Brake upgrades gen 2

[gen2lover]

I do not want to spend alot of money.(Daves Big Brakes) for example is out of my league right now.

I have an all stock 02 rt-10.

Looking for good solid basic/somewhat reasonable brake upgrades as we all know stock brakes ****.

thanks in advance.

PS. looking to spend under 1500 bucks installed...no more than 2 grand.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

An '02 model has ABS. How bad is that?

 

[Fatboy 18]

I have not got a clue weather there are any brake upgrades at a budget price. The only thing I can think of is brake cooling ducts or a Break bias valve, however im not sure you could use one of them on an ABS system Im sure someone out there will tell us

 

[chimazo]

Like Tom said, you already have ABS, so throw some good pads on it and you're done.

 

[REDSLED]

Weren't you just asking for people to pray for you to keep your pizzza delievery job and now you're ready to buy new brakes? Maybe we can pray for you to get new brakes?

 

[gen2lover]

lol. no i kept my job. i am an ebay seller too...plus have some money in the bank. this is for the Spring if I keep the car..

ABS I know I have it.I just mean the brakes could use some help to stop..without having to mash on the pedal everytime you come up to a light/stop.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Like Tom said, you already have ABS, so throw some good pads on it and you're done.

The front calipers are pretty decent - staggered piston sizes, decent size pads, and only overheat with track use. The rears are single piston, but mathematically more than large enough for rear brake duty. The ABS will modulate the brakes fine.

It's hard to imagine you are overheating the system on the street. Maybe you can describe the symptoms you don't like.

As mentioned, you can go for pads (I really like the Brakeman#3 pad, which is dusty, but grabs quick and consistently) and better brake fluid. Valvoline makes a semi-synthetic that is easy to find and a big step up in boiling temperature. You can also get higher temp fluids, but they may require mail order or more searching. These let you run hotter without any debit.

After that, cooling the brakes is not as easy as it sounds. The Porsche deflectors are available, but depending on who you ask, they work great or not at all. Cooling ducts are only effective if routed to the radiator area. Using the fog light ducts is in the wrong place.

 

[IEATVETS]

"without having to mash on the pedal everytime you come up to a light/stop."

Jees, how fast do you drive where you have to mash the pedal everytime you stop? If you have to do that, you REALLY need to look at your braking system.

 

[dave6666]

...you REALLY need to look at your braking system.

KaCHING!!!

 

[gen2lover]

not mash.Just apply hard steady pressure.Heck my 2000 rt felt better.I do not beat on the car and the fluid is fresh and my pads are only 3 months old (EBC REDS).

 

[488civ10]

lol? its interesting you are able to find humor in your current situation. you just caught a break on keeping your job and now you are thinking about upgrades to a car many have suggested you sell? you have got to be kidding. nevermind the fact that when you do ultimately have to sell the car, you won't recoup the full price of the upgrades. mods never fetch the $$$ you put in, so you better be intent on keeping the car if you go thru with this idea.

we're not even out of the woods yet in the current recession that seems to have seeped to all the corners of the world and instead of honestly facing your situation and better positioning yourself for success in the future, you are contemplating spending future undelivered pizza dollars on brakes?

do you own the viper outright? if you don't, what rate are you financing it at? can your savings in the bank sustain you for at least 6 months? i can only go off what you have posted recently, and wanted to provide a voice of reason. wishing you the best in your future endeavors.

lol. no i kept my job. i am an ebay seller too...plus have some money in the bank. this is for the Spring if I keep the car..

ABS I know I have it.I just mean the brakes could use some help to stop..without having to mash on the pedal everytime you come up to a light/stop.

 

[dave6666]

Is the fluid turning dark? Could be from master cylinder cups degrading causing bypassing.

Who did the fluid change? Are you confident they were bled well?

Were the new pads bedded properly?

Is the vacuum booster working properly? Like is the line from the manifold connected?

I, like it seems others, are a little confused that stopping at stop signs is taxing the OE braking system, hence the suspect that your system may have a quirk.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Something's wrong. There is a slight difference in master cylinder of the ABS car vs. the older car, but should be greatly overshadowed by the brake booster. Sure it's working?

 

[99 R/T 10]

Look guys, you need to understand the boy plight! He's got to have those pizzas delivered in 30 minutes or they are free! We all know the deeper we can brake into a turn, the faster we get to the finsh line. Just as long as he doesn't put mushrooms or anchovies on the pizza, I say we get him the brake components he needs.

 

[RTTTTed]

OK, I paid $1500 for my 14" lightweight front brake kit and EBC pads from Roe Racing Viper Performance Parts The kit came with everything and SS lines. I bought duplicolor caliper paint and made them blue.

Ted

 

[eucharistos]

Look guys, you need to understand the boy plight! He's got to have those pizzas delivered in 30 minutes or they are free! We all know the deeper we can brake into a turn, the faster we get to the finsh line. Just as long as he doesn't put mushrooms or anchovies on the pizza, I say we get him the brake components he needs.

good one

 

[gen2lover]

Its stopping OK.I think everythings fine.To the pizza jokers.The car is paid and no I use my Honda for work,obviously! I do Ebay too.I'm a Powerseller.

I feel like you guys are my mom..some of you. I have enough money in the bank for 6 months.I do not have alot of bills. Appreciate the concern.

