Stop Tech Brakes on 550 Maranello!

Just added Stop Tech brakes to my 550M
I enjoy driving my 550M on weekends and in many cases pushing it through various canyon roads or at Willow Springs. Naturally at Willow the car can be pushed much harder than on the street. Something I noticed while on the track was that the stock brakes worked OK but in my opinion not as well as they could have. It seemed that brake pedal modulation was a bit unpredictable and my braking point would change as the laps went on. Not confidence inspiring. The other thing I noticed was that the brakes would end up severely squealing after pushing the car hard. I got new wheels and rubber to enhance the grip (Michelin 265/30ZR19 in front and 325/25ZR20 in the rear) which helped keep the back end of the car in check in hard tight turn cornering. This provided a great opportunity to increase the braking performance of the car.

I contacted Stop Tech about doing a set of their brakes for my car and they agreed to make me a set. I have experienced their brakes on various cars and in every case they were very impressive. They made me a set their Trophy Sport Forged calipers, 2 piece floating rotors and Stop Tech brake pads. I have to emphatically say that they are spectacular in every way. I took the car out to one of my favorite roads somewhere in the Santa Monica mountains (someplace fishy like in Tuna) a few times now and the brake modulation, pedal position and staggering brake power have made the car much more predictable and enjoyable. I will be going back to Willow soon to really push them and get a sense of their performance in an aggressive environment. As an additional test I made 20 stops in rapid succession from high speed to about 5 mph and the last stop was as positive as the first one, no fade, no judder, no noise, just stopping like it should. The specifications of what they made are; 6 piston front calipers on 380mm steel rotors and 4 piston rear calipers on 355mm rotors. The pedal is very noticeably stiffer at the braking point most likely due to the stiff calipers. They did let on that they are working on carbon rotors at the moment and believe me when they get them in I WILL be spending the big $$ to get them on the car. They did let me drive a IS-F with them and as far as I was concerned they are but their engineer Steve Ruiz is an insane perfectionist and said wait.

Here is the added bonus, in 3 weeks of driving the car there is no squeal (550 & 575 M’s have a chronic issue with squeal), brake parts will most likely be less expensive and all of this for better performing brakes. Thanks to the Stop Tech guys, not a cheap way to go BUT like many divorces, worth every nickel! Now I have a TR to get the same treatment. If you have ever driven one you already know that the brakes are pathetic at best.

Here are some pictures of the car, please pardon the stone chipped nose, casualty of California canyon roads.
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Not even close
JC

 

Got home, so here are some close ups.

FBB I have done a HPDE once at Willow Springs and that is where I determined that the brakes needed help. Four laps into it the stockers were smelling pretty bad. They stopped the car but they were not real confidence inspiring. The engine is going to get upgrades so better brakes are probably even more important in that case. The "test" on Tuna Canyon a couple of weeks ago really put them to the test. That is not necessarily a 550M road but it sure taxes the suspension and brakes. Local guy eh. Ever go to Joe's on PCH in RB?
JC
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Alas, my car is at Premier Motorsports getting a nose job after getting a rather vary large rock in the front that took out the bumper hood and windshield. That said I took her out for a spin just before I brought it in and did a great pass through Latigo, a slow one on Mulholland and then a blazer through Stunt and the brakes/car were flawless. One of the big benefits is that the incessant and embarrassing squealing is non existent. I think this may be the best mod done yet. I am doing an engine upgrade which will place even more importance on brakes so I at least have a foundation to build on.
JC

 

I was going to twin turbo it but the envirofagsmog a-holes would make it too tough to get it smoged every other year, that said I am going to make the spare engine a 7.0L engine. Sonny Bryant has the crank, I did a mold of the combustion chambers and sent it to Wiseco and Saenz is making a set of Ti rods. That way the engine will look bone stock but have mega torque. I have been trying to get a FIA GT fascia and hood from Solution F in France but no love so far.
JC

 

I just got this so you are probably there. I worked on a 1967 Ford Fairlane with a 521 inch engine and one of our electronics packages on it this morning. Jeez it hauls ass! Anyway, next time PM me and I will get it on my Droid and maybe we can hook up. I am going the build at my race shop in Hawthorne and I will have to get Craig at Fast Cars to drop it in. Crank is 10 weeks away so I have some time.
JC

 

Great looking wheels! How about a picture of the car too?
JC