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I think I'll skip the 20 way adjustable shocks and new calipers until my wife recovers from this round of indulgence.
Still looking for the right wheels, though.
Take a look at http://www.mackinindustries.com
They distribute a Volk Racing wheel from RAYS Engineering, a Japanese manufacturer of high tech forged wheels. The 18x8.5 is 16 lbs. It's called a TE37 model. The application chart shows an 18x7.5 with a 48mm offset. That's the closest I've found to the LS's 60mm offset.
I think I'll skip the 20 way adjustable shocks and new calipers until my wife recovers from this round of indulgence.
Still looking for the right wheels, though.
Take a look at http://www.mackinindustries.com
They distribute a Volk Racing wheel from RAYS Engineering, a Japanese manufacturer of high tech forged wheels. The 18x8.5 is 16 lbs. It's called a TE37 model. The application chart shows an 18x7.5 with a 48mm offset. That's the closest I've found to the LS's 60mm offset.
The two wheel kit pricing hasn't been determined for this model yet (have to wait to talk to McLaren) but if you go by the other two wheel kits that Stoptech offers you're looking in the $2,500 ballpark range.
Brian
I like the Calipers! They look Mean. I am assuming they won't fit the Stock Super Silvers either?
Question does any one sell drilled rotors for the Stock LS Brake System. Would they help Stop Quicker? What about a Porterfield Pad, Drilled Rotor Combo.
Or better yet a Stock Rear with Porters, Drilled Rotors and Stoptech's Up Front!
That would be a good compromise to the 4 Stoptechs all around!
Regards,
Airwolf
The only wheels that I am aware that fit are either the Classic Design Concept wheels (definitely in the 18 inch size, possibly in the 17 inch size) and the McLaren O-Z wheels. Outside of custom wheels that is.
You can get cross-drilled or slotted rotors from Porterfield Brakes. Cross-drilling or slotting will not do anything to the stopping distance. Cross-drilling's main purpsose is to remove material from the rotor, lightening it. There is some cooling benefit but doubt you would see it on a street car. Slotting allows the brake material that is converted to a gaseous state under hard braking to be removed from the surface of pad and rotor.
Cross-drilling looks cool, but it's gotten a reputation of stress cracking the rotors around the cross-drilled holes. Slotting the rotors does remove some material from the rotor but because it isn't through and through there is less danger of stress cracking the rotor.
So the Slotting would not really be beneficial either huh? I guess its all about pressure being applied on the Rotor, and Rotor Diameter etc. in order to stop quicker huh. I.E.? Bigger or More Pistons on the Caliper and bigger Rotor.. Venting to prevent heat and reduce Fade etc.
Airwolf
I think I'll stick with the $150 Porterfield pads.
The stock calipers, while quite functional and efficient at hauling the LSes speed down, are pretty dreadful looking. Short of buying the Stoptechs, I've seen some very nice photos of other LLSOC member's cars where the stock calipers had been painted. Virtually any color would be an improvement over the stock gray. I'm now starting to think about painting my calipers as well, and have now begun to think about what color to paint them. Anyone out there have any suggestions that would compliment my Silverfrost LS8 sport?
Mine Silver LS with 17 Super Silvers.
Its a Hard Choice between the Two. They do look Dreadful compared to the Stoptechs. In the End Though The StopTechs and McLarens are painted. How though? Sprayed, Dipped? Buy the Slotted Rotors to complement the Painted Caliper and it will look very Sporty! Add the Porterfields to sort of backup the Look.
I am very curious regarding a comparison between the following for stopping distances?
StopTechs Up Front: 109 Ft. at what temp.
StopTechs 4 corners: 109 Ft at what temp.
Stock LS:
LS with Porterfields R4S 4 corners:
LS with Porterfields R4S 4 corners and Slotted Rotors:
Bonus Round:
StopTechs Up Front with racing pads:
StopTechs 4 corners with racing pads:
LS with Porterfields R4 4 corners:
LS with Porterfields R4 4 corners and Slotted Rotors:
We might have to have a Mania with each of us running one of the Above setups. Just to ensure we are all running on the Same surface, same temp.
Arghh!!!! But Brian is running those darn blasted adjustable racing shocks and S03's so it wouldn't be a fair comparo.. :)Well Close Enough
Very interested in the results.
Regards,
Airwolf
akirby: I agree with you. The Porterfields are a tremendous bang for the buck. If I were completely looking at this just for myself, I wouldn't think too hard about paying that much money either. But since Stoptech made me an offer that was hard to refuse and by doing this helped both Stoptech and McLaren out, not to mention that the boat money was burning a small hole in my pocket, I went for it.
Besides the club's Kahuna should have an over-the-top ride, no?
lolaj42: I agree with you. I've seen the stock calipers painted red, or silver, or black. The black is pretty subdued. The red isn't bad.
My concern about the brake upgrade (aside from cost, of course) is, Do I really want brakes that good on the street? The stock LS stops so well that I've been nearly rear-ended several times. With the StopTech setup you'd just about have to drive as if you were riding a motorcycle.
Taking the advise from another LLSOC member, I'll be checking out the color selection of high-temp paints (good for up to 1200 deg. F) at my local autoparts store (they come in typical aerosol spray cans). I'm not sure if any high-gloss colors are available, but I'll look into this as time permits.
I'm too much of a right-brainer to choose between brake caliper colors . . . I've seen red (Brembo comes to mind), now Orange (McLaren). I think I'd have to see how yellow comes off, but what do folks think about a medium to light blue? Didn't Henry Ford use to say he'd paint a car any color so long as it was black? ;-)
Michelin Pilot XGT Z4 ($228.95 from the dealer)
Pirelli Pzero System Asimmetrico ($185.95 from the dealer). They also add $18.50 per wheel for mounting and balancing.
