AP Racing front brake upgrade

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by pyaap

I have some experience of this, having gone from a standard setup to an uprated one (pads and discs) and then onto a big brake kit.

IMO, you first have to decide what your expectations from the brake kit are, namely is it mainly for road use or will be for track use too. If its for road use, I think uprated components like pads, brake hoses etc will improve matters significantly and of course you also have the choice of police spec pads etc.

However, big brake kits are in a totally different league and hence the added costs. I've been round tracks when I just had uprated pads discs and hoses and yes, it provided more fade resistance over the standard setup, but they still started to go after a few laps. However, it is very unlikely that you'll get them to fade very badly on the road because its unlikely you'll be able to do the sorts of sustained / repeated high speed braking that will be required.

On a track its a different matter because speeds in excess of 100mph followed by heavy braking for a slow corner are commonplace and in a place like Marham, 160+mph is also possible and that is where you will see the difference. A standard or uprated system will very quickly overheat and that's where big brakes come into their own. However, I would stress that just having huge callipers and discs are not the end of the equation; you obviously need to maintain the brakes in good condition and use a good quality brake fluid too (I use 76Racing R600+). I also found that a very simple and inexpensive way of keeping the brakes cool is to duct some air onto them. I've done that on my car and hope to see if it makes any difference when I next go for a trackday - I have an IR pyrometer and have recorded disc temps without the ducts and will compare them with the readings I get having fitted ducts.

I believe that the only cars that Volvo got the brakes correct on were the latest "R" variants. I think the local XC90s use similar sized pads and callipers so they should be pretty good too.

Im not sure the police spec pads are available any more ash....

i have always felt the 800's suffer from serious brake fade in that the discs are unable to disperse the heat quick enough..this leads to other issues such as siezed calipers and warped discs..as nick pointed out earlier the calipers are not able to stop a car of the 800 size without compromise
I am convinced that the ds2500 pads do a great deal to help with the braking issues but volvo could have helped by using something other that a single pot caliper on a car capable of over 150mph.....

[don kalmar union]

I do have just one AP big brake kit in stock which is for a cancelled order.

The list price is £1689 including VAT and delivery.

Otherwise they are on arround 8/10 weeks delivery to order.

Regards, Don.

[Nunchukhamster]

Originally Posted by jod t5

Im not sure the police spec pads are available any more ash....

Yes they are, direct from Volvo.

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by don kalmar union

I do have just one AP big brake kit in stock which is for a cancelled order.

The list price is £1689 including VAT and delivery.

Otherwise they are on arround 8/10 weeks delivery to order.

Regards, Don.

told you.....
cheers
jod

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by Nunchukhamster

Yes they are, direct from Volvo.

i think you will find the police spec are no longer made however the std pads are the same less the low depth sensor.....
cheers
jod

[Nunchukhamster]

I've got a brand new set of them sat on top of my kitchen cabinet and another set on my C70. Volvo part number is 30645240. As I said, available direct from Volvo still.

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by Nunchukhamster

I've got a brand new set of them sat on top of my kitchen cabinet and another set on my C70. Volvo part number is 30645240. As I said, available direct from Volvo still.

well they are no longer available from my dealership, maybe yours were sitting in the vpcuk bin....
Do they have the sensors on them as the origional police spec pads did?...the police spec pads are manufactured exactly the same way, using the same materials as the stock volvo pads
cheers
jod

[Nunchukhamster]

They have the wear sensors on them, and they were supplied by Rufe. The part number isn't in the system, but if you know it, then you can order them from Volvo.

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by Nunchukhamster

They have the wear sensors on them, and they were supplied by Rufe. The part number isn't in the system, but if you know it, then you can order them from Volvo.

accepted.... Simon is a lovely guy...
i just dont see the point bearing in mind there construction has now been copied to the stock pad?.....
i have always beleived the police spec to be good but with the birth of the ds2500, available now for £70.00 i think there days are numbered....
Although i bet they dont squeel........

cheers
jod

[Nunchukhamster]

Originally Posted by jod t5

accepted.... Simon is a lovely guy...
i just dont see the point bearing in mind there construction has now been copied to the stock pad?.....
i have always beleived the police spec to be good but with the birth of the ds2500, available now for £70.00 i think there days are numbered....
Although i bet they dont squeel........

cheers
jod

It'll will be a debate forever more I suspect. However, when I fitted the set that are on the car they left a lot more brake dust on my hands than any pads I've ever fitted to other cars. My hands were black from handling them, never seen that before on pads. And no, they certainly don't squeal.