so how big are the stock -SE and GSL rotors? Hwo much bigger is the 11 2/4" (wouldn't that be 11.5?!?) rotor going to be?

 

According to my 1985 Mazda RX-7 sales brochure:

Front:
GSL = 8.94 Diameter
GSL-SE = 9.84 Diameter

Rear:
GSL = 9.3 Diameter (Solid)
GSL-SE = 10.1 Diameter (Ventilated)
S and GS = 7.9 Finned Drums

I didn't realize that the rears were larger than the front.

 

hmm... that is odd.. If I recall they have a smaller swept area though. the radius of the braking surface is smaller.

either way it's a pretty sig upgrade..

I'm gonna doubt they'll fit my 13" race wheels though. Damn.

 

Okay - I called them, spoke to a gentleman by the name of Tom.

Here's the scoop:

They are a full RACE Kit. Billet aluminum hubs with rotors bolted on (Brembo style). Very heavy duty.

The same rotor is used on all 4 corners.

They are in the process of making an adapter to run TWO Race Master cylinders (for Race cars, at an additional price)

They will work with your stock Master cylinder for street applications.

You will need a MINIMUM rim size of 15" or greater.

According to him, you will NEVER wear these brakes out.

Currently only available with the 4x110 (Non SE) bolt pattern. Although it's made in their machine shop, so they will be making SE bolt pattern ones ones very soon.

The price includes everything. The Rotor, the hat, the brake lines, and the brake pads (street pads).

The price for a complete 4 rotor set with all the bells and whistles - $1950.

The price for a 2 rotor set (front only) = $1000.00

I know that's alot of money, especially for some cars that aren't worth much money. But it IS cheaper than a custom Brembo or Wilwood upgrade. (they don't offer ready-made kits for FB's)

I will definately look into these brakes once my Project Kramer is completed. I am glad I never finalized my order for the "crossdrilled" SE rotors we discussed in an earlier thread.

 

hmm... yeah, that's expensive... I can wait a few more years...

 

Directfreak,

Thanks for getting us the info on those brakes. Do you know if the kit is for big bearing (84-85) or small bearing (79-83) front suspensions?

 

Good question, but he did mention something about fitting 83's..

 

Thanks for getting that info. makes me wish i had money. Big brakes are one of the major items on my wish list. Oh well, guess i'll have to wait, unless a sack of money falls from teh sky and lands on me.

 

those brakes look nice, but what i can't understand is why people/companies don't make them with a 5-lug setup instead of the bullshit 4-lugs.

think about it ... you can't fit any of the stock wheels over them, so you have to use aftermarket wheels. so why not make them based on the Gen II or Gen III hubs?

is it just me???

 

there are tons of aftermarket brakes avail in 5 lug - these are for those of us with 4 lugs

 

Guys,
I've been keeping tabs on this brake kit for awhile and checking with Tom on a regular basis. I should have a set of these on my 7 soon. I'm hoping that the brakes fit around my custom 15" HRE's though ...

The kit was developed for the Sevens-Only Racing "Super-7" race program. The Super-7 is basically tube-framed 3rd gen bodied race car but, most of the mechanicals are based on 1st gen 12A RX's... Reason; Tom runs one of the most succesful PRO-7 programs in the country and he wanted to make it easy for those guys to upgrade to a Super-7. In the process, we 1st gen owners win.. I talked to him and told him that the street crowd would also be intrested in the kits.. I convinced him to come to SevenStock.. and I'm glad he did.. the brakes looked great!

I'll update you guys as soon as I get them..

Bern

 

Bern,
Sounds good, thanks. Can you answer my question about the bearings? Also do the rears have provisions for the parking brake?

I think I'll just call myself if no one knows.

 

If you do make sure to let us know, cause I wanna know if its got a parking brake too.

