Source: SuperStreetOnline
NORTHHAMPTON, U.K. – Big brake kits (BBK) look dramatic installed behind usually only front wheels – all plus-sized rotors and burly, multi-piston calipers – but we always sorta wondered how they can rightfully be called BBKs when they’re only improving stopping power up front. Aren’t there four brakes on most cars, after all? EBC Brakes noticed this oversight, too, which is one of the reason’s its EBC Apollo Balanced Big Brake Kit stands out, a full-vehicle upgrade supplied complete with matching friction rear pads to fit the original caliper, as well as steel braided brake lines all around and fluid.
The aluminum four-piston binders in the kit come from EBC Brakes Racings Apollo Series and are machined for strength from heat-treated low-pressure castings. All Apollo calipers feature a two-piece bolted design that incorporates high-tensile 12.9-grade steel bolts for reinforcement of the caliper bridge section, and an advanced high-temperature Teflon polyester coating process for durability, which is currently available in Racing Red, Stealth Black, Storm Shadow Blue, and Luminous Yellow.
The two-piece front rotors are the fully floating type, which allow the outer ring to expand freely in response to heat. The disc surface sports a swept-groove slot design for dust and gas evacuation and a good initial bite, and to improve cooling the rotor rings feature 48 directional internal curved vanes. For max strength and corrosion resistance, drive bobbins machined from a single piece of stainless steel are employed.
Every kit is supplied with EBC Bluestuff NDX performance pads for both the front and rear axles, a pad designed for more “spirited” driving, and braided stainless steel brake lines to help mitigate pedal sponginess.
Each EBC Apollo Balanced Big Brake Kit additionally comes with a liter of BF307+ super DOT 4 fluid, which has a 307 C boiling point – a significantly higher boiling point than standard DOT 5.1 fluid.
EBC Apollo Balanced BBK are readily available for the E36 (1992-1999) and E46 (2000-2006) generations BMW 3 Series , with more applications to follow. The kits can be purchased from www.ebcbrakesdirect.com and a local EBC retailer.
