Ferrari 355 Brembo BBK 4 pot upgrade.. worth it..?

Ok! So Brembo got back to me..

Those who have real world experience of F355 braking dynamics with any/or of the combinations below please let us know what you think.

My email to Brembo is as follows..

Ferrari in the F355 decided to use the same front and rear calipers and discs. the system balance, and front to rear pad wear proves it works.
This is further highlighted in the 355 challenge that also use the same 355mm rotors and calipers in both the front to rear..
So, it would be safe to assume that the F355 needs the same calipers and rotors on both the front and rear to be balanced, whether that is 4pot 332mm all round , or 6pot 355 mm all round.

The 4 pot caliper that Brembo offers are essentially the same as the F355 OEM calipers as they have the same piston sizes..40/36mm (OEM)

So to make the right choice I need to ask the following..
Is a 6 pot 355mm Kit (with handbrake retained) all round possible.. and if it were there would be a ton of F355 guys that would gobble it up..!
Is a 4 pot 355mm kit (with handbrake retained) all round possible..

From my research, the only combination Brembo currently offers for the f355 is..
355mm rotors all round 6 pot front 4 pot rear..
332mm rotors all round 4 pot front 4 pot rear..

Any assistance you can provide in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Brembo HQ official response..

Brembo is a world leader in the design, development, and production of braking systems and components for cars, trucks, motorbikes, industrial vehicles and machinery, for the OE market, after-market, and racing. Brembo guarantees the utmost safety and comfort with improved product performance thanks to process integration and optimization of the entire production cycle, from the initial design and cast-iron or aluminum casting to assembly, testing, and simulations on the bench, track, and road.

When you are increasing the size of the calipers and rotors on a vehicle, the same dynamics do not exist anymore. True, 1994-1999 Ferrari F355 come from the factory with 4-piston calipers front and rear. You have to be very careful when increasing the rear brakes versus the front brakes. You cannot increase the rear the same as the front or you will end up with way too much braking in rear upsetting the balance and bias. Keep in mind that upon heavy braking, the front is doing 75-80% of the braking. Not the rear.

More brake torque to the rear of an unbalanced brake system will usually cause one of two issues. With the ABS on, the system will sense the rear brakes locking up prematurely and shut the fluid off to the rear causing the vehicle to actually roll further. Without ABS, the rear will lock up prematurely causing the vehicle to go into an uncontrollable slide or spin out. Similar to engaging the handbrake while in motion.

Remember, Brembo engineering designed the OE brakes for Ferrari and it is Brembo engineering that designs all the Gran Turismo upgrades. Once a new GT or race system is designed, it has to go to Brembo Italy for final approval before being released. So numerous engineers are involved in every brake decision. I never second guess the professionals.

If they want front and rear the same, then the 4-piston 332mm front and rear upgrades are for him. For the best braking improvement, 6-piston front and 4-piston rear are the most ideal. Good luck

 

"Ferrari achieves balance of braking bias with delay valve, pressure regulator and other measures like abs calibration"

Elliott, is it safe to say that this system is not affected by the size of the rear calipers compared to the front..?
In other words I am asking if the Brembo representatives statement (For the best braking improvement, 6-piston front and 4-piston rear are the most ideal).holds any validity ?

In other words will the 355mm Rotor/ 6PF, 4PR combination result in unbalanced braking..

 

The issue here is two things..

There are only two setups Brembo offer for the F355..

1. 355mm rotors all round 6 pot front 4 pot rear..
2. 332mm rotors all round 4 pot front 4 pot rear..

The issue with number one is that it basically opposes what Ferrari did in the OEM F355 and the Challenge F355, namely matching rotors/calipers all round.

The problem with number two is that although the rotors are an upgrade over OEM , the calipers that come with the kit are no better than OEM ( ie AFAIK same piston sizes) so what are you realy getting when you fork out 7k USD for their kit..

This is compounded by the widely held opinion that the OEM F355 brakes are more than adequate for street driving, which makes the upgrade unnecessary..

BTW: I am still waiting for Brembo to confirm piston sizes in the 4 pot calipers.. as this may help sway my decision

 

Not sure about 355 Challenge piston sizes Shineken, but I will try to find out..
Meanwhile Brembo just got back to me.. and for me.. Its a deal breaker..

Hello Peter

Apologies for the delay.

As a recap:
These GT systems have the same piston sizing 36/40 (Front and Rear).

In regards to your question about the “My understanding is that the Brembo 4-pot GT system for the 355 is based off the F50 caliper, and as such has the larger F50 44/40mm pistons.? Wouldn't make sense to offer a 4 pot caliper with the Brembo kit that was essentially the same as the OEM F355 caliper. Can you please confirm ?”

Best Regards,

Account Representative & Program Support

 

In case anyone is interested here is the complete lineup Brembo make for the F355

1996 Ferrari F355 | Race Technologies | Brembo Official Partner

 

Brembo GT systems for the F355..
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BTW

Brembo GT 6 Pot calipers is 28/30/36mm pistons
Brembo GT 4 Pot calipers is 36/40mm pistons