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While I was doing that, my two youngest daughters were picking pebbles out of the Michelin winter tires on our original set of wheels. Hey, it’s their fault I even have to own a minivan so that’s the least they can do.
Our MotoIQ.com baby hauler with fresh brakes from BuyBrakes.com and Kosei wheels from Modified by KC—makes for quite the transformation! It looks like a factory version of a sportier MPV model.
The 9-spoke Kosei wheels are super light and offer good visibility (and venilation) for our painted-red calipers and cross-drilled and slotted rotors.
Here’s a close-up of the rear.
While we haven't had a chance to flush the system out with the supplied Stoptech 600F brake fluid just yet, we did get a chance to whip up some braking numbers just for fun. Keep in mind this is still a near-stock minivan, but from 60-0 MPH, the stopping distance on our street was 175 feet. The tires hook up so well that no matter how hard you mash the brake pedal, there is no ABS action. And we do have a nice, hard pedal (I'm sure that wouldn't be case after 5 or 6 more stops like this with the stock fluid, however).
Earlier, we mentioned that a car's performance is only as good as its tire. In this case, the brake calipers just aren't strong enough for the performance of our Michelins. Still, we did see -0.9G during braking, but I've also tested these same tires to nearly -1.1G on a performance car at this same speed.
When we do get the fluids overhauled, it will be an unnoticed addition–until the day we need it, like when coasting down a mountain behind traffic (ask me how I know). One place you don't want to find yourself in is coasting down a mountain only to find that riding the pedal long enough sends it to the floor with brake fluid boil (and you to the rear of the car in front of you!).
When looking at the profile of the car, the wheels, tires, and brakes combo add a sportier look to the minivan. But it’s accomplished in a way that could have been endorsed by the factory, as opposed to being overdone. And, even though we went with larger wheels and wider tires, we also still saved 1.5-lb per corner of rotating weight over the stock (and already-light) setup!
