Girodisc 308 brake kit is finally ready!

Hi guys,
It has been a long time coming I know, but the 308 kit is finally done.
The kit is a true bolt-on, and best of all, will fit under stock 16" wheels!

It features a 310mm front set with a forged and dust sealed Wilwood caliper, and a replacement rear rotor and pad set to maintain the proper balance and keep the parking brake intact.

Have a look at the press release and the included pictures of the front kit assembled on a 308 knuckle. The rear disc is pictured too. The kit should be on the first car in a couple days and we will update that here as well.

The entire kit including:
Front rotors, slotted
Front calipers and pads
Front caliper brackets
Front and rear stainless braided brake lines
Rear rotors, slotted
Rear pads

The kit is retail priced at $2800 complete

We are also selling the rear rotors individually for those with Brembo and other front kits.
Rotors are available drilled at a cost of $50 per rotor.
The front kit can be purchased individually as well, inquire for details.

Ok, I am ready for questions and comments.
-Eric
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I wish it had been here a few months ago!! If I didn't already have a Brembo/AP/Stillen front set, this is what I'd go with all the way around, as they've designed it as a 4-wheel balanced system for the 308. If you've ever talked one-on-one with Eric or Martin at Girodisc, you'd know they're experts and do everything top-notch. As it is, I *am* getting a Girodisc rear rotor set for my car to replace my drilled rear Brembo one-piece rotors and looking forward to delivery soon.

Nice going guys! You're going to have a lot of happy customers for this one!

 

Eric,

When is the larger set going to be ready for those of us running 18" wheels?

Please don't get me wrong I think you have done a GREAT thing here and I would buy it in a heartbeat (as I was waiting for your system) but I have been lead to belive that you will soon have a bolt on 308 set up for us with larger wheels and much more HP then stock.

Paul

 

Here is the Press Release in PDF format.
It includes all the details and technical information for the kit.

-Eric
View attachment PRESS RELEASE Ferrari 308.pdf

 

The only things I ask are:

1. Is it possible to get red calipers

2. Is it possible to get custom script...

3. Is it possible to get larger for us 18in'ers? Maybe a 330 or 355?

Finally, I take it it will NOT work on our ABS hub 328s?

 

Yes it is possible to get red calipers. We use the same paint shop Brembo uses. Same basecoat(any color you like) and same clear. We've had many calipers painted by them, and they all look like jewelry. If you provide the artwork(in .eps or coreldraw formats) you can have any graphic on them as well. For this size caliper, $200 per pair includes paint and graphic. I'll post a pic of their work mid-next week when we get some of these back we're having sprayed red right now.

I'll let Eric answer the size questions.

Thanks,

Martin

 

Forgot to mention, the wilwood logo gets filled with high-temp epoxy and smoothed. This way the graphic sticker has a nice surface to sit on. Clear goes over graphics.

Martin

 

Is the pad shape readily available in all markets, or is it peculiar to wilwood calipers. (for long term servicing).

What choice of pad compounds do you offer.... (sorry, haven't read the press pack, so not sure if you say there or not).

Sorry, but the Wilwood logo is ugly.... Could we cnc cut a Prancing Horse instead, or incorporate some subtle cooling fins or something??

 

And what's with the upside down bleed screws.........

Do they have a balance pipe or do you have to flip them for bleeding.

Also... does your installation require rebleed every time you remove the caliper due to a ridig hose (like regular 308), or does your installation have the flexi hose go into the caliper direct....?

 

Looks like bleeder on the bottom rather than balance pipe? Assume an "almost production" unit where they've been using one caliper for both sides to test clearance/photograph? OTOH, maybe the unit has an internal passageway?
Philip

 

Hi guys,

The wilwoods have an internal crossover, but are milled for bleed screws at all four corners. I dont know why they dont use plugs in one end vs. bleed screws, but as with any caliper, only bleed the ones facing up. the lower ones are always closed.

The wilwoods were not our first choice, but no caliper from AP, Brembo, or Alcon met the criteria of piston and packaging size. The Wilwoods sure dont carry the same cachet as the others, but these calipers are forged parts with dust seals and work very very well. We decided that proper function and balance was more important than cachet.
We also considered labelling the calipers as our own, but wilwood will not cut calipers without their logo, and if we came out hiding the logo, it would be obvious to all that it was a wilwood, and we didnt want to be accused of hiding anything.

So, the answer is yes as martin said above, the calipers can be red or any other color and the wilwood logo eliminated with high temp aluminum/epoxy putty and any type of decal placed there instead. I think the idea above of a prancing horse is very good and we may try that on a set to show.

