wacko

Ok folks. I am looking to upgrade my brakes, but don't know whether to go for Prodrive upgrade or AP 6 pots. I have spoken to several people(thanks for your patience and advice) but am curious as to just what you get for your money with the Prodrive upgrade, and what the rest of you guys have fitted to your P1's ?????

Andrew O'Hara

Gary,

If you want to try the AP's again call me at work and you can come round on Sunday. Also I think Prodrive use AP's on their rally cars (Guy's correct me if I'm wrong).

There's no problem at all if you want to come round. Tell you what call me at work anyway (0207 825 2159).

Cheers,

Andrew.

Silver Surfer

I am not a P1 owner but have recently looked into the AP/Prodrive debate. The Prodrive conversion uses a one piece disc and bell arrangement which would seem to be far more likely to pass heat into the hub than the AP which uses an alloy bell which the disc bolts to. This probably explains why the Prodrive discs are far more expensive to replace than AP's.

I bought the AP's and I am staggered by their performance. I wouldl insist on driving a car withe Prodrive conversion with DS2000 pads and compare the conversions if you are unsure.

Hope this helps

ARRON BIRD

Get yourself AP`s mate cos as far as I`m concerned the Prodrive stuff is 5hite.
They work ok its just everything else that goes with them.

mutant_matt

I drove a Scooby with thw AP 6 pots on Sunday and they were AMAZING!!!!!!!

I would get them no question (but obviously I haven't tried the Prodrive ones!).

Matt.

AlastairB

Andrew,

The Prodrive WRC cars use Alcon discs & calipers, or at least they did in the last few seasons...

The Group N cars may well use AP.

Regards
Alastair

firefox

I think the Alcon kit we (public) can buy.. are the brakes used on the rear of the WRC car ? (Or very similar)

J.

Bajie

I've got AutoArt replica's of the 1999 and 2000 Subaru rally cars and they both have AP efforts on them.

Hoppy

Arron, you can't go around saying stuff like that without some qualification! What's the problem? I'd really like to know.

Hoppy

Mike Tuckwood

Richard Burns' 2000 WRC at the Autosport show was wearing AP Racing brakes front and rear (despite wearing Alcon sponsorship stickers on the body shell).

chuckster

Prodrives Alcon set up for the P1 is the f**ckin bollox. I have it, with original DS3000 pads, and the feel and power is absolutely fantastic, no fade, consistant pedal feel all day long.
Fortunately for me I don't use the car very aggressively on the road, so I don't experience the problems other users may have(The pads eat the discs quickly apparently, some people only getting 7k miles outta them). As to them not biting when cold...bollox. They bite as effectively as the standard 4 pots when cold, and staggeringly better when they've some heat in em. DS2000's would help beef up the bite when cold, but I'm pretty sure would compromise their ability on track/when really pressing on.
Around the track they are as good as anything else, if not better(In practical terms).
My ideal set-up? Alcons with DS2000's for the road (to make wheel cleaning easier) and DS3000's for the track.
Regards,
Chuck

ARRON BIRD

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Hoppy:
<B>Arron, you can't go around saying stuff like that without some qualification! What's the problem? I'd really like to know.

Hoppy[/quote]

Use the search or just ask about m8. Cant be bothered to go thro it all again.

wacko

Ok. so general opinion seems to steer towards AP brakes.
Although i have heard reports of the Prodrive brakes being good, even by Magazine reports on the P1 WR. It just seems that they still haven't got their act together due to more problems with the pads.....

wacko

Chuck,
You fitted braided hoses front and back or made changes to the rear pads??

chuckster

I did do hoses, and DOT 5.0, didnt do rear pads though.
Cman

EvilBevel

>>As to them not biting when cold...bollox.

May I politely disagree with that ? I don't know what is different on your setup, and I'll ignore the bollox, but I can only confirm yet again I had *serious* problems with cold braking.

Why on earch would Ferodo state "Do NOT use these pads on the road" ? There must be SOME reason for them to label the pads basically as "not road legal" ? Because of the dust ? Hmmm, seems a bit strange to me...

Second point: have you actually *measured* your discs lately ? My discs still "look" OK, but they are now beyond their optimal specs (2 mm wear) after 10.000 miles, of which 8500 with the DS2000.

I had shaved off 1 mm in the first 1500 miles. And I can assure you that I am a wuss driver and bedded them in almost religiously ...

All that being said, I would still recommend the Prodrive/Alcon kit, and I'm very pleased with them in combination with the DS2000 kit.

How to choose between the different offerings ? I don't know. Don't forget that the actual stopping power can not be measured with our cars as most of these kits (including the standard 4 pots, yes) have stopping power beyond the level of grip your tires have. So it comes down to a) feel (progressive ? etc...) and b) at what point will they begin to fade and c) how well do they disperse heat so that for example wheel bearings are not fried after heavy use (a problem that seems to pop up more and more with Impreza's I might add)

In most reports the Prodrive/Alcon kit scores very high on the "feel" department.
It may depend on what driving/stopping style you actually prefer. On the rest, I have no valid data to compare.

And what brakes are on what WRC car is nice for marketing purposes, but I think we can all safely assume that at least Alcon, AP and Brembo know how to make decent brakes for - let's not forget - road cars.

Sorry for the rant, but we should keep our facts straight on this topic, *especially* since there are people who have real problems with their (expensive) gear.

One last point: a friend of mine bought an AP set (330 mm) in Holland. He ruined his discs after 2000 miles. The supplier had shipped them with ... DS3000.

Theo

bob

I think the Prodrive Alcon brakes are just great. Apart from the DS3000 pads. When Prodrive pull there finger out and supply all there previous customers with the DS2000's and new disks. Then I think the praises will come, But untill then....

Stef

Well from what I saw and heard at Donno today, I'd go for AP's every day of the week and twice on a Sunday!

Stef.

EvilBevel

Stef,

For us mere mortals, would you be so kind to elaborate, or is that completely unneeded ?

Lemme guess: Alcons don't work that well in gravel traps ? A P1 driver self-combusted ? Al Gore would have won with AP's ?

Inquiring minds want to know ...

Theo

ARRON BIRD

I only wish some of you to55ers could see my car.
I tryed to clean it again today and it looks ****.
Can you believe that............think for a second............8000miles.................6 months old and I cant even clean it.
The brakes are absolutly fantastic as brakes but what about everything else.
They stop ok when cold and have masses of feel.
Yeah ok but my car is not fit for the scrap heap.
Going to my dealer tomorrow to give Subaru an ultimatum and thats it.
You can only take so much bo11ox.

RVeiga

AP's pn the P1 - trust me

wacko

A close to the debate.......
Thanks for all your advice, but after driving a P1 with Prodrive brakekit over the weekend, and seeing the mess the brakes make of your car. I have to say i will be going AP, for two reasons:
1. The AP's feel better when braking hard and feel more responsive under foot.
2. I don't feel comfortable with Prodrive given their current problems and who knows what could go wrong with the brakes further down the line?