 

manntis, what i think diabolical1 means is why don't they offer the kit with a 5 lug pattern so there will be more of a selection of wheels. if you bought the kit, there is not that much of a selection of wheels with the odd ball bolt pattern we have on FB's. it would be nice if we were all rich and could afford the four wheel kit and have it with a more common 5 lug pattern. then we could spend more of our hypothetical money to have nice wheels, too.

 

Willowood has a twin piston kit w ebrakes for 599 buks from Barnett Performance and Summitt Racing. It coms with pads, 11" rotors, calipers and hardware. You would make the adapter plate for calipers, around $50 per side and that brake kit is proven

 

Can you provide more information. Details, How -TO's?

The Wilwood kit you are saying is:

$599.99
$100 ($50 per side for adapters?)

That's 699 plus tax. Well over 700 bucks with tax, this not counting any other fabricating that needs to be done or labor...

I am sure the whole thing will end up close to 1000 when you add all those "little" things in, and still have the "homemade" parts in there.

If Wilwood made a bolt on kit, I would definately be interested, but theirs is a "universal" type for the 7.

The kit 7's Only racing offers is a direct bolt on, made for 1st Gen RX7's without having to do squat for about 1,000 for the front pair.

And I bet if they can make the regular bolt pattern and the SE bolt pattern, then why wouldn't they be able to put on a 5 bolt pattern?

Things that make you go hmm...

 

people dont under stand... to put a 5 lug kit on the *** you need to redrill the axels... its not a bolt on thing.. the front would be as you are putting on a whole new hub and all

 

here is a copy of the email I got from them yesterday.. Not all the helpful, but a bit more info on the subject I thought I shoudl share.
Eric-
The GSL-SE kit will be available soon. Current one is for the 12A cars. The
kit is designed to work with Hawk brake pads and off-the-shelf rotors.

Cost for the whole system (for 4 wheels) is $1950.

If you have any questions, call us at 661-764-5456.

Bette Dragoun

At 09:33 AM 10/18/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Hey, I saw on your site a quick snipit about a bolt in upgrade for 1st gen
>Rx7's, and I have a few questions.
>
>First off, what cars is this designed to fit? The 12a cars or the
>-SE? My interest lies in the ability to put them on an -SE. Is this an
>upgrade for all 4 corners I'm assuming, or just the front?
>
>Are these components off of a TurboII Rx7 or some other factory car, or
>will replacement pads and rotors have to be custom made? ($$$)
>
>Last but not least, how much does it cost for the full system?
>
>Thanks for the info!
>
>Eric Carter
>84 GSL-SE
>Ft Worth, TX

 

I heard that kit is'nt all that. No part of the caliper "floats" which some say is a design flaw. It pushes on one side (usually the inner side) first (and therefore more) which could wear your pads unevenly and cause premature rotor wear from getting "bent over"

This is what I gathered from a conversation I had the other day. Any claim to this?

 

The calipers in this kit are called "fixed". They don't move when you push on the brake pedal. This is good. It provides less room for deflection and allows for more even pressure side to side and over the entire surface of the pad.

With a sliding caliper, since it is allowed to slide back and forth with the application of the barke pedal (hence "sliding caliper") deflection is great. In addition to moving in and out with brake pressure, the caliper, as it begins to clamp down on the rotor, it begins to move with the rotor.

 

I was at 7s Only's shop while their big brake kit was being developed, and saw it on their Super7 race car. The hats are sized for the bigger outer bearing, but they have an insert for the smaller bearing. Aluminum hub and hats are quite light! It's a bolt-in application. Try to fab something for cheaper! I doubt it has e-brake mechanism for the rears. I didn't see any when I was there. Remember this is a race application and Tom doesn't use parking brakes on his Pro7's.

BUT, you really don't need the extra braking of larger rear brakes. Fronts only will more than suffice for street stuff. You'll just have to work with proper front to rear brake biasing. Remember, the front brakes do 80% of the work!

If you guys can get enough paying customers together then call Tom and ask him for the machine shop to redrill the hubs for 5 lug or mabye the more common GSL-SE 4 lug bolt pattern.

Brad