highcam

Has anyone noticed the huge price increase for the Stoptech kits? With the price increases, are there better options now that the ST40 isn't so budget friendly?

B serious

The answer depends on what you are using the BBK for.

highcam

Bling , confidence on track, reduced consumables, reduced frequency of service.

Shift9303

I too have been disheartened by the price increases with the Stoptech kits. First the ST40s skyrocketed and recently it seems like the C43 kits have also nearly doubled in cost. At this point they're not much of a budget option anymore. I think they're made in China or Taiwan? Either way probably a byproduct of the pandemic and supply chain issues.

SBG offers a custom Wilwood BBK with the regular superlite calipers for 1350, this is different from the off the shelf Wilwood kit with the narrow superlite 6R calipers. They have two versions, one to pair with oem rotors and one with bigger pots to match their rear bbk. However the turn off for me is that even the one that's supposed to match stock rear calibers moves the brake bias. I think some one here on S2KI crunched the numbers and it moves the brake bias slightly rearward because the pots are slightly undersized.

SBG also has two AP kits available. One with the CP8350 calipers and one with CP8240 calipers. The CP8350 caliper kit runs 3000 and I believe it also shifts the brake bias forward and is meant to match their rear BBK. The CP8240 caliper kit is 2700 and is supposed to go with the stock rear caliper.

At this point I'm leaning towards SBG's cheaper AP kit. My only reservation is that from what I've read the AP calipers tend to be on the fatter side and sometimes have trouble with wheel clearance.

B serious

The stoptech is still the most cost effective option.

I am 99.9% sure they're made in the USA.

ThreeD

Yep. Made in USA.

Shift9303

Im glad to be proven wrong. I only read briefly from forum posts from early 2000, people saying that Stop Techs were made in China. Some more recent stuff saying the aero rotors are made in US but doesn’t mention the calipers. Some retailers say made in US but I can’t find it on their website and I’d figure it’s something they’d brag about (granted I didn’t look too hard). I’m pretty sure Tire Rack lists the centric rotors as made in Taiwan. I wouldn’t doubt that they’re US made with international materials.

But regardless, country of origin shouldn’t matter as much as their track record. I only mentioned it as a possible reason for the price hikes given supply chain issues.

B serious

I am sure there are globally sourced components/labour involved at some point. The price is way too low for the parts and assembly to be 100% USA origin.

Obviously, their standard (non BBK) rotors and pads are made elsewhere. Again, none of those prices reflect a US made part.

I'm sure there are supply chain increases that account for some portion of the pricing. It could also be that more of the manufacturing moved to the US/Canada, or that they saw their parts *could* sell for more.

Again, their BBK is still the best bang-for-buck, if a BBK is actually needed.

In most cases, a BBK makes very little fiscal or functional sense. You throw bling into it...and bam...you've got a justifying factor.

A Brembo kit is more expensive by a decent margin, and probably not as good.

Spoon calipers do almost nothing.

Wilwood is a good solution for moderately priced kit. I'm not sure how good they are in functional terms.

Custom assembled kits are usually pricey and may come with lead times for parts.

JDM kits (PMU/Alcon/etc) are expensive and come with lead time and availability issues.

Not all BBK's are fully streetable either.

All factors together, I think Stoptech has the best options/packages and pricing for what you get.

But, maybe someone knows of some shop kit out there that makes a more compelling value.

Orjinal

When I bought my old ST40 kit few years ago, only the bracket holding the calipers were made in the USA. The rest were made in China and some other country.

B serious

Yeah, its possible that the latest price increase is due to more operations moving to the US.

If that's the case then its another reason to buy their kit, right?

It could also mean that the parts are assembled in the US, using global sourcing.

Either way, if they're making efforts to operate in the US, then its a big plus in my book.