AMGSC

I'm torn between the Rotora and the Brembo Braket Kits. I've heard that the Rotora's are actually more advanced than the Brembo's and are 30% less expensive.

As for the quality, I've heard that Rotora's are made from the same high-quality materials (i.e. brake lines, rotors, calipers, rivets, etc...) but are fabricated in a cleaner fashion.

Any recommendations?

rlee02135

i believe Rotora is made in Japan...i'd prefer Brembo's...

RawAMGpower

I'd go with Brembo's

Eurocharged Rick

i have been curious about this for a while as well...

anyone with some definitive answers/facts...not opinions

MercedeSC32

JDM on a german car!!! wooooot!!! do it!!! i would hahahha

BlackC230Coupe

Rotora happens to have some very good stuff.

JamE55

How about Stoptechs? Would you recommend them? j/k

Fifth Ring

I'm sure all three (Brembo, StopTech and Rotora) offer more than enough stopping power, so unless you're a hard-core track racer, there is no reason to pick one based on performance.

Another reason to pick a name is resale value. You can diminish resale value by overly customizing a car with brands that are not well known. That would favor Brembo.

One more thing to consider is the availability of various brake pads for a system. Some calipers ONLY offer high performance pads, which may be noisy for day-to-day use. Others offer only street pads. Find out in advance what is available.

For hard-core track work, I've heard nothing but great things about Stop-Tech.

JamE55

Actually for really hard core trackers out there, Brembo GTR's! (note: this brake kit is not for people with budget as i will definitely set you back some serious $$$$$)

Zeppelin

What's wrong with the stock C55 brakes?

Fifth Ring

Absolutely nothing. But as long as there is something bigger, with more pistons, there will be people buying it!

drexappeal

Are the 55 calipers 6 piston or the same as the 32 calipers?

Eurocharged Rick

same exact brake setup as the C32....

drexappeal

Thanks.

CynCarvin32

fade?

If you plan to bake the stock brakes get upgraded brakes. If you plan to really drive the car like its a red headed step child sure get some brakes.

Having been driving on StopTech brakes for 3 years of insanely hard driving I can say they are amazing. But 90% of the brake is the pad compound so select that for your driving style.

At Pahrump, there were 4+ very hard braking zones and two of them are from say 110+ down to maybe 40 mph. After a hard session there was a tad bit of brake fad even with full race pads. The car was fine but anything on a stock car would have been on fire and destroyed. I even think the fluid boiled that day as well.

Fifth Ring

I'm guessing the original poster's "brake zones" are right in front of Starbucks and in his driveway.

Keep in mind, however, that the C32/C55 comes with what would already be classified as a "big brake kit." In fact, of the two big brake kits offered by StopTech for the C32/C55, one is actually just about the same as the stock brakes. Swept area for the smaller StopTech kit is very similar to OEM.

StopTech: 355 X 32
AMG OEM: 345 X 30
StopTech: 332 X 32

Perhaps the best thing about the StopTechs is the range of great pads available for them.

CynCarvin32

True the C32 brakes are large but the rotor is really heavy and the caliper is likely not as strong as say the stoptech kit. The size of the rotor really is not that big of a factor and instead the clamping force is the big factor. The bigger the rotor the better the car can resist fade but once warm the huge rotor takes longer to cool. You dont see track cars using 16 inch brakes for they would never cool and they tip the scales with way to large of a figure.

Stoptech makes a good kit and it has stood up to our testing over and over and that is some real claim as to quality. We are kind of hard on parts so to say!

The amount of pads available for the stoptech kit is really a great feature. Full street pads all the way to serious race pads!

AMGSC

I was inquiring about Stoptech but was told by a knowledgable source that they are having financial difficulties and could close down or be sold. That was what disuaded me from them.

I was also told that Rotora's were originally made from Stoptech components but has since improved upon them and is now superior. I dropped by EVOSPORT and practically every car at their facility had blue Rotora calipered Brake Kits. They looked comparable to Brembos and come in (Blue, Red, Silver and Black). Even a GT race car had them on when I visited.

