The brakes on the MK III Supra are one of the
weaker points of the car. The calipers are only a single piston design and are
rather small at that. The rotors are vented, but overall, the stock system just
doesn't provide a high level of performance. Since I was modifying the car to
make it go faster, I also wanted to modify the car to make it stop faster.
I first tried the traditional and less expensive
approach to upgrading the system. I swapped out the rotors for Brembo cross-drilled
rotors and changed out the pads for the AXISS (Metal Master) pads. I also added
a set of stainless steel braided lines. This did perk up the system, but the pads
really ate up the rotors and the system still faded after some spirited driving
involving vigorous application of the brakes for extended periods.
After the rotors were chewed up the first time,
I had them resurfaced and put new TRD pads in. These were OK but not as aggressive
as the AXISS pads. (You could almost feel the AXISS pads eating the rotors during
a hard stop.) The car still stopped better than stock, but it was not what I was
really looking for.
At this point, I decided, "Screw all that, I'm
gonna get me some real brakes." I started with Stillen (Steve Millen) who told me
that the only brakes available for the car were Brembos and I needed 17" wheels.
Well I wasn't ready to upgrade the wheels yet, so I continued to call around. I
finally called KVR Performance in Ottawa, Canada, and talked to a cat named Mike.
He told me he carried both Brembo and AP Racing big brake kits that would fit 16"
wheels. The AP Racing kit had 12.3" rotors and the Brembo kit had 12" rotors and
both would work with the stock wheel. I had just read an article in Auto Week
which mentioned that the factory sport kit for the Aston Martin DB7 used the
AP Racing 4 piston calipers and so decided to go that route.
Mike faxed me a measurement sheet and asked me
to take some measurements of the inside of the wheel to make sure they would
fit. I did and we found that my Fittipaldi wheels were a little thicker inside
than the stock units, and so I would need slightly smaller rotors. Mike said
they could custom make me a set of 12" rotors that would fit. I decided to go
that way and placed my order with him. Delivery took about 4 weeks, as they were
making the rotors and caliper brackets along with the new braided stainless steel
lines.
Installation took about 3 hours. I drained and
flushed the fluid and put in the new AP Lockheed DOT5.1 fluid they sent me.
They only sent me three bottles, so I ordered three more before I started from
Essex Racing in Atlanta, GA. The fluid got here the next day, and I got to it.
Here's the kit laid out on the floor. I decided
to use thumbnails for this page, so just click the images for larger views.
