Custom-Made Front Big Brake Kit, 4 to 8-Pot, 286 to 430 mm

Custom-Made Big Brake Kits Specifications

Designed for all-round use, DriftShop big brake kits are designed for both everyday street use and racing, with a wide choice of pads, options and diameters to suit every need. They come in diameters from 286 to 430 mm, with calipers from 4 to 8 pistons. They come with a 2-year warranty, excluding wear parts.

DriftShop big brake kits are specific to the brand and do not come from factories rebuilding mass-produced calipers. They feature an exclusive design with no visible screws and are manufactured to very strict and excessively rigorous specifications, modelled on the OE quality of major brands such as Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Maserati and Mercedes.

DriftShop big brake kits have been developed through years of intensive track testing. Our database contains thousands of vehicles and we are able to assemble big brake kits for the majority of cars on the market, including minivans, 4x4s and pick-ups, as well as vehicles fitted with electronic handbrakes. Each kit is assembled to order to your specifications, and delivered within an average of 3 to 4 weeks. Simply find your vehicle in the drop-down list above (if variants exist, we will always double check the correct application with you).

Kit Contents

• 2 x vented discs with 6061 T6 forged aluminium bells
• 2 x 6061 T6 forged aluminium brake calipers
• 1 x set of brake pads (choice of road, sports or race compounds)
• 2 x teflon braided stainless steel brake hoses
• All required mounting components (brackets, bolts, instructions etc)

Exclusive to DriftShop : your logo engraved on your calipers!

DriftShop takes customization right down to the smallest detail: have you always dreamt of having your team logo, your name or your company logo engraved on your brake calipers? Now you can, thanks to our made-to-measure engraving service!

Customization Examples

How do you go about it? It's very simple:

• Select the "Custom logo on calipers" option above.
• Once you have placed your order, we will contact you to validate your project and produce a proof for you to approve before the order goes into production. We will need a vector file (Illustrator, PostScript, etc.) at this stage.
• Once you have given us your approval, we will create a custom machining programme to engrave your logo on the calipers in your kit. You will receive photos during production.
• Your kit will now be manufactured, and the logo will be engraved and painted to your specifications (up to two colours to choose from the colour chart above).
• Allow 1 to 2 weeks extra for kit production. With the exception of the engraving of the logos, your kit will scrupulously follow the same production stages as the other series, and strictly the same quality controls.

Important note: a charge of €100 applies to the first kit ordered with a custom logo, to cover the creation of the machining programme and the management of additional manufacturing steps. Thereafter, if in the future you order new kits with the same personalised logo, we will re-use the existing machining programme at no extra cost to you. Similarly, if you order a rear kit and a front kit at the same time, the costs will only apply once. Please contact us for more information.

Slotted or drilled, floating discs?

Grooves and holes improve the performance of brake discs, each with its own particular features. In all cases, the holes and grooves contribute to better dissipation of the heat and gases formed by the temperature and friction between the pads and discs. They also ensure better water evacuation when driving on wet roads. In addition:

• Slotted discs provide higher friction, and therefore more effective braking. On the other hand, the grooves sometimes cause noise or whistling, depending on the temperature and the pads used. Grooves are also very effective in "dirty" conditions, as they help to clean the friction surfaces in off-road, rally dirt and other dusty environments.
• Drilled discs have the advantage of allowing better heat dissipation, and are therefore recommended for endurance use or on heavy vehicles. However, they can have a slightly shorter service life than their slotted counterparts, as the holes tend to generate micro-cracks over the long term.
• Finally, slotted and drilled discs offer an excellent compromise between the two solutions and are widely chosen by our customers.

Floating discs/hubs are more efficient than fixed ones because they allow the disc to have very little radial and axial play (in the order of a tenth of a millimetre). This clearance ensures perfect alignment of the disc and pads as they wear, and above all compensates for the expansion of the materials as the temperature rises (as the rotors are made of steel and the hubs of aluminium, they do not expand in the same way). In short, floating discs limit the risk of warping and extend their lifespan: they are therefore particularly recommended for intensive use. They are available from 330 mm diameter, and larger.

Brake Pads

The pads supplied in our big brake kits are available in three performance levels:

• "Street" pads: supplied as standard, these are suitable for everyday use on open roads, with excellent cold response and offer an average braking power (coefficient of friction of 0.45 to 0.55 between 0°C and 500°C). They are asbestos-free.
• Optional "Sports" pads: these are designed for sporty, mixed road and track use. They offer better pedal feel and greater braking force, but are less effective when cold (coefficient of friction of 0.55 to 0.65 between 100°C and 700°C). They can generate squeal noise.
• Optional "Race" pads: these offer excellent temperature resistance and maximum braking force, but require a warm-up phase before they are effective (coefficient of friction of 0.60 to 0.70 from 150°C to 850°C). Their use is prohibited and potentially dangerous on open roads. They can generate squeal noise.