I can get the 6POT Brembo GTRs fronts for about $3,000 even and the 6POT Rotoras fronts for about $2,500. If They can lower to about $2,000 then it might be worth the risk.

BlackC230Coupe

Don't even get me started....

Eurocharged Rick

do tell, what is your hang-up with stoptech?

CynCarvin32

Most big brake kits are basically the same. Stoptech is not about to go under. I know the guys who run the show/own the business and I dont hear stories they are going out of business. The aero rotor on the stoptech kit is better than the rotor on a Brembo but the caliper on the brembo could be a bit stronger. The stoptech uses a bridge bolt while I dont think the brembo does. The bolt is there to make the strength equal to the others from what I hear.

I can say they have never gone wrong with me other than the fact that the darn silver calipers turned poo poo colored 2x and we finally just went with a black non-shine finish just because anythign else will discolor at high temps. The hats are now bronze colored and they used to be black. The brakes get so warm you can't stand with-in 10 feet of the car after a session.

With that I think I have grown to like stoptech brakes and think they are a good part for the price.

I will say the inside of the rotor tends to wear before the outside. Stoptech said that is normal and that you should replace the rotor when the thickness is below spec on the inside or when you can get your finger nail into one of the cracks that form in the rotor with hard use.

Fifth Ring

Even if StopTech was in trouble, some company would buy them at a bargain and keep the product line going. It's a big and growing market for aftermarket car parts and StopTech has a fantastic reputation for great brakes.

All that being said, I'm hoping to make 2007 or 2008 the last year I flog my C32 at the track; and next year I hope to replace my 3rd car (Audi TT Roadster) with a track-able Miata or S2000. You can drive yourself crazy and broke trying to make your daily driver into a track machine! I've spent enough time around track-hounds to learn that your track car should be cheap, balanced and simple.

CynCarvin32

true words

but the of latching your car to the bumper of a 997 GT3 in a C32 is worth it at some point. Playing with real quick cars in a 4 door is fun if only because people simply do not understand what is going on.

Plus the struggle it has been making a C32 track ready has been fairly entertaining. Expensive it is but its fun. At this point we finally have a set-up that will last 4-6 track days before neeeding a set of tires (track day being 4 -5 sessions of one person using the car for 30 minute sessions). It has come a long way.

I was shocked with the lap times we had at Pahrump last week. Right there with old time Spring mountain drivers in semi road going cars.

Fifth Ring

No doubt the C32 is eye opening, and for track use, it is in a very rare class of road cars (M3s, S4s, STis, and many Porsches). The best part is that it is relatively unknown to track freaks.

PS: My comparison of rotor size was to dispel the myth that a big brake kit was necessarily bigger than what we already have. Nobody knows if a StopTech caliper is stiffer than an OEM (Brembo) caliper, and there is no way to conclude that bigger rotors or stiffer calipers or 6 pistons will stop the car better than the OEM setup.

But I suspect that most of the big brake kits are sold solely for size -- and therefore you can't overlook the fact that our cars start out with big brake kits. For me, having a nice "AMG" logo on the caliper is a point of pride. It may be the only thing that distinguishes the car from a run-of-the-mill C230 Sport!

CynCarvin32

Well I can extend an invitation to come ride in the car for a few laps. The brakes are so strong you just about have your eye ***** pop out. The C32 brakes honestly are NOTHING compared to a set of Stoptech brakes. I put C32 brakes on my now gone C230k daily driver and it was still no where near as powerful at stopping as a C32 with 4 wheel stoptechs. The C32 is 3600+ lbs and a C230k is 3178 lbs. So with 500 fewer pounds the C32 kit was still not as powerful as a Stoptech kit. Granted it was a huge step up from what the car came with -- those I killed on my first aggressive drive when I went to see how the C230k handled compared to a AMG car.

I hate bling bling and I can say I dont care if the brakes look good. These were purchased as a way to make the car suited for serious track use and without them we could not use it the way we do. There would be no hope at all IMHO.

We all drive a bit differently and adjusting your driving so that you brake 20 ft sooner and a bit less firm makes the need for a bbk far less noticeable. When you really try to extract the last bit from the car the factory brakes are not enough. I can say I have destroyed many OEM brake kits at the track!