Are Carbon Ceramic Brakes worth it? — racinglineperformance.nl website
Are Carbon Ceramic Brakes worth it?

Are Carbon Ceramic Brakes worth it?

Are Carbon Ceramic Brakes worth it?

After over a year of testing on road and track across the globe, we’re delighted to introduce a world first: carbon ceramic brake rotors specific to the MQB platform. Not only is each disc close to half the weight of the (much smaller) factory rotor, the kit is packed with motorsport-inspired features including our own forged monoblock calipers and matched pad compound.
Astonishing stopping performance, again and again and again.
Lightweight Construction
Carbon ceramic discs are of course very lightweight. In fact, each one of our carbon ceramic brake disc weighs just 55% of the weight of the much smaller factory cast iron ones. Each carbon disc weighs 5.7kg (12.6lb) versus 10.4kg (22.9lb) for the factory Golf 7R / S3 disc. By installing carbon ceramic brakes, a car’s all-important unsprung weight can be reduced, increasing potential speed, ride and handling - even fuel efficiency! These performance advantages are almost as important to F1 engineers as the actual braking efficiency improvements.
In fact, each one of our carbon ceramic brake disc weighs just 55% of the weight of the much smaller factory cast iron ones.

Durability

Carbon ceramic brake discs are nothing if not durable. They’re designed to last for the car’s entire lifetime, unlike conventional steel brakes. They last so well because the rotor construction interweaves continuous carbon fibre to form a 3D multi-directional matrix. This makes the material incredibly hard, especially compared to iron discs, which are comparatively malleable making wear an inevitability.

 
 

Daily Usability

There is a misconception that carbon ceramic discs do not work well when cold.

In fact, just as with high performance steel discs, that’s all down to the pad choice. Due to the different frictional and thermal properties of ceramic discs we include a pad compound that has been specifically developed for these carbon ceramic discs which gives excellent cold responses. This broad temperature operating range makes it the perfect brake set up for those who use their car both as a daily driver and as a track day weapon.

Heat Dissipation

Disc brakes use friction to convert kinetic energy into heat energy. This energy needs to be dispersed if the system is to avoid overheating, and carbon ceramic brake discs perform this job especially well. This characteristic prevents the brake disc from becoming deformed under demanding braking, and helps to keep the vehicle as a whole cool too.

Braking Power
The biggest advantage of our carbon ceramic brakes is their ability to contain the friction required for punishing braking over extended periods. Choosing carbon ceramic brakes is not about the power of a single stop – our Stage 3 big brake kit will perform that task just as well. Rather, it’s about the ability to repeat that stopping power again and again. In our testing (see clip below), we performed fifty full brake pressure stops from 160mph / 260kph to standstill at the test track. Even after the 50th stop, with the carbon discs glowing red-hot, the stopping power was unchanged from the start of our test.
Choosing carbon ceramic brakes is not about the power of a single stop – our Stage 3 big brake kit will perform that task just as well.

Corrosion Resistance

If you live in a cold and icy area, you’re probably already aware that salted roads can pose a huge risk to the metal components of your vehicle – brake discs included. Carbon ceramic brakes, on the other hand, are virtually immune to corrosion. This is because the material they’re made from is much less reactive than steel and iron, due to the material’s tightly bonded structure.

Quietness and Cleanliness

Finally, carbon ceramic brakes are much cleaner and quieter than conventional steel brakes. Standard brakes produce that sticky black brake dust that we all hate cleaning from our wheels, and gradually impede the brakes' functioning. Your carbon ceramic brakes just produce a fine, light-coloured dust which doesn’t stick around to interfere with your braking power.

 

You can find the Carbon Ceramic brake kit here

Next article GOLF 8 GTI: first impressions