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| DOT approved Stoptech brake lines resist swelling and thus improve brake feel and ABS activation. |
The ceramic based asbestos free compound is quiet, produces minimal dust and is very easy on rotors. The NS compound’s effective temperature range is from 0 to 750 degrees which means they are better than most stock pads and can handle anything on the street but should be used with caution on the track. The pads can handle light track use but they should not be expected to perform like a race pad. If we venture out to the track more frequently in the future, fade free performance is just a pad change away.
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| Motul 660 is an excellent brake fluid and the price is right compared to other high performance fluids. |
To improve pedal feel, Stoptech supplied us with some of their braided steel brake lines. The lines have a chemically inert Teflon inner hose covered by a reinforcing ply of woven stainless steel. This combination is very resistant to ballooning under pressure unlike the stock rubber lines, thus every bit of brake pedal travel goes to moving the pistons in the calipers.
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| Awesome rear brakes with a functional parking brake. |
We were surprised how much difference these lines made. The pedal feels rock solid like a real racecar, impressive considering the stock pedal feel was quite good as well. The car’s ABS system seemed to like it too, seemingly cycling faster with a higher resolution. We don’t know if that’s true or not but our seat of the pants told us so. Finally, to help protect the braided steel from debris damage and to prevent the rough steel braid itself from abrading parts of our car, the outer hose is covered with a layer of smooth PVC, a nice added feature.
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| Howard Watanabe bleeds the brakes. |
The Stoptech brake lines are DOT registered and meet all performance requirements set by the DOT. Many braided steel lines are not, and one of the long term issues could be that the steel braid fatigues and breaks. To receive DOT compliance certification, lines must pass the dreaded whip test amongst a host other performance tests for the lines and components. Although braided steel lines are very strong, they have traditionally had a very hard time passing this test. During the whip test the brake line is mounted by one end to a rotating fixture and spun at a certain rpm for a given time. The brake line cannot fail during the test period.
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| We almost forgot, you have to clean the protective oil from the rotors before you install them. Howard uses brake cleaner. |
