Can the brakes be upgraded to a BBK?

[AMPd]

Depending on the size of the current brakes I was wondering if it's possible to upgrade to something like brembo big brake kit?
or are the brakes tesla specific and cannot be upgraded

Reason I ask is potential weight savings + better stopping distance

 

[jerry33]

Depending on the size of the current brakes I was wondering if it's possible to upgrade to something like brembo big brake kit?
or are the brakes tesla specific and cannot be upgraded

Reason I ask is potential weight savings + better stopping distance

I guess the question is: Do we know that Tesla doesn't already provide the BBK as OE? We know that the Model S has a short stopping distance.

 

[Al Sherman]

Those MS brakes ARE pretty darn big!

 

[lolachampcar]

Ok, 108ft is shorter than my Maranello... Do you really need to stop a 4700lb car in under 108? Judging by the size of the rotors and past experience with Brembo, I doubt you are going to have a fade problem.

The above being said, sometimes you just gotta mess with stuff. There are several sources for floating rotor hats at which point you can pick anything you want for rotors. If unsprung is your concern, you can go for a sprint package and dump a bunch of weight. Drilled looks nice and that can even be done on the stocks.

 

[AMPd]

Thanks for the replies, I'm glad the brakes are big enough
but like lolachampcar says, sometimes you just gotta mess with stuff
I was worried they'd be small, so small that a BBK would tack on weight.

 

[Robert.Boston]

The brakes are excellent. It helps (a lot) that the friction brakes are augmenting some powerful regen braking. I suspect that this two-brake system is why the MS can stop shorter than your Maranello, @lola; regen is more powerful than engine braking.

 

[rogbmw]

Have you really looked closely at the Model S brakes? They are Brembo multi piston brakes, and in addition - the rear rotors are vented, not solid. I think Tesla did their homework on the brakes.

 

[lolachampcar]

MS brake performance => low Cg with good rear weight means lots of rear bias. The rears are as big if not bigger than the fronts. You simply do not see that on a street car.

 

[jerry33]

MS brake performance => low Cg with good rear weight means lots of rear bias. The rears are as big if not bigger than the fronts. You simply do not see that on a street car.

Yes, the rear brakes are larger than the front brakes.

 

[lolachampcar]

Funny how something so important and, frankly, unheard of has flown under the radar. The brakes are amazing and the ability to work with so much rear brake bias is phenomenal. It kinda makes me rethink the whole rear negative camber issue. Removing some to increase tire life may make threshold braking a bit more interesting

 

[gtimbers]

Has anyone noticed that the brakes dust like crazy? For a car whose brakes are hardly ever used due to regen, I am getting a ton of dust. Makes me think they are using a pad like BMW or Mercedes which can't be driven more than a block without soiling the rims. I hope Tesla has chosen some existing pad fitment so that there will be some aftermarket choices for less dusty pads.

 

[lolachampcar]

Fronts AP 1001 R4-S $179.95
Rears AP 592.15 R4-S $169.95

Thank You,
Wendy Charlier
(949) 548-4470
(949) 548-7783 Fax

Porterfield Enterprises
1767 Placentia Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
www.racebrakes.com

I put them on my Maranello to stop the noise. Dusting went down as well while bite improved. I'm considering them for my MS as the racket in the last two mph of slowing to a stop is anoying.

 

[Nikoli]

The brakes are already BBK Brembos. The Get AMPed cars had Brembo stamped on them, the production cars are relabeled Tesla but are the same brakes.

 

[gray]

Other than looks, the size of the brakes may not be the limiting factor in stopping distance. Can the car lock it's brakes? If so, tire traction is a limiting factor and not the brakes. I have never braked a Model S in a racing environment so I can't really speculate on this. I'm sure lolachampcar has much more experience than I do, but the sizing of brakes also considers other factors such as duty cycle - larger brakes are able to absorb more heat and are able to stop consistently on a repeated basis (as in racing). However, larger rotors also add rotational inertia, which is the enemy of efficiency. As lolachampcar alludes to, pad material is probably a better modification than physically larger brakes (or ceramic brakes, which in many cases brake worse than standard ones when cold).

 

[Johan]

This thread has taught me that the Model S comes with great brakes in stock edition. And I love this statement: "... sometimes you gotta mess with stuff". Tell that to my wife and she'll tell you that describes me well, even when things are working great I wanna change, rebuild, redo, improve on it (computers, house, appliances, cars, you name it). In other words, not a firm believer of "It if ain't broke don't try to fix it". But were would be if we never "messed with stuff?"

 

[lolachampcar]

Johan,
I've never had any luck telling my wife I gotta mess with stuff. Somehow the conversation never goes as I intended