Ferrarifixer, for the brake hose, it will be a stainless braided line, with a stock ferrari chassis fitting on the inside end, and a swiveling 90 deg -3 end that will fit into a -3 to 1/8 npt fitting into the caliper. So there will not be a hard line to the caliper anymore.
The pad shape is very common for the OE rear, and the wilwood front part is relatively new, but is catching on, so there will be other materials available. The initial setup from us is balanced for friction and torque front to rear. But we can make suggestions for individuals on other material combos.


Okay...on to the sizing...
I know there are some guys with 17 and 18" wheels who want more brake. And yes, it is possible and we DO plan on doing that soon. The point of this initial system was to make a system available to the largest amount of 308 owners possible. It makes business sense for us. Also, this size system is in balance front to rear and keeps the e brake.
The biggest problem with going larger is that the parking brake is built into the OE rear caliper as you all know. It is the same problem I faced at Brembo. There just is no cost-effective and simple solution to rigging up an e-brake for the rear and use a 4 piston performance caliper.
The Brembo e brake calipers from the 360 and other cars is $1000 each our cost! There are no other worthwhile or cost effective spot type e-brakes available.
On top of this, the upright has to be removed and machined to accept an e brake caliper, not to mention the cabling and tensioning issues etc...
All this gets hugely expensive at $60 per hour machine time, not to mention building short-run custom bracketry etc... Plus installation and other fees.
I have looked at numerous solutions, electric hydra-locks, etc... none are solutions that dont require major modifications and more hassle than they are worth. There is a reason nobody has done it for the last 20 years.

So the only solution that makes sense for those who really want a triple-throwdown mega brake set for the 308 is to call it a racing system and eliminate the e-brake caliper and e-brake altogether. We plan on building this system, and the sizing is still TBD, but it will probably be around 330 mm rotors all around with 4 or 6 pot (not wilwood) calipers. Also, it is hard as a company to justify the cost of designing and manufacturing a system like this without knowing the demand. So If you are SERIOUS and want it, and ready to pay the $4k or so it would cost, then tell me here or privatley and we will get it together.

Whew..that was a mouthful. Thanks for the questions, keep em coming.

-Eric

 

Eric,
Hi, couple questions:

1) no way to do a larger rotor w/ the same caliper? I've got 17" Speedlines..

2) I JUST upgraded to Goodrich SS lines, and the install was difficult ( I had to do it 3 times, finally realizing I was missing a copper insert gasket on the caliper side, had 'em FedEx'ed the next day.) My total cost on the the lines and install labor was $600!! Question is: can I keep these lines and use them with the new kit? I didn't quite understand your statement above regarding the caliper-side brake line fitting.

TIA,
Greg in Houston 77 308 GTB

 

Looks good...
Am I correct in assuming it will fit an early 308GT4 without difficulty?

 

An interesting quote from the guy that designed the Brembo brake kit!
What makes this caliper better than the Brembo one?
Also, should I expect pricing on these rotors to be in line with the others on your website (~$1000/pr)?

 

Hi greg328,
No, a larger rear rotor should not be done for a couple reasons, the caliper is lug mount, which means we would have to clock it differently to apply a intermediate bracket, and this will conflict with the parking cables and the caliper can even contact suspension bits. The rear caliper and pads are shaped to hold a given diameter rotor, if a rotor with different radius goes into the caliper the pads will not ride the friction surface correctly and there will be issues with noise and wear rate.
We looked hard at this, but we have decided to go with a full boogie race kit for those who want to get serious, and develop the rear rotors in diameter and width properly for a different caliper.

The brake lines.. I am sorry to hear you had trouble and expense with the lines, though have had problems with goodrich as well as a vendor. Lines should be easy, and that cost is outrageous. The rear lines you have are the same spec as will be in our kit. The front line is made by goodridge for us specific to our kit and comes with. If you want to get a kit and save the cost of the rear lines, thats no problem.


david gt4, I dont know if it will fit a GT4, I havent been under one to check any differences in uprights, hubs, brake lines, etc... It is something we will have to investigate if we can put our hands on a GT4.

don_xvi,
The Wilwood caliper is better only in that the piston sizing is closer to the OE piston volume. This means that the OE hydraulic system and front to rear proportioning is as Ferrari intended. The Brembo caliper was the smallest bore 4 pot available to us at the time the kit was designed, but it has more piston area than the OE unit, which throws the balance to the front more than I like and the brake pedal gets longer and a bit softer. Our goal for the Girodisc pkg. was to create a truly balanced system with a higher performance threshold all around.
The Wilwood is also a forged part as opposed to the Brembo being cast. The stiffness advantage for the Wilwood is minor at best, but may come into play during a track event. Though the Brembo caliper works admirably in that kit, we think the Wilwood will work even better.

