A "not-so-expensive" brake upgrade for F355

The color is a RAL color called karminorot, very close to the original Ferrari/Brembo caliper color. The type of paint is Standos Standoflet, with crystall clear coat on top.
The heat resistant stickers can be bought from a lot of different places on ebay. I got it from "vehiclevinyls" but there are others...

 

Clear coated and first test with the new 550 brake discs in place. The discs are bigger than I thought, and 2 kg heavier...

I now need the brake pads in order to get the exact measurement for the brackets...
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Tested to put on the rims with the new brake calipers today. Realized that the caliper sits about 1-2 mm too much outside to fit inside the original rims, inside of the spoke would shave off the new paint... Not a big deal for me as I have the Hille Engineering 11 mm spacer, but good to know if some one else would like to do this upgrade.

Eric: Did you need extra space to fit your rims? Cant really find any info on that...

 

Man that looks awesome and factory! Great job. With more brake now you have to drive faster. You guys should make this "THE" 348/355 big brake conversion. The money you saved must be amazing too. Any ideas as to total cost for the conversion vs say a brembo big brake kit and the total # of hours you have in the conversion? I think this is one of the best conversions possible. I wonder if anyone makes any 2 piece hat/rotors to fit?

 

Hi fbb,

Girodisc make a 2 rotor for the 550.

Regards,
Phil.

 

I knew about the Girodisc option but I wanted to keep budget as low as possible. By using the Girodisk you could probably get rid of the extra weight from the bigger rotors and calipers...

 

Brake pads now in place, last measurements for bracket done! I made an order for a test-bracket so that I can make last adjustments if necessary. I will be able to make a batch of these if there is interest in it…

 

Johan,

Is the Standox heat resistant?

Thanks,

 

It is not a specifically heat resistant paint but has been used by others with very good result. I just have to wait and see how it works out. From other that has tested standox say it works better than most typical heat paints in spray cans like Duplicolor etc...

 

Eric, Johan- Great stuff and the result is really beautiful as well as functional. Your work makes the mad gleam in my eyes return every time I see that set of 599 brakes with yellow calipers in FerrariAds. Too expensive, though, and having the wrong size hubs does not help either.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Eric- The 575M has almost as much torque (434 ft lbs vs 470) as the 7 liter Z06s I had, so getting the rear end to step out is pretty easy. Try ASR Off next time. The car is easy to catch when the rear end comes out because of the quick steering, only 2.2 turns lock to lock, so it is difficult to get into too much trouble unless it is wet. The front engine layout makes the rear end movements slower than a mid-engine car, too. Useful for old farts like me.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Eric / Johan,

Do you have the Porsche part numbers for the calipers that you have used for this upgrade??

Best regards,
Phil.

 

Porsche caliper part number
965 351 423 01 for the left
965 351 424 01 for the right

Brembo caliper part number
20 4701 01 on the external half of the caliper
20 4702 01 on the internal half of the caliper

Brembo brake disc part number
09.6802.20

I will probably be able to sell you (or anyone else that might be interested) a custom made bracket. I am in the testing stage and will know in a couple of weeks...

 

Johan,

Thank you for the caliper numbers.

Let me know about the bracket when you have finished them!!

Regards,
Phil.

 

Just got the first bracket prototype today

It's not in final finish and a few details are not implemented. But I think it is looking pretty good so far! Need to do some minor adjustments and then it should be good to go to final production...
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johan,

How do you know what aluminum to make the bracket out of and how thick to make it to take the load?

 

I looked at the dimensions of the bracket for the challenge car and consulted a company that makes brackets for Porsche. It is of 7075 aluminium and all the dimensions are way bigger than the original challenge part. In fact it looks a little bit clumsy in comparison ;-)

 

Final version of the brackets ready, made a few extra brackets if anyone else wants to do this great mod...
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Johan, even your photos are well engineered

the brackets look great, as do the refurbed calipers!

 

Thanks Neil

 

Eric, Johan- Great job by both of you and really professional results.

Eric- If you get bored, your calipers would look really good painted Modena Yellow to match your wheel centers and go with your red paint. Of course you would then have to paint the rear ones, too, but maybe time for an upgrade back there.

Incidentally, I am fitting MovIt 396mm ceramics to my car, so if anybody wants a set of 575M FHP brakes (Pagid 4-4 racing pads) with red calipers, including a spare set of pads with factory wires and discs, let me know. 575M brakes are the same as 550 brakes essentially, 330x32mm F and 310x28mm R. The calipers are 4 piston Brembos F&R with 38/46mm pistons F and 30/34mm rear.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Completed first test of the new brakes yesterday, and so far everything works like a charm

Need to get the pads and rotors run in before I can really put them to the test...