Our big brake kits use standard brake pad shapes available from most manufacturers: Carbone Lorraine, Ferodo, EBC, Pagid, Performance Friction, Endless... Check out our spare parts page to learn more.

Wheel Diameter

Each disc diameter has a minimum rim diameter. Please check the following list:

Technical Notes

• Manufacture of calipers: the calipers in our big brake kits are machined from 6061 T6 forged aluminium, cut from solid, then undergo various finishing stages (deburring, polishing, anodising, priming) before painting. A special high-temperature paint is applied, followed by a coat of transparent protective varnish and very strict quality control to guarantee resistance well above 500°C. The colour will not fade, even after several years of intensive use. What's more, we supply a touch-up pen with each kit, to correct any minor visual defects that may appear over time: impacts, rubbing, etc.
• ABS, mastervac and original master cylinders: our big brake kits are perfectly compatible with ABS systems and original master cylinders and/or mastervacs. They do not require any modification during installation. In the case of very intensive use on track, or even exclusively in competition, or if you only have a big brake kit at the front and not at the rear, you may feel the need to adapt the hydraulic circuit to the specific requirements of each driver, each vehicle or each use. We have a wide range of master cylinders and pedal boxes to choose from, so feel free to contact us for advice.
• Vehicle maintenance: always ensure that the vehicle on which you install a big brake kit is in good condition and well maintained. Forces generated on the hubs and suspensions are much greater than they were originally, and any play (bushings, ball joints, tie rods, etc) will be felt more strongly, potentially causing noise, unwanted vibrations or potentially dangerous breakages.
• Disc wear: our discs are designed to offer maximum performance throughout their wear range, which is approximately 4 mm thick (i.e. 2 mm per side). We therefore recommend that you replace your discs when their thickness is more than 4 mm less than the original thickness. For example, if your original disc is 32 mm thick, it should be changed when its thickness falls below 28 mm.
• Bleeding the braking system: to get the best out of your big brake kit, it's important to bleed the brake fluid perfectly, and also to use a very high quality fluid such as Motul RBF660 or RBF700 to guarantee good temperature resistance. When installing a big brake kit, systematically bleed the entire brake circuit to replace all the old fluid with new fluid.
• Stainless steel pistons (from 330 mm only): stainless steel is a poorer thermal conductor than aluminium. For this reason, when manufacturing the kit, we offer the option of fitting your calipers with stainless steel ventilated pistons. This modification allows up to 50% less heat to be transmitted from the pads to the calipers, reducing operating temperatures and extending the life of the brake fluid. While these stainless steel pistons are of little interest for street or trackday use, they are a real asset in competition. The extra cost is around a hundred euros (depending on the size of the kit) and does not affect the production life of the kit. Please contact us if you are interested in this option.
• Piston bellows: from diameter 330 mm upwards, all our calipers are fitted with piston bellows and require no maintenance. For technical reasons relating to size and manufacture, the 286 and 304 mm diameter parts do not have piston bellows and require periodic cleaning and lubrication. We recommend cleaning and greasing every time the pads are changed, or at least once a year for road use. For more intensive use (trackday, racing), we recommend more frequent monitoring. The operation, which is very easy to carry out, can be done with a simple aerosol of brake cleaner and high-temperature paste.
• Spare parts: our French warehouse holds a large stock of wear parts (discs, brake pads) and routine maintenance parts (seals, bolts, etc.), so we can respond quickly to all your needs. At the same time, we can supply any specific spare parts you may need (bells, calipers and brackets, hoses, bolts and nuts, caliper refurbishment kits, etc.) within two weeks. See our spare parts page or contact us for more information.
• Running-in: to avoid damaging your discs and pads and to maximise their long-term performance, it is important to run in your big brake kit the first time you use it (and, of course, every time you change discs and/or pads thereafter). To do this, perform around ten brake applications from around 90 km/h to 10 km/h, very gently at first, then using increasing braking force to gradually bring the materials up to temperature. Then drive slowly for a few kilometres and let the brakes return to ambient temperature. Take care never to bring the vehicle to a complete standstill during running-in, so that the brakes are constantly ventilated. Don't run in the rain or on a wet road to avoid thermal shock. Of course, always follow the Highway Code.
• Wheel spacers: depending on the wheel model used, fitting a big brake kit may require wheel spacers. If in doubt, please contact us.
• Certification : our manufacturing is TÜV & ISO9001 certified.