The rear two piece rotors will retail for $350 each. The front rotors are only available in the kit. The pricing on rotors is dependant on volume we build, and amount of material in the hat and rotor. There is no Ferrari tax from us.
The 360 (for example) has been $500 each, but watch for an announcement as we have made more rotors recently as we ramp up our capital input and the prices are going to come down.


-Eric

 

For the "e" brake....

The uprights are not completely L+R handed, and are cast with caliper mounting lugs each side... so you could quite easily drill and helicoil the unused lugs to mount your new caliper the other side of the upright, and just leave the original caliper in place for the "e" function, with no hydraulic connection....

I've seen a car in Aus that has this, and actually has both calipers working on the rear at all times...

Granted, it's a bit clumsy with all that crap hanging out in "un sprung mass land".... but it's been done and is quite do-able.

Personally.... I've seen slick shod race 308's running with std factory rear calipers that are SO strong under brakes it's not funny.......

 

Yes, we have been over the rear upright with a fine tooth comb. In the end we arent interested in having people drill, face, tap, etc the parts. Its just more complex than we are interested in beginning with. We are not a install shop, and we dont want to do any exchange parts either. The point is to be a bolt-on with minimal effort and maximum improvement.

I agree with the fact that the rear calipers are more than enough for most track events. That is why our kit isnt starting as a giant brake kit. This kit with a modest front rotor size increase and a better cooling rear rotor will surprise drivers with it's ability. This kit will work very very well.

Eric

 

Wow, mine was $200 parts and labor...

 

Well,
Carobu sent me the lines they got from Goodrich, and they didn't have the right fitting on them--both sides, now that I'm thinking about it!
My shop installed them the first time and didn't get a tight fit. So, they took them off, tried to machine down the outer threads, put them back on and still didn't have a snug fit. So, I took matters into my own hands, did some research, and found out that Orme bros. made the lines. A quick phone call solved the mystery--they immediately knew the problem. I had 8 tiny copper insert gaskets FedEx'd out to me at a cost of $20, for parts worth about .50!
After inserting them in the line ends, everything hooked up properly.
The garage had no choice but to bill me for all their time. I don't really blame them--they put much time into the issue.
I let Tate at Carobu know about my travails, and he was very kind about it, explaining some problems recently w/ his supplier. I guess I couldn't expect him to refund any of my lost money on labor, but the problem wouldn't have happened had I received the proper parts the first time!!
This must be the risk we take in buying parts around the country and installing them locally. I really don't have any practical recourse against Carobu, plus I want to keep good relations w/ them, should I need them in the future.....

Bummer...!


Greg

 

What shop are you using that is machining down threads on something as simple as a SS brake line? You know you can but the tools and materials to make them yourself for less than $100. I say that b/c your shop screwed you (unless of course they told you what they were doing and you said OK).

 

Anything in the works for a 328 package?

 

Hi roryferrari,
nothing in the works yet for the 328. We will see how things go with the 308 first. We have some effort put into the 308 set, if it goes well we will expand as the demand calls for.
Girodisc does have pads and fluids that can improve the basic 328 set. As far as a brake upgrade we will have to wait for a bit.
-Eric

 

Another question...

I think it's safe to assume your kit won't fit inside the 14" std wheels... but what about the 308QV metric wheels... Tyre size is 390, but I'm not sure how much smaller the wheel is than a 16"....

It may be that diameter is ok and just a small spacer for the wheel is required....

Worth checking for all those TRX shod 308QV and Mondial 8 owners out there.....

Mond QV and 328 have better brakes anyway, and I guess the need is less.

 

Eric and Martin,

Congratulations! Looks like a great package! Very much look forward to receiving the rear rotor

 

Thanks Steve, Your parts should ship this week.

Ferrarifixer,
For sure it wont fit with 14". Just too small.
The 390mm is a good question. I have cross sectional templates of the caliper and rotor that I can send out to anyone who is curious to try inside the wheel. I may be able to come up witha 390 wheel at a local shop and fit it myself in the next week or so.

We are ready to make the effort to build 328 or just about any application, we just need to be sure that there are enough takers to warrant the system. Otherwise, one or two guys are paying one-off costs and short run manufacturing costs which price the system out of existence usually.

Eric