Does anyone have comments about these choices and prices?
And yes, I do like the looks of the stoptech or other aftermarket caliper/rotors. I just don't think I could spend that much money on them. I would go for the LSE body kit or custom wheels first. But I understand the appeal.
I also understand why Brian did it. The sacrifices this guy makes for the sake of the club........
As Mel Brooks would say: "It's good ta be da king!"
The Michelin Pilot XGT Z4 is good. I think it was Michelin's top performance tire (or close to the top) before the Pilot Sports came out. But you can get the Pilot Sport A/S installed at Costco in 235/50R17 size for $212 each plus tax and $7 installation. They should also be able to get the other Michelin's at similar discounts. Personaly I would either go with the Pilot Sport A/S, the new OEM Pilot MXM4 or one of the Bridgestones (Potenza S-03s or KDWs). I've heard good and bad about the Pirellis. Jag switched from Pirellis to Michelins on the S-type.
Unbelievable dry grip. Really make the LS have an even more running on rails feeling than the Firestones. I have my own personal skid pad, that is a very nice smooth, large traffic circle 2 miles from my house. However blasting around the circle usually causes high decibel shrieks to be emitted from the passenger seat.
Very good to almost excellent wet performance.
Great road feel.
Very quiet for a performance style tire.
Smooth and round feeling but after the car sits for a day or two it does take a good 10 miles or more to get the flat spot thump out of them.
Fair snow traction, acceptable but not as good as new Firehawks.
They do make the ride a harsher, I'd guess that the great on center feel and cornering comes from stiffer sidewalls and that translates into the harsher ride.
Try resend to @att.com
I can vouch for the wet weather capabilites of the Pilot Sport A/S. I was in a long left turn lane approaching a large intersection (4+ lanes) right after a major thunderstorm - doing about 40 (it's a long radius turn because of the width of the road. Didn't see the BIG RED LIGHT for some reason and had to nail the porterfields just as I was beginning to turn to avoid the Taurus turning left from the other direction right in front of me. No ABS, skidding or hydroplaning. It just stopped dead within a couple of car lengths. I have yet to get them to hydroplane or break traction. Look at the tread and you'll see why. This also mirrors the test results that I've seen. More than worth the small loss in dry traction for everyday driving. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.
Chris, blue calipers would look great on Silver.
The job took over two hours just for the front pads, but much of this time was spent cleaning all the accumulated brake dust off the the wheels (inside and out) and me! Removing the caliper and changing the pads is a snap to do yourself (I had never attempted this job before). I've only done one short little trip to make sure the brakes function properly (they do) but couldn't get a real feel for how much better they are at stopping than the stock pads.
I'll be changing the rear pads out by Saturday, so this job isn't entirely done yet. I'll report back as the job gets completed and the pads bed in.
I received my Porterfields today ($178) and am awaiting my Snap-On "Piston Rotation Tool" for the rear R&R. I called for quotes from local shops for just pad R&R. Prices range from $80 to 150. That's a lot for a few minutes work. These guys even have the time-saving tools. The high quote was for two hours labor. No rotor turning included. I will be doing this myself!
Sorry to be so obtuse.
This is the normal way to rotate tires when you've got a space-saver spare.
Thanks. Didn'know that. However how would the tires know if you had a space saver spare and they skipped that position in the rotation?
The recommended 4 tire rotation for regular (non uni-directional) is rear tires to front, both stay on the same side and the front tires cross over to the opposite side on the rears.
Refer to page 216 in your LS owners manual.
Actually it is amazing how much information and different opinions are out there on something as simple as tire rotation.
The Front to Rear tire rotation on the same side method had its origins when radial tires first came out. It was felt that the radial cords took a set and changing their direction of rotation would not only cause the tires to thump for several thousand miles, but the changing of rotation directions could cause the radial tires to fail.
In the late 70's most tire manufactures started recommending cross over rotation for all tires, including radials.
I really do not belive in tire rotation, unless there is an indicated wear problem. I believe that the manufacturer's tire rotation recommendation is more of an excuse to give the dealers something to do, and charge you for if your car doesn't come with "free" maintainance.
Front wheel drive cars will usually wear the fronts much faster than the rears, but so far on my LS I have found that the tire wear has been very even between the fronts and rears.
I have heard that BMW now believes this too and does not recomend tire rotation. They say that changing the rotation direction requires the tires to take several thousand miles to set in again.
Discussed this a while back with Joe166 who has always done 5 wheel rotations. He tells me he never noticed a handling issue.
Just another perspective on this issue I guess. Anyway, I bought three Hawks, will use the brand new spare, and will go to a four wheel rotation if I see uneven wear.
I recently replaced my original Firehawks at 32K miles with Michelin Pilot AS Sports. The car now rides like a totally different animal. The biggest difference I notice is not that it is tremendously more sticky in the corners, but that it cruises much more smoothly than on the Firestones.
Supercharger Question:
Has anyone added an Eaton Supercharger to the V8? I see that Ford is now using these on a few models, and was wondering how smoothly they would adapt to the 3.9 liter engine.
Thanks.
As far as superchargers I think there have been a couple of Lincoln prototypes but nothing official yet. McLaren is selling a version of the LSE with a supercharger (I think it's an Eaton) but it will be a 03 model and details of the 03 V8 aren't released yet, but assuming the 03 V8 is still the AJV8 with at least 275 hp the McLaren version should bump it to 375 hp with the supercharger. But 40 of that extra 100 hp is from a modified intake/exhaust setup. Jaguar has already announced their 2003 S-type R using a 4.2L version of the AJV8 with a supercharger producing 388 hp.
Rumour has Lincoln using a 400 hp normally aspirated 5.0L modular V8 in 2004 with a 6-spd manual.