Big Brake Upgrade for Early DB9 / Vantage
Discussion
Just for interest I thought I'd jot down some of my thoughts and opinions about this upgrade which I hope maybe of interest.
For the purposes of this post I won't go into CCB upgrades - simply because of my Luddite prejudices in regard to CCBs for road use! - Oh and the extra expense of such an upgrade!
But I diverge!
Early DB9's and Vantages have 355mm Brembo brake disks with four piston callipers. The Vantage S introduced an upgraded braking system (DB9 moved to CCB's) which can be retro fitted to the earlier models.
Why do the upgrade? Certainly speaking from my experience with the DB9 I was never that happy with the brakes. They exhibited a very wooden feel and were difficult to modulate with jerky stops all too common at lower speeds. Indeed I often felt I had something like this on the car rather than the performance braking system the Aston demanded.
These characteristics considerably detracted my enjoyment of spirited driving. In addition brake fade became noticeable on such drives. All of which proved to be a real chore on mountain roads - I'm not a track day person.
The brake upgrade tackles these issues in two ways:
Firstly the front brakes, which at least in a DB9 do most of the work, are upgraded from Brembo 355mm to Brembo 380mm. The heavy duty disk is now bell mounted and the larger disk provides a bigger braking surface and more resistance to braking before fade. Additionally the new disks save about 0.4kg per corner in unsprung weight - the upgraded callipers may negate this however.
Secondly the front brake callipers are upgraded from a Brembo four piston to a very rigid (solid cast) Brembo six piston calliper complete with a larger brake pad fitment. There is now more pad surface to modulate and a stiffer more accurate calliper to transfer your braking demands. This dramatically improves braking performance and feel.
The upgrade kit is available from Brembo directly however I would recommend expert fitting (many reputable Aston specialists offer this upgrade) as I understand there are a few little gotchas on fitment and... well, it's the brake (oh and one other thing. The upgrade provides the perfect opportunity to check the condition of the front bearings whilst the upgrade is being undertaken)!
The upgrade is quite pricey (the parts alone see to that) - however if you really drive your car I cannot recommend it highly enough. It dramatically transformed my Aston.
On a recent blast across the Alps I suffered no brake fade. The increased braking power and feel of well modulated brakes (as opposed to the "wooden" feeling original set up) also added to my confidence in the DB making the journey all the more enjoyable.
Finally the upgrade does provide a nice cosmetic boost to the car, with the purposefully filled out front wheels displaying the new bell housings. It also offers the opportunity to personalise your Aston with bespoke calliper colours as you're replacing the front set anyway so some painting will always be needed.
In my case I wanted red callipers but not the bright red standard Aston colour. I wanted a darker red to complement the shade of the rear lights. It's a small touch but I couldn't be happier
Finally a special thanks to Mike and the Bamford Rose boys for installing such a worthwhile upgrade and helping source the colour I wanted.
For the purposes of this post I won't go into CCB upgrades - simply because of my Luddite prejudices in regard to CCBs for road use! - Oh and the extra expense of such an upgrade!
But I diverge!
Early DB9's and Vantages have 355mm Brembo brake disks with four piston callipers. The Vantage S introduced an upgraded braking system (DB9 moved to CCB's) which can be retro fitted to the earlier models.
Why do the upgrade? Certainly speaking from my experience with the DB9 I was never that happy with the brakes. They exhibited a very wooden feel and were difficult to modulate with jerky stops all too common at lower speeds. Indeed I often felt I had something like this on the car rather than the performance braking system the Aston demanded.
These characteristics considerably detracted my enjoyment of spirited driving. In addition brake fade became noticeable on such drives. All of which proved to be a real chore on mountain roads - I'm not a track day person.
The brake upgrade tackles these issues in two ways:
Firstly the front brakes, which at least in a DB9 do most of the work, are upgraded from Brembo 355mm to Brembo 380mm. The heavy duty disk is now bell mounted and the larger disk provides a bigger braking surface and more resistance to braking before fade. Additionally the new disks save about 0.4kg per corner in unsprung weight - the upgraded callipers may negate this however.
Secondly the front brake callipers are upgraded from a Brembo four piston to a very rigid (solid cast) Brembo six piston calliper complete with a larger brake pad fitment. There is now more pad surface to modulate and a stiffer more accurate calliper to transfer your braking demands. This dramatically improves braking performance and feel.
The upgrade kit is available from Brembo directly however I would recommend expert fitting (many reputable Aston specialists offer this upgrade) as I understand there are a few little gotchas on fitment and... well, it's the brake (oh and one other thing. The upgrade provides the perfect opportunity to check the condition of the front bearings whilst the upgrade is being undertaken)!
The upgrade is quite pricey (the parts alone see to that) - however if you really drive your car I cannot recommend it highly enough. It dramatically transformed my Aston.
On a recent blast across the Alps I suffered no brake fade. The increased braking power and feel of well modulated brakes (as opposed to the "wooden" feeling original set up) also added to my confidence in the DB making the journey all the more enjoyable.
Finally the upgrade does provide a nice cosmetic boost to the car, with the purposefully filled out front wheels displaying the new bell housings. It also offers the opportunity to personalise your Aston with bespoke calliper colours as you're replacing the front set anyway so some painting will always be needed.
In my case I wanted red callipers but not the bright red standard Aston colour. I wanted a darker red to complement the shade of the rear lights. It's a small touch but I couldn't be happier
Finally a special thanks to Mike and the Bamford Rose boys for installing such a worthwhile upgrade and helping source the colour I wanted.
Edited by Squaremeal on Wednesday 6th December 13:13
telum01 said:
I'm planning to do this exact same job on my grey Vantage - even the same shade of red. I've been swapping through a few sets of brake pads to manage different driving conditions, and finally decided the best thing for me was to upgrade everything in one go. What sold me on it was the size difference in pads for the 4- and 6-piston front calipers. Going to a 6-piston set gives a massive increase in pad surface area.
Wow... thanks for that contribution. The picture says it all. If you don't mind I'll borrow that pic when I cross post into sixspeed.
8Tech said:
You may get wheel interference with 405mm discs, my 400mm discs with the 8-pots just clear with 20" wheels. 21" wheels would be a safer bet for 405's.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Looks like the OP has has later spec AM calipers installed on Wilwood style off the shelf discs
They aren't Wilwoods - they are Brembo's - the same OEM larger floating disks same as used on the period Vantage S.https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Looks like the OP has has later spec AM calipers installed on Wilwood style off the shelf discs
Edited by 8Tech on Saturday 30th October 14:49
Edited by 8Tech on Saturday 30th October 14:50
Also if you want a shock have a look at the picture in this section of the Bamford Website - look at the difference in brake pad size!
https://bamfordrose.com/road-car-upgrades/v12-upgr...
Edited by Squaremeal on Sunday 31st October 06:53
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