Racing Brake forum post
For those that have been following this thread you will know that I competitively race in the NASA Super Touring Series and for the last few years we have been integrating the Racing Brake components. Recently we installed the last component of their system with the RB Carbon Ceramic Rotors. The biggest difference with the RB system compared to Brembo is the RB Rotor is directional which cools the Rotor more efficiently than the Brembo as well as the CCR being a weave composite compared to a compressed carbon on the Brembo. See previous posts for more details. This post is specifically the driver feedback I will provide after using them for several races.
Preface: We recently raced at the NASA National Championships at Circuit of the America’s. It is spectacular. The best track, facility and overall race experience I have ever experienced in my life and a hell of a lot of fun in the Z28. COTA was 4 days of racing and was the debut of the RB CCR. Additionally I am out at BUTTONWILLOW Raceway this weekend for the NASA Regional Championships ( I officially took first place for the season with today’s race) I will provide a few key points as driver feedback for you to consider. I am not paid by RB or an employee however they are a sponsor for our team but I don’t sell out on my product reviews as I am super specific on who I allow to be involved with our program. Below are my points specifically referencing the comparison of the Racing Brake and Brembo CCR:
Initial Bite. The RB Rotor offers significantly more inital bite than OEM. The grip of the braking power is Immediate versus the Brembo seems to “slide” or slip a bit before it grabs.
Consistency of Brake Torque. There is zero fade with pedal pressure and brake force seemingly stays consistent no matter how hard you push the brakes. I only had one instance at the end of the long back straight of COTA (160 down to 40) and I was late braking another car for a pass. Overall though the pedal seemed to stay harder, while with OEM after hammering on them it felt like the pedal would get a little spongy at the end of the session and not remain as consistent throughout the races.
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Responsiveness to the brake pedal is immediate and is really perfect for trail braking. The brakes bite super hard and can take a high heat build up before any fade. I have loved using the braking power of the Z28 with the RB system to out Brake competitors and pick up multiple positions in a corner ( see my first lap of the championship race at COTA)
Durability. This is still out for a review. I currently have 6 track days/races on the Rotors and you can see from images what they look like right now. Overall though they are still performing fantastic.
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Time comparisons-
*Most Important for anyone racing or competing what does it do for time....so I can’t give an honest comparison from COTA as this was the first time with the Z28 although I will be back and last time I was in a gen 6 SS rental car..so let’s discuss Buttonwillow. Today we ran Buttonwillow 13 CCW which I have run many times and for many years. My previous best time was a 1:57 with the car almost identically set up and new Hoosier R7 The only other change we had was the rear wing previously a APR GTC-500 now a GT 1000 and a rear diffuser. Same tire setup in fact today I was on some janky ass Hoosier R7’s that had no business being on my car for a race but I did anyway. We ran a 1:53 today and much of that honestly was attributed to brakes. I was able to Brake Even later and carry more speed through corners with aggressive trail braking. Now I do not want to attribute all the time to brakes however I do know that played a Roll.
Overall I prefer the RB Rotors over the factory Brembo. If you are at the point where you need to replace the OEM Rotors it is a no brainer to pay a little more money and get the RB Rotors. I have been told by RB also that the Rotors will last significantly longer than the Brembo due to their composite weave manufacturing process. I ran the Brembo Rotors for three years. I’ll let you know in hopefully 6 years how long the Racing Brake Rotors last
