the wheel as well, remember the Mags are only 17" front.

Nick what are you doing with the old Brembos ? Might be interested in them

[Simon350S]

330mm Jon that 10mm will make all the difference I'm sure.....

And cheap too....

[Jonathan]

LOL didn't understand that.

Thought you said yours were larger than Grahams (320mm std)

I've done it on CAD and the 330mm brakes fit, but CAD and the real world a 2 different things - thats why I haven't ordered mine yet.

When I get a chance I was going to physically mount the caliper on the hub with the Mags and make 100% sure.

What spec are you getting for

[Simon350S]

330 x 32mm slotted not cross drilled.....

Can't say on here where they came from..... althought they are legit and not knicked.... just the supplier wouldn't want it broadcast as it was a bit of a favour.....

Very big n very pretty........!!!!!

Simon

[esprits4de]

sh't, just wet my pants...

sweet stuff...

Gratuitous picture time....

[Vulcan Grey]

The AP's look good.

Lotus had the rear Brembo calipers (used on all Esprits after the S4) for

[esp88]

It look very nice AP 350 caliper !

I'm also planing to upgrade the front but I noticed the caliper has no dustcover !

Can this caliper use all year around ?

I found one shop compbrake in U.K http://www.compbrake.co.uk

Does anyone know/used the shop ?

They has 320mm/32mm disks for just over

[Advantage]

How do you find them Graham? 10% better, 50% etc etc?

Sorry Mark, your question got lost in all the salivating going on!

I can't give you a definitive answer to that in comparison with the Brembos I took off, because the old set up was well past it's factory fresh best. They grumbled and rumbled and vibrated when you started to lean on them and had a terrible pedal feel courtesy of the Greenstuff pads fitted by the previous owner. They needed attention sooner rather than later!

However, comparing with my old (1998) V8 GT, which had Brembos too, I can tell you the AP system is a far superior set up. I could get the Brembo to fade on track and to grumble when making progress on the road. The AP stuff seems so far, to be resistant to any such naughtyness. Initial bite is confidence inspiring and continued pedal pressure slows the car in a reassuringly fuss free way. I've yet to trigger the abs whereas the Brembos seemed more than happy to pulse the pedal at the slightest provocation.

Add all that to the sexy wheel filling feature and you can't go wrong!

[superdavelotus]

Simon,

Let me know the pcd and offset and I'll knock a CAD drawing for you. Here take a look

330mm Jon that 10mm will make all the difference I'm sure.....

And cheap too....

[Rob]

How do you find them Graham? 10% better, 50% etc etc?

Mark - I had brembos on my V8-gt. Had various different pads on them over time (stock, porterfields, pagids etc) and swapped the factory rotors for puk x-drilled ones.. I then up graded to a full sport 350 AP set up, which i ran with oe pads initially then upgraded to Ferodo DS2500. The change to AP's is massive, and IMO far exceeds anything you can achieve with brembos with stock rotor sizes. The AP setup was tested many times on track and also several vmax events - ie multiple stops from 170mph +. They really are fantastic.

Not sure how to put a % on it, but the AP's are really, really awesome. With second hand parts my upgrade cost about 1600 quid. If you can get NEW parts and go a full upgrade for c1000 this is well worth doing. Out of all the mods i did to my v8, the brake upgrade is easily the most effective.

Only other thing to note - a stock GT3 won't have the power to really test its brakes like a v8 does, and if you never track your car then the benefits will be marginal.

02p etc.

cheers

Rob

[Advantage]

Only other thing to note - a stock GT3 won't have the power to really test its brakes like a v8 does

That's fighting talk round these 'ere parts!

[Rob]

That's fighting talk round these 'ere parts!

sorry, didn't mean to "dis" the Gt3 owners..lol! Just that when I had one myself (12 months, 12k miles) I never felt the brembos were a problem on that car. V8-GT however, the brembos were fine in "normal" pootling but if you really drive the car as intended (like you stole it) plus track days etc you'll find yourself wanting more in the braking dept. That said, maybe it was just me driving like a pussy when i had the first car.. :yes

[Jonathan]

See I find the Brembos a bit weedy but that probably has a lot to do with the fact my boost circuit is not working correctly.

The real heros of the Esprit world are the pre 93 lot with them floating calipers all around....I've got them on the SE and I have to PLAN when I want to stop or you miss a junction.

The end of the day a GT3 will do 160mph - it is lighter than a V8 but you should get good performance out of them - can't wait to fit mine

Edited August 8, 2007 by Jonathan

[armynick]

Tight fit by the looks of it - hoping I can get the 330mm disks under the 17" wheel (std is 320mm).

What size are yours Simon ?

That caliper is only specified for 315-330mm. Any more (if it fits) and you'll lose braking ability as the disk and pad wont match up and you'll lose surface friction area. Be careful that it can fit inside the wheel as well, remember the Mags are only 17" front.

Nick what are you doing with the old Brembos ? Might be interested in them

Hi Johnathon,

I was going to keep the old Brembos so I can keep the car as standard as possibe when selling.

I've found some S4s wheels now so I shouldn't have any problems at all fitting the new stuff.

My mechanic does all the work for me while I'm abroad, so all tech questions go above my head I'm afraid.

You know Gerald don't you?

[Rob]

nick - i remember reading somewhere that the AP brakes won't fit under OZ futuras (split rims) - they WILL fit under a stock gt3 wheel or any of the v8 designs.

[drellis]

I put s4s wheels (well pmn did) and AP calpihers on the front of my s4 last month - they do fit but only leave the thickness of a bank card between wheel and caliper.

dave

[armynick]

I put s4s wheels (well pmn did) and AP calpihers on the front of my s4 last month - they do fit but only leave the thickness of a bank card between wheel and caliper.

dave

I have only just read the last two replies. Pleeeeeeeeease tell me that you've had no problems with S4s wheels and AP calipers. I know you've said there's just enough room but by the sounds of it, not much. Will there be enough? Can this cause a problem with hard driving etc?

My mechanic is putting it all together over the next few days, so I guess I'll soon find out. If there is a problem then I'll have to sell those wheels and put on the latest, V8 monobloc ones.

[Advantage]

S4S front wheels are the same size as the monoblocs (8.5J wide x 17"), infact GT3/S4 wheels are 17" diameter, too but just a touch narrower (7J) so you'll have no issues. I'm using the standard GT3 wheels with my AP brakes.