I guess I could just live with the stock system till next year. Go from there. CAR IS SOLID AND CLEAN. ONLY 5000 MILES SO FAR.

ps- I work full time and I had a great job before but because of my motorcycle accident I had to leave that job...got the delivery job-for now and in school FYI.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

If the car only has 5000 miles I am assuming it still has the stock pads. The stockers aren't bad but you could try Brakemans. You could also go with a slotted rotor to help disperse the dust.

Upgrade to steel braided lines.

Keep your fluid fresh and bleed it every year.

 

[gen2lover]

THANKS Chuck.I have the EBC reds on it. Maybe it has something to do with the cool weather here lately?

 

[Fatboy 18]

So are there any how to pics out there on setting up a brake cooling system through the front radiator and using the porker brake deflectors? I fancy that mod

 

[KNG SNKE]

I personally am disappointed with the Gen 2's brakes. I drive an Audi TT everyday and that car is far superior in braking then the viper. What hes saying is we should not have to press the brakes as hard as we do for it to grab. ABS is great, but for street driving how often do you really get into ABS? I can say never for me, even with emergency stops. I am looking to upgrade my brakes as well, lower dust and better stopping power.

 

[mbccenter]

I have a set of Bear in the classifieds here. They are one of the top of the line brakes for a Viper.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

THANKS Chuck.I have the EBC reds on it. Maybe it has something to do with the cool weather here lately?

When it comes to stopping power EBCs are absolutely the most horrid pad. A couple bars of Dial soap would stop better than EBCs.

That said, I run EBC greens on my street Viper because I don't "over-drive" on the street and I don't want to clean the wheels every day.

 

[RTTTTed]

I tried the EBC Greens this summer with my new Roe 14" brakes. The old EBC greens were awesome on my 13" lighweight brakes.

The new EBC greens continuously kept black dust on my wheels. Clean the dust, drive downt eh freeway for 50 miles and pull into a rest stop. Wheels dirty already.

Phoned Jonb after 1st trip in car and had EBC Reds (ceramic pads) coming to me that afternoon. Wheels are easy to keep clean again.

New EBC Reds are equal to OLD EBC Greens.

Ted

 

[TexasPettey]

If you look around, you can find a good deal on used SRT front calipers and rotors. You could easily be in SRT fronts with Dave's kit for under $1500. MY SRT front conversion was much less than $1500. No need to upgrade the rears. I'd suggest calling Dave and JonB to see what they can do for you. They've both been great for me.

That said, if you don't have firm pedal and good stopping on the street, something is wrong. If you can kick in the ABS on the street, then you're doing as well as can be expected.

Is the pedal feel very firm? If not, the brakes may need to be bled again. Air in the line would make you need to stomp or pump the brakes.

If you have new pads, did you bed them in? If not, you may have some glaze or need to bed them in. THat would also make you feel the need to stand on the pedal. I remember a track event where I forgot to bed in my BM3's. The first turn where I needed to go to full brake was exciting.

 

[vipzilla]

can anyone tell me would gen 3 front calipers fit on my gen1 and are they bigger better etc .. because i would make my front calipers i have into rear ones !!!!

 

[TexasPettey]

can anyone tell me would gen 3 front calipers fit on my gen1 and are they bigger better etc .. because i would make my front calipers i have into rear ones !!!!

I just did this upgrade on my Gen1 with Dave's kit. It's great. You'll need 18" rims. If you have stock 18" rims, you'll need to buy the spacers from Dave. I'd suggest not moving the front calipers to the rear. It's too much effort. You can get to a pretty good point by putting Tom's rear brake calipers on. They are a stock fit replacement.

Call Dave & JonB. They can get you everything you need.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I just did this upgrade on my Gen1 with Dave's kit. It's great. You'll need 18" rims. If you have stock 18" rims, you'll need to buy the spacers from Dave. I'd suggest not moving the front calipers to the rear. It's too much effort. You can get to a pretty good point by putting Tom's rear brake calipers on. They are a stock fit replacement.

Call Dave & JonB. They can get you everything you need.

PM me an email address and I'll send you some info.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

As we all might have received the Snake Oyl catalog recently, please take a look at the brake fluid recirculation system. It consists of a double one-way valve located near the master cylinder such that when depressing the brake pedal, you pump fluid to the caliper. What is different from OEM is that when you release the pedal, the fluid returns through a second set of brake lines. Therefore every time you use the brakes you are slightly recirculating the fluid.

This greatly prevents brake fluid boiling since the fluid is not trapped in the caliper and repeatedly overheated.

I do not know the Snake Oyl price. I came up with my own (didn't know Snake Oyl did it) and the valve itself was $200-$250? and you need the extra brake lines. I measured it out and purchased all stainless steel braided lines except the very short pieces between the valve, the MC and the distribution block are hard lines. Draw it out on a piece of paper the concept makes sense and is straightforward to install.

The tricky part is coming up with a "T" that replaces the two bleeder valves in the front caliper. Both bleeder holes are tied together and a single line runs back up to the valve - this is the return line. Again, I don't know the Snake Oyl price and I made my own "T". For your peace of mind, that alone may make it worth the price. You don't want this small part to fail.

I'm going on and on here because I believe this is a tremendous benefit per dollar upgrade. It may eliminate your need for ducts or cooling (it did for me.) It is used in NASCAR short track races where the brakes glow red... It takes no space and as a fluids guy, certainly makes the brake fluid happy.

 

[Catwood]

change the air in the tires to dry nitrogen