anubis
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2016
- Threads
- 14
- Messages
- 105
- Reaction score
- 46
- Location
- St Albans, UK
- First Name
- Ben
- Vehicle(s)
- Mustang GT 2016 with mods
- Thread starter
- #1
DBA
So I got some new brake discs fitted the other day which have just become available here UK-supplied, so I thought I’d post with some first impressions.
These are the DBA 5000 series rotors for the front and DBA 4000 for the rear. The manufacturer (Disc Brakes Australia) has been making discs and other products for years and has been selling through US Mustang websites for quite a while. I needed a change from my OEM discs for a few reasons:
- Firstly my rear discs had bitten the dust... I’ve only done 4000 miles but a fair bit of that has been on trackdays and the rears had developed bad heat spots. The fronts didn’t have too much life left either so I though best to change all of them at the same time
- I wanted discs with better performance overall but particularly when hot
- I was after grooved discs (but not drilled, as the risk of heat cracks developing is obviously higher with drilled holes)
- Ideally I wanted to save a bit of unsprung weight
There weren’t many options available which were slotted (not drilled) and lighter weight from a reputable brand... and actually no options as far as I could see from UK suppliers, so I was well pleased when these became available. They cost me under £1500 for fronts and rears combined (from JW Racing).
First impressions are good. Looks- wise they’re awesome... below is a before and after comparison to my (worn) OEM discs. They really are a major step up with a high quality finish and the black centres really set them off.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
The slots seem to be about 1.5mm deep or just under. I’m not sure exactly how the discs themselves are made but I’m hopeful of a longer lifespan than OEM when used at high temperatures.
DBA state that they’re made from a ‘High Carbon Alloyed Iron that increases the thermal capacity properties of the rotor’, so we’ll see :-)
The fronts are two-piece and whilst the rears weigh pretty much the same as OEM, the fronts save around 16lbs over stock.
There were a couple of other things about these discs which sold it for me. Firstly the vane design which DBA have called ‘Kangaroo Paw’ Ventilation‘ and secondly a thing they’ve called ‘TSP’ (Thermal Stability Profiling) which in a nutshell means the discs can handle high temperature for extended periods meaning less brake fade. Good for track days :-). I need to test this out properly still but apparently overall these should give improved cooling and greater strength by up to 20 percent.
These discs also have quite a cool feature with red, yellow and green painted lines on the edge (below)... These are heat paint markings which change colour at specific temperatures and let you allowing monitor how the brakes are performing (and whether you need to cool down!).
Performance wise, from street usage only so far, I’m very pleased. Brake feel is spot on and more linear than OEM. I haven’t been able to test brake fade or heat capability yet though.
The true test will be when they’re put under a bit of real pressure so I’ll update this post later in the year after a couple of track days. I used to only get about 5 hot laps of the Bedford GT circuit (19 miles) before needing a proper cool down on the old discs (with EBC yellow pads) so we’ll see how these cope!
Ben
So I got some new brake discs fitted the other day which have just become available here UK-supplied, so I thought I’d post with some first impressions.
These are the DBA 5000 series rotors for the front and DBA 4000 for the rear. The manufacturer (Disc Brakes Australia) has been making discs and other products for years and has been selling through US Mustang websites for quite a while. I needed a change from my OEM discs for a few reasons:
- Firstly my rear discs had bitten the dust... I’ve only done 4000 miles but a fair bit of that has been on trackdays and the rears had developed bad heat spots. The fronts didn’t have too much life left either so I though best to change all of them at the same time
- I wanted discs with better performance overall but particularly when hot
- I was after grooved discs (but not drilled, as the risk of heat cracks developing is obviously higher with drilled holes)
- Ideally I wanted to save a bit of unsprung weight
There weren’t many options available which were slotted (not drilled) and lighter weight from a reputable brand... and actually no options as far as I could see from UK suppliers, so I was well pleased when these became available. They cost me under £1500 for fronts and rears combined (from JW Racing).
First impressions are good. Looks- wise they’re awesome... below is a before and after comparison to my (worn) OEM discs. They really are a major step up with a high quality finish and the black centres really set them off.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
The slots seem to be about 1.5mm deep or just under. I’m not sure exactly how the discs themselves are made but I’m hopeful of a longer lifespan than OEM when used at high temperatures.
DBA state that they’re made from a ‘High Carbon Alloyed Iron that increases the thermal capacity properties of the rotor’, so we’ll see :-)
The fronts are two-piece and whilst the rears weigh pretty much the same as OEM, the fronts save around 16lbs over stock.
There were a couple of other things about these discs which sold it for me. Firstly the vane design which DBA have called ‘Kangaroo Paw’ Ventilation‘ and secondly a thing they’ve called ‘TSP’ (Thermal Stability Profiling) which in a nutshell means the discs can handle high temperature for extended periods meaning less brake fade. Good for track days :-). I need to test this out properly still but apparently overall these should give improved cooling and greater strength by up to 20 percent.
These discs also have quite a cool feature with red, yellow and green painted lines on the edge (below)... These are heat paint markings which change colour at specific temperatures and let you allowing monitor how the brakes are performing (and whether you need to cool down!).
Performance wise, from street usage only so far, I’m very pleased. Brake feel is spot on and more linear than OEM. I haven’t been able to test brake fade or heat capability yet though.
The true test will be when they’re put under a bit of real pressure so I’ll update this post later in the year after a couple of track days. I used to only get about 5 hot laps of the Bedford GT circuit (19 miles) before needing a proper cool down on the old discs (with EBC yellow pads) so we’ll see how these cope!
Ben
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