| The Brembo Gran Turismo High Performance
Braking System offers significant advantages over the OE manufacturer's
system — advantages far beyond what's simply known as "big
brakes". As the braking system's primary function is to dissipate
heat, larger, more sophisticated discs are used in order to increase the
fade resistance of the system. These discs are directionally vented for
enhanced cooling, as well as drilled or slotted for improved consistency,
continuously cleaning and refreshing the pad surface.
In most applications, a two-piece "floating"
disc assembly is used, with a cast—iron disc specially mounted to a
billet aluminum hat. One of the advantages of this type of
construction is reduced weight. By making the center-section of the disc
out of aluminum, a great deal of weight can be saved in a key location, as
it is both unsprung and rotating. The greatest advantage, however, lies in
the float itself. The brake discs must cope with extreme temperature
levels. In the case of a non-floating disc, thermal stresses develop which
lead to warping of the disc and cupping of the braking surface. With the
full floating system, the disc is free to grow relative to the bell, and
can remain straight and true.
On nearly all the vehicles for which there is a Gran
Turismo system available, the OEM caliper is of a sliding design, with the
piston or pistons on only the inboard side of the disc. While this type of
caliper is inexpensive to manufacture, it is generally extremely heavy,
and inherently flexible, both of which are to be avoided on a performance
braking system. Conversely, Brembo's calipers are fixed mount, opposed
piston calipers cast from aluminum alloy. Despite being much larger and
many times stiffer than the original caliper, they are also much lighter.
The calipers are equipped with differential piston bores in order to
eliminate pad taper. Without this feature, the leading edge of the pad
will wear more quickly. This can cause problems such as cocking the
pistons in their bores, which can damage or seize them.
Each Gran Turismo system comes with high performance
brake pads, aircraft quality hardware, DOT and TÜV— approved Goodridge
stainless steel braided brake lines, instruction manual and dye cut
stickers for your car.
The net result is a braking system, developed
specifically for each vehicle application by Brembo's immense technical
resources, that insures high quality as well as high performance.
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