355 challenge calipers???

All four corners on the CH used same size caliper and rotor.....only difference was the hats were different front to rear.

The CH calipers used a plated/anodized coating and were NOT powder coated.

I can strongly suggest that the CH brakes are very very noisey and are not ideal for a daily driver.

Post some pictures. You may have the Brembo GT brakes.

 

Those are most definitely NOT factory CH calipers.

 

agreed. Those are not 355CH calipers.

 

What size are your rotors? Before I went to Stoptech all around, I had Brembo front 13 inch with 993 Turbo front calipers. You might have a Porshe front caliper. Do you have adapters to fit the calipers?

 

Check to see if they are out of a Porsche 993 Twin Turbo. They are often called "Big Reds"

 

The Brake Pads should have a part number on the outside. Remove from caliper and post what you find and that will help source your caliper orgin.

ciao,

SRR

 

I do believe its time to pull the spare F40 setup off the shelf.......

 

I had the 993 Turbo brakes on my F355 fronts for awhile with 13 inch rotors and the braking was great. They are basically the F40 caliper. The problem with Challenge brakes is you will not have any parking brake. Take a look at Stoptech. I have them on now and they are fantastic brakes, and very well balanced and it has the stock parking brake with 355 rotors up front and 332 rear. The calipers are huge just like Challenge calipers.

 

Those are beyond the shaddow of any doubt 1994-1996 Lamborghini Diablo Calipers. Its easy to identify the brake lines...

Hope it all worked out for you.

 

Bummed to hear you got hosed like that, but I would definitely be interested to hear what you source and where for your new brake setup.

I have wanted to update my brakes for a while now. Ideally, I would want to go with a Brembo setup for the silly reason of going with the company that provided the OE brakes in the first place, but I would go with another. Only hiccup is that i want to keep the stock 18inch wheels.

And as a question to the group, better to go with a 6-pot caliper, 4, 8, etc? I am a mechanical engineer and do understand the theory behind hydraulics and calipers, but wonder which is better in the real world?

 

Comparing a 6 piston versus 4 piston kit in the real world:

If the total piston area of a 4 piston caliper system was the same as a 6 piston caliper, and the rotor diameter was identical between the 2 systems, then the only advantage would be the increased volume of the pad used in a 6-piston system. The math proves this to be true since you cannot change the MC piston area or the pedal ratio.

The mid-engine layout provides a nice balance to the car under braking. The brake force needed on the front of the car under braking is directly proportionate to the weight transfer. So again, you can work the math and figure out based on your CG and the decel rate how much weight moves off the rear wheels to the front wheels under braking. 1g decel on performance street tires is usually possible on the track. Expect less on the street due to inconsistent road surface.

These cars do not need much of an increase in front braking resources, and there is no reason to put a 6-piston system in the rear. IMO, the 4-piston system in both the front and rear will work fine.

 

Thanks for the input!

Question then: On a handful of occasions when I was driving my car spiritedly on road and track and I had to mash the brakes (on dry surface and brakes are always maintained) but they took waayy too long to stop the car, or so it seemed. For normal duties, the brakes are absolutely fine, but I nearly cr@pped my pants a couple times in particular when the brakes just wouldn't slow the car down fast enough.

I always figured I needed bigger brakes (calipers and pads) to resolve this. I also want to make sure to keep the steel and not go carbon-ceramic.

Thoughts??


P.S. Anyone else find themselves in a similar situation with the stock brake setup?

 

Was the pedal hard or soft? Did it happen after numerous hard braking zones or just on the first one? If just the first application, you may have pads that need to be hotter to work properly. If it happens after numerous hard braking zones, it's fade. Usually you can get away with additional cooling, using pads that are meant for the higher heat of track use or even slotted rotors if it's fade and not too severe or takes a while to happen. You'd need larger brakes to dissipate the heat if you get fade pretty quickly or if the above don't fix it. If the pedal goes soft, your fluid is boiling and you need to go to higher heat rated fluid.

 

I had thought about Challenge brakes but when you figure you don't have any e-brake and I think the cost is really high for Challenge calipers and rotors. As I have said and Greg
M-5Guy also has the Stoptech system and I think they are fantastic. I have used them on Road America with no fade. They are expensive but still cheaper than the Challenge system and you have the practicality of an e-brake. They look as impressive as the Challenge system. They bolted right up and I put fronts and rears on myself in a day. They are 14" front and 13" rears. I think that the Challenge brakes may actully be over braked in the rear with 14" rotors.

 

As Bobzdar mentioned, it really makes a difference if the condition you described happened when the brakes were cold or when they were hot. Also, did you notice any ABS engagement?