As Paul Dalla Lana, Joey Hand, and Bill Auberlen stepped up to the podium after the Continental Tire GRAND-AM 200 in Florida, over 500 employees of StopTech performance brakes and Centric Parts on the west coast also pumped their fists in their air in victory. The trio of drivers had piloted the #96 NorthWest/Turner Motorsport BMW M3 to an exciting third place GS class finish at the 200-miler, no small feat, armed with the performance brake company's first official set of StopTech GT racing calipers.
When Dalla Lana and Bill Auberlen won the Kia 200 in Miami a month later, it was an even sweeter day at Southern California facilities of StopTech and Centric Parts.
The STR-40GT racing calipers from StopTech, the ultra-performance division of Centric Parts, were installed not long before the first race and came loaded with the company's braking innovations and optimized for endurance racing. The successful first race represented the end of a long development road for a company that has been working hard to make a name for itself amongst drivers of production performance cars such as Porsche, BMW, Audi and Mercedes. The winning second race proved that lightning can strike twice if you put enough research, development, testing, and quality into the final product.
"Running a production based race car at the limit for over 100 consecutive laps or for 24 hours straight requires consistent, reliable stopping power from the first minute to the last," points out Dan Lelchuk, President of Centric Parts. "The StopTech engineering and design team has delivered a racing caliper for these extreme situations that also adheres to the vehicle modification rules set at these series and events."The company treated the StopTech GT racing caliper as an underground project during the development phase. http://www.centricparts.com/ and http://www.stoptech.com/, the company websites, made no mention of them. There was only was only a passing reference on its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/stoptech) and on one of its blogs (http://www.stoptechblog.com/) late last year when the StopTech GT racing calipers made a test run at the world's longest closed course endurance race.
At that event, the 2010 25 Hours of Thunderhill, the