Considering "Big Brake" Upgrade - ASR x AP Racing -vs.- ICB / RCrew Racing

[White Dragon]

Hi everyone - been a while since I have posted much of anything as the kiddos keep me more than busy, but I will pop on here every once in a while to check things out.

I have been considering a "big brake" upgrade for a while now beyond the Spoon twin block caliper and DBA 4000 Series rotors (stock replacement size) with Carbotech CT503 XP12 pads. I want to be able to run a 15" rim still so from what I could find, the RCrew Racing kit with the Alcon Calipers / Project Mu rotors and the ASR kit with the AP Racing calipers and rotors are the two options available. Looking to see if anyone has much experience with either or both for track use and if one is clearly better than the other.

http://www.icbmotorsport.com/alcaprmuscrp.html
https://www.asrparts.com/products/asr-big-brake-kit

[coolhandluke]

Hey Wes, what wheels do you own?

I own the most recent RCR kit. With 15x8 +35 TE's this kit requires an 8mm spacer. I'v completed 3x track days with this BBK thus far. The kit includes Project Mu pads, which may not work well. They last 2x days at sonoma fine but oatmeal'd at Laguna Seca. Instead, I would go with Carbotech out of the gate. I am now running XP10's with Hawk HPS rears on NT01 tires. Without ABS, the kit forces you to be smoother with brake application. The calipers allow for an expanded modulation range.

Mike (RBoosted98) recently purchased the ASR BBK and it also requires a ~8mm spacer for the same TE's, despite the website indicating it clears. Mike has wheels with a more aggressive offsite that cleared.

[coolhandluke]

My kit behind TE37SL’s +35



Mike’s kit BNIB:


The ASR BBK has better hat design. Ventilation was incorporated into the design:

[White Dragon]

I have the same rims, 15x8 +35 TE37s. An 8mm spacer seems pretty significant. At that point, wouldn't longer (than factory) wheel studs be required to ensure you have enough thread contact with the lug nut? My other concern would be with a spacer that large, don't you have rubbing issues with the outside of your tire hitting your fender?

For some reason, your picture isn't coming through, but the ASR pic is.

[coolhandluke]

Correct, when exceeding a ~3mm spacer extended studs are recommended. This was an unplanned consequence of this kit, as new studs require new wheel bearings.

The image shows in the Tapatalk app, but I confirmed it doesn’t show in a browser. I will repost.

[Dave7CDMTYPER]

Those AP Racing brakes look beautiful.

[White Dragon]

Do either you or Mike have pictures of showing how far the wheel is pushed out relative to the fender? Any clearance issues?

[White Dragon]

Also, any more thoughts on one kit vs the other?

[Rboosted717]

I've been pretty busy for the past month or two and haven't had time to post updates but as Ryan mentioned I did get a the ASR kit (made specifically for the ITR) and was planning to use on my daily driver (not for race cars).

As Ryan said, the ASR kit required a pretty decent spacer to clear 38, 35 and 32 offset 15" TE37's wheels but will likely clear the 27 offset version. The 38 requires a 11mm spacer, 35 requires a 8mm spacer and the 32 requires a 5mm spacer, effectively making the offset a 27 after the spacer is added. If you don't like using spacers or running extended wheel studs I'd recommend getting the 27 offset 15x8 TE37 wheels.

Unfortunately I was hoping to use these brakes with a true 35 offset wheel as I HATE the "stanced" look. Even the 35 offset wheels are a little much for my taste.

That being said, I won't be running the ASR kit on my daily driver or on the yellow or white race cars. I'll probably just sell the kit or will use it on my other white race car that has modified venders and could probably use a better brake setup.

It's pretty disappointing especially considering the white and yellow race cars use a similar AP Racing setup and can clear all types of wheels including OE. Unfortunately the brake setups on those cars were custom made by AP (they don't require caliper brackets) and are not available. For my daily driver went back to using the Spoon twin-blocks with DBA rotors and Carbotech pads. My old Stoptech 2pc rotors finally died after heavily cracking and warping.

[coolhandluke]

Do either you or Mike have pictures of showing how far the wheel is pushed out relative to the fender? Any clearance issues?

I can take pictures in January.