New Racing Brake long fiber carbon rotors with calipers full brake kit: first impressions on track

Background
I started tracking my 600LT last summer, and I quickly learned how fast the factory brake components wear out when used on track. Given how expensive the factory rotors and pads are, I needed to find an alternative. Pretty much everyone who tracks the 600LT or 720S a lot ends up switching to steel rotors due to the extreme cost and lack of longevity of the factory components. I really like carbon brakes and REALLY didn't want to change to steel rotors. CCM brakes compared to steel are much lighter, improve steering response, dissipate heat better, resist brake fade better, and look cooler. They just tend to be expensive and don't have good track life.

Enter Racing Brake. I've known about this company for quite a few years, and I have their CCM kit for my R35 GTR, which I've been quite satisfied with. @Warren-RB contacted me after I posted a thread looking for solutions, and asked if I wanted to be the beta tester for the brake kit they were developing for the 600LT/720S. I was immediately on board, since I viewed this as the only possible solution to the poor factory brake component life without going with steel rotors.

The kit
The Racing Brake carbon brake kit consists of RB long fiber carbon rotors, 394mm front and 380mm rear (OEM fronts are 390mm), larger than OEM calipers with superior piston seals (4 pot in the rear, 6 pot in the front), stainless braided brake lines, brake pad of your choice, mounting brackets and hardware. I decided on going with the Endless W007 pads. The rotors are similar to Surface Transform rotors, but slightly different construction. @Warren-RB can comment on the differences. I believe the MSRP for the kit is around $21k. This kit will fit the 600LT and 720S. I'm not sure about other models.

Rear brakes



Front brakes



Installation and fit
The installation was very straight forward with no big surprises. One note is that the braided lines that it came with had a different end fitting than OEM, so I ended up just reusing the OEM lines with no issue. I expect this to be fixed in future kits. The biggest issue with the fit is that due to the 4mm larger front rotor, the clearance between the caliper and the wheel barrel is 1-1.5mm. It's VERY tight. This may or may not be a problem for you.

You can see how tight the clearance is


Unfortunately, small pebbles get stuck in between, and they end up scoring the caliper and the wheel barrel



Performance
My initial thoughts after 1 track day (35-40 laps): There is no doubt that this kit, along with more track oriented Endless W007 pads, provides more braking torque than the factory setup. This is evidenced by the fact that the ABS kicks in much more easily than with the factory brakes. There was very little, if any, noticeable brake fade after many hot laps. The car remains stable and predictable under braking. It would be nice if you could fit wider tires in the front because they are definitely the limiting factor in slowing the car down.

I also had a professional IMSA GT3 driver do several laps in the car to get his impressions of the brake system. He said that the brakes feel good and capable, but that the aggressive interference of the ABS system means that to get most out of it, the ABS system should be re-calibrated or the brake bias rebalanced more towards the rear, or a combination of both.

Durability and wear
I don't have too much to comment on this one since I only have one track day on this setup. I'll just note that so far, the discs look good except for one groove that was probably the result of bad luck in getting a pebble lodged between the pad and rotor. I'll let @Warren-RB comment if there are any other possible reasons for the groove on the rotor. I measured the pads, and so far wear is pretty even. There is a consistent .020" more wear on the outside of all 4 front pads (near the edge of the rotor) vs the inside. This seems reasonable to me, but I will keep measuring the pads after future track days. The wear was consistent across all 4 front pads. I will update this section after I log more track days with the car this season.

Here is a picture of the groove in one of the discs


Conclusion
So far, this appears to be a well built brake system that performs as advertised. I can't yet comment on the durability or wear aspects yet as I haven't put enough laps on it to know. But the initial indications are good and this system may well provide the elusive longevity of carbon brake systems at a reasonable price for track focused enthusiasts. However, the tight clearance between the caliper and wheel barrel is a problem, even if it still technically works ok, because small pebbles tear up the finish of the front calipers and score the wheel barrels. That is going to be a tough sell for many people if it is not addressed. I'm not sure how difficult it is to re-calibrate the ABS system, but to get the most out of these brakes, that needs to be done and/or change the brake bias more towards the rear to keep the ABS system from interfering so much. Also, I question the advantage of using 394mm front rotors instead of 390mm. You are getting more brake torque via the larger discs, but most of the increased brake torque is coming from the beefier calipers and their larger pistons. Using 390mm discs would solve the clearance issue with likely little effect on braking torque or heat dissipation.

More to come.....

Please post any questions you have and either me and/or @Warren-RB will respond.

Disclaimer: I received a discounted price for this kit in return for being a tester and writing an unbiased review of it.