Suspension Brakes 1st Gen Most liked posts in thread: JCW brake kit...

Not sure, but they are red and have the JCW logo on them.

 

Yes, the R53 JCW brakes are larger than the stock R53 brakes. The R53 JCW brakes are identical to the standard R56 brakes, with the exception that the stock R56 brakes aren't painted.

You can still find rims that fit the R53 JCW's in as small a diameter as 15 inches--it's all about the offset; there are many rims that work with the JCW brakes.

I ran the JCW brakes for awhile--and I really didn't like them. If you're getting a great price, and don't track your car, then I guess they're reasonable--but if you're hitting the track, there are much better options for the money--check out the TSW guys or Todd at
TCE--I've had brakes from both vendors, both are top notch and worth a phone call to help sort out what you're after.

 

I'm with cct1. I ordered the brakes (and everything else JCW - except for the carbon fiber silliness) when doing the initial order. At first, I thought that I got ripped off (and did, with most of the JCW stuff). But a change to Motul brake fluid was all I needed. I track my car 8 to 12 times per year, and as an instructor, am usually carrying a passenger. The JCW/R56 brakes work fine. On really hot days, with more than 6 sessions with a passenger, I start getting fade, which is really hard to eliminate for the rest of the day - even with a brake bleed.

So - if the price is REALLY good, the original JCW/now R56 brakes are probably worth it. But if the price is starting to go over $700 or so, I would recommend going the extra $ for a TCE setup. Well done stuff.

If this helps, I should note that I run the JCW brakes hard enough that the stock JCW pads last 10K, and the red paint really looks like flat orange now. The JCW decal still looks good.

Hope that helps.
Pat

 

The brakes are a single piston floating caliper type build. Honestly you would probably be better off getting a set of R56S stock brakes off someone that has upgraded to a more track oriented set along with some red caliper paint. Those of us who have R56's and have upgraded probably have them sitting in a box in the garage somewhere and could be convinced to sell them for a rather small sum of money...

As far as performance, I would not value the brakes at $700. For that price you could come very close to getting a TSW or Wilwood kit, I would not pay more than $300 for them. YMMV

 

The JCW calipers are single piston, floating calipers.

 

+1

 

For a street car the JCW brake kit will be pretty good for the money, but it's not a track kit. And the JCW kit comes with rear pads, so if you get another kit you'll still need rear pads FYI.
Otherwise I use the Wilwood brakes and love them.

 

I got a brand new set of R56 take offs with rotors and pads for $200. Look around, they are out there.

 

Another thing to consider is the JCW calipers are very heavy. From what I recall, I lost 4 lbs per front brake when I went from JCW rotor/caliper to TCE 13" rotor/FSL caliper.

 

I run the JCW brakes with SS lines and Motul fluid with the rear caliper bushings, great on the street and I put on Carbotech track pads when I go to the track. Zero fade and they work great for me!! Think that's the brakes the RSR guys ran and they didn't have any problems after they could run the JCW calipers and rotor size... Are they the very best for track, nope, but they work darn good!

 

I recently upgraded to the R56 S front calipers and rotors, plus custom SS lines, super blue and carbotech bobcats for the street (plus red paint) - and LOVE this combo. Mine had about 10K miles on them, but I didn't care as I was going with new pads and doing a very light turn on the rotors anyway - and they were $185 shipped. They make a WORLD of difference compared to the crappy OEM 1st gen calipers.

 

Yeah, I couldn't believe how heavy they were when I took them off. I think that's why I had problems with them--those suckers are a heat sink, and near the end of a session, I actually completely lost my brakes on turn 5 at road america. By completely, I mean completely, as in "here we go, right through the turn, into the grass...." Fortunately there is a lot of runoff for that to happen, I cringe at what would have happened at turn 12....Had an intsructor in the car with me, which was fortunate; immediate feedback to tell me essentially it was an equipment issue rather than a driving issue.

I ran the smaller wilwood kit--11.75--and it was much better with regard to fade, but I was going through rotors so quickly I figured I'd go with the TSW BDM--made it through the whole season on one set of rotors, and these guys don't fade.

 

We just got in our TSW high carbon steel slotted rotors for the JCW. If you decide to go that route these are much better and less expensive than OEM. Of course a TSW BBK would be even better

Regards,

[email protected]

 

Anyone ever run the new JCW rear 280mm brakes?

Is it a full new caliper, or just the new rotor and caliper carrier/bracket to space out the caliper?

Also, is the width the same on that new 280mm rear rotor as stock R53 or R56?

- Andrew

 

bump....any idea? if it's the same caliper, then a nice rear big brake upgrade would just be the rotor and the bracket.

only a good idea with a front BBK, and very much a bad idea with stock fronts, but worth looking into.

- Andrew