Hi Folks,
I recently purchased a 410mm Big Brake Kit for my 2016.5 Model S P90D from RB Racing Brake in the UK. Why, you might ask? Because it looks sweet compared to the baby brakes that come OEM (front brakes on the S are the same as the rear brakes on the Cadillac CTS-V
), and I was boiling my brake fluid in about 3 laps of Time Trial events.
Also did I mention they look sweet?
I have only had them installed for a couple days, but wanted to do a review to share my thoughts on this modification.
In addition to the BBK, my car also has the following upgrades:
PURCHASING:
I reached out to Jamie at RB Racing Rotors on their FB page after finding his store on e-bay. I decided to purchase from him directly in the UK to save on tax and be able to customize my setup a bit. I will say, my shipped price to the US was substantially lower working directly with the business - I recommend that route.
In general, the kit was about 20% cheaper than the Brembo kit, and about 60% less than the Unplugged Performance Carbon Ceramic kit, which are also smaller (390mm I believe). The transaction was smooth, took a few weeks for the parts to ship because they're made to order, but everything went fine.
INSTALLING:
The installation process really isn't anything special. It's just slightly more involved than a normal brake job. A couple of notes:
1) As with any BBK, you must remove the rear dust shield because the larger rotors would rub against it. I suppose you could bend it back and trim it, but I preferred to remove it. As such, I bought some high temp wrap for the speed sensor that's fairly close to the brakes.....it already has high temp wrap on it, but just added extra to be safe.
2) RB includes stainless steel lines that are plug-and-play with the factory hard line and mounts, and a banjo bolt with crush washers that screws into the giant AP Racing calipers.
3) RB also includes machined mounting brackets and Allen head bolts to attach the caliper to the spindle. Everything fit perfectly, with no issues.
4) I had to bleed all four calipers twice to get all the air out, and it took a minute or two for the Bosch iBooster to....I dunno, "adjust?" to the brakes. I basically just did a couple of miles of low-speed stop-and-go driving through my neighborhood, and when I had confidence everything was good, I did a light pad bedding session on a back road. I'll finish it off later this week.
5) I used - and HIGHLY recommend - the Motive Power Bleeder. It meant I didn't have to make a friend, convince them to come over, pump the brakes, etc....bleeding was a 15-minute one-man job. The GM adapter fits the Model S: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TK9FE8
REVIEW:
These things are sick. The OEM 355mm brakes always looked tiny to me, and while the first generation S really isn't designed for the track, the OEM brakes still don't really keep up. I'm amazed people didn't complain more about them, considering how many slams the Plaid's brakes got.
Not only do they fill up the wheel well (oh, you need a minimum of 20" wheels to run these), but they also do seem to stop the car harder and faster. Granted, it could just be butt-dyno and wanting to justify my purchase, but I think it's worth it. I will post a longer review after some extended driving and track events in the next few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures:
PICTURES:
I recently purchased a 410mm Big Brake Kit for my 2016.5 Model S P90D from RB Racing Brake in the UK. Why, you might ask? Because it looks sweet compared to the baby brakes that come OEM (front brakes on the S are the same as the rear brakes on the Cadillac CTS-V
), and I was boiling my brake fluid in about 3 laps of Time Trial events.Also did I mention they look sweet?
I have only had them installed for a couple days, but wanted to do a review to share my thoughts on this modification.
In addition to the BBK, my car also has the following upgrades:
- Unplugged Performance struts
- N2itive rear camber arms
- Blox lowering links
- Vossen HF4T Wheels (21x9/10.5)
- Willwood high temp brake fluid
PURCHASING:
I reached out to Jamie at RB Racing Rotors on their FB page after finding his store on e-bay. I decided to purchase from him directly in the UK to save on tax and be able to customize my setup a bit. I will say, my shipped price to the US was substantially lower working directly with the business - I recommend that route.
In general, the kit was about 20% cheaper than the Brembo kit, and about 60% less than the Unplugged Performance Carbon Ceramic kit, which are also smaller (390mm I believe). The transaction was smooth, took a few weeks for the parts to ship because they're made to order, but everything went fine.
INSTALLING:
The installation process really isn't anything special. It's just slightly more involved than a normal brake job. A couple of notes:
1) As with any BBK, you must remove the rear dust shield because the larger rotors would rub against it. I suppose you could bend it back and trim it, but I preferred to remove it. As such, I bought some high temp wrap for the speed sensor that's fairly close to the brakes.....it already has high temp wrap on it, but just added extra to be safe.
2) RB includes stainless steel lines that are plug-and-play with the factory hard line and mounts, and a banjo bolt with crush washers that screws into the giant AP Racing calipers.
3) RB also includes machined mounting brackets and Allen head bolts to attach the caliper to the spindle. Everything fit perfectly, with no issues.
4) I had to bleed all four calipers twice to get all the air out, and it took a minute or two for the Bosch iBooster to....I dunno, "adjust?" to the brakes. I basically just did a couple of miles of low-speed stop-and-go driving through my neighborhood, and when I had confidence everything was good, I did a light pad bedding session on a back road. I'll finish it off later this week.
5) I used - and HIGHLY recommend - the Motive Power Bleeder. It meant I didn't have to make a friend, convince them to come over, pump the brakes, etc....bleeding was a 15-minute one-man job. The GM adapter fits the Model S: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TK9FE8
REVIEW:
These things are sick. The OEM 355mm brakes always looked tiny to me, and while the first generation S really isn't designed for the track, the OEM brakes still don't really keep up. I'm amazed people didn't complain more about them, considering how many slams the Plaid's brakes got.
Not only do they fill up the wheel well (oh, you need a minimum of 20" wheels to run these), but they also do seem to stop the car harder and faster. Granted, it could just be butt-dyno and wanting to justify my purchase, but I think it's worth it. I will post a longer review after some extended driving and track events in the next few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures:
PICTURES:
