SRT8 big brake upgrade finished

[DZeckhausen]

If you're looking for a way to eliminate the scored rotors and crazy brake dust from the stock SRT8 brakes and, at the same time, upgrade to bigger calipers and rotors, a new kit from StopTech is available. We just installed it on our SEMA project car and it works very well. Installation is a snap and it fits under the factory wheels without spacers.

Here's what you get with the kit:



and here's what it looks like installed:

StopTech 15", 6-piston front brake kit




StopTech 14", 4-piston rear brake kit

The brake kit comes with Hawk Performance Ceramic pads, so brake dust is no longer a problem. And race pads are available if you want to take your SRT8 out on the track on the weekend. More details can be found here: http://www.zeckhausen.com/Chrysler/300C_SRT8.htm. The kit is in stock with red calipers. Black or silver calipers are about two weeks away.

[Mr.DJ]

Beautiful...simply gorgeous.

[Randazzle]

Are you saying that the kit is 5 grand? That's a lot of dough for a new car with brake problems that should be fixed from the factory!!! I'm very upset about the brake dust and squeaking? I bought wheels for 4 grand, but I won't put them on until the brake situation gets fixed!!

Originally Posted by DZeckhausen

If you're looking for a way to eliminate the scored rotors and crazy brake dust from the stock SRT8 brakes and, at the same time, upgrade to bigger calipers and rotors, a new kit from StopTech is available. We just installed it on our SEMA project car and it works very well. Installation is a snap and it fits under the factory wheels without spacers.

Here's what you get with the kit:



and here's what it looks like installed:

StopTech 15", 6-piston front brake kit




StopTech 14", 4-piston rear brake kit

The brake kit comes with Hawk Performance Ceramic pads, so brake dust is no longer a problem. And race pads are available if you want to take your SRT8 out on the track on the weekend. More details can be found here: http://www.zeckhausen.com/Chrysler/300C_SRT8.htm. The kit is in stock with red calipers. Black or silver calipers are about two weeks away.

[marlinspike]

Randazzle, dust and squeaking doesn't count as a problem, BUT there is a TSB for a new brake pad compound for customers who complain about squeaking (if your brakes are squeaking your just not driving hard enough hehe), and since nobody's done it yet, for all we know it also address the dust "issue."

My question for David, why did they go with cross-drilled? I think it was on stop-techs own website that I read slotted it better.

[stevesrt8]

Originally Posted by marlinspike

Randazzle, dust and squeaking doesn't count as a problem, BUT there is a TSB for a new brake pad compound for customers who complain about squeaking (if your brakes are squeaking your just not driving hard enough hehe), and since nobody's done it yet, for all we know it also address the dust "issue."

My question for David, why did they go with cross-drilled? I think it was on stop-techs own website that I read slotted it better.

I have noticed a great deal of variation in engineering re: high perf. braking. Porsche and Mercedes usually cross drill and yet BMW and Chrysler don't. I have some experience with my fleet of heavy trucks and when we gave up surface area for cross drilled we got higher temps. Slotting worked better as it took less surface area. But final word was stock had the lowest temps and ceramic pads lasted longest and generated almost no dust.

[XCITsNU]

DZeckhausen,

Awesome looking kit! Thanks for all the thought, effort and engineering that must have went into building this kit. Please post some stats here for those who are interested. Stopping distances, etc.

Thanks again...!

[DZeckhausen]

Originally Posted by marlinspike

My question for David, why did they go with cross-drilled? I think it was on stop-techs own website that I read slotted it better.

Slotted rotors are standard on StopTech kits. Since this was a show car, not a track car, the owner decided to go with cross-drilled. We also added zinc plating to prevent any rust from forming on the unswept surfaces of the rotors.

Are slotted rotors better than drilled rotors? It depends. For cars that will be raced or taken to the track for high speed driving events, slotted rotors are the better choice. Drilled rotors crack sooner under race conditions than slotted or plain rotors. Either drilled or slotted rotors offer an advantage over plain rotors in terms of additional bite. But drilled rotors have even more bite than slotted. So some drivers prefer the feel of drilled over slotted. And there's about 1/3 pound of weight savings of drilled over slotted. It's just the tendency to crack that prevents most race drivers from using drilled rotors. On the street, drilled rotors are perfectly fine.

Here's an interesting bit of drilled vs slotted trivia. The three Tri-Point Mazdas running in today's SPEED World Challenge Touring Class race decided to use drilled rotors in a last ditch attempt to catch some of the faster cars. The gamble was that the drilled rotors might not make it through the entire race, but the benefit was the equivalent of about 0.6 horsepower, due to the weight savings. Since the race is being broadcast on SPEED Channel in a few hours (time delay), I won't reveal the results lest I ruin it for some fans. But I will tell you none of the rotors exploded!

Bill Auberlen, last year's champion in the SPEED World Challenge series, would often run drilled rotors during qualifying to help him gain position on the starting grid. But he would almost always switch back to slotted rotors for the actual race.

So, the answer to your question depends on the intended use of the car.

[DZeckhausen]

Originally Posted by XCITsNU

Awesome looking kit! Thanks for all the thought, effort and engineering that must have went into building this kit. Please post some stats here for those who are interested. Stopping distances, etc.

We'll have some hard numbers after we run the car in the next Car & Driver Supercar Challenge. Moton has offered to help us set up the car's suspension for the event. In fact, they designed a custom set of double adjustable, remote reservoir shocks for our SRT8 project car and those are going on this week. H&R also designed a set of springs for us. Here are a few photos I took last Sunday:

Moton remote reservoir shocks for the 2006 SRT8



Moton front shocks


Moton rear shocks

By the way, I noticed among the list of mods you won't be getting is a polished intake. I thought you might enjoy a sneak preview of the racing intake manifolds made for our project car by Hogan Manifolds. We polished it last weekend and installed it on Tuesday. This is on top of the GS Motorsports supercharger and Kooks header & exhaust set-up that we've already installed!

Hogan Manifold for SRT8 - polished by Cimtex Rods

[DZeckhausen]

Originally Posted by Randazzle

Are you saying that the kit is 5 grand? That's a lot of dough for a new car with brake problems that should be fixed from the factory!!! I'm very upset about the brake dust and squeaking? I bought wheels for 4 grand, but I won't put them on until the brake situation gets fixed!!

I'm not proposing that anyone buy this over-the-top big brake kit solely as a solution to the factory Brembo brake dust and rotor scoring problem. It's my understanding that DCX is investigating other friction compounds that may completely solve those problems. If all you want is to have less dust on your front wheels, I suggest you wait for the new pads to become available at your local dealer.

This upgrade is for someone who wants improved performance over the stock brakes, including better & firmer pedal feel, improved thermal capacity, AND just happens to come with a Hawk Ceramic pad that is ultra low dust, very rotor friendly, and quiet. And, of course, the improved aesthetics can't be ignored. Despite the claims by some dealers who just want their unhappy customers to go away and stop bothering them, there is nothing about high performance brakes that requires you to suffer from squeaking, brake dust, and short rotor life. All of those problems come from improper or incomplete bedding and/or inappropriate selection of pads for the street.

[marlinspike]

David, is the Hawk Cermanic the same as the Axxis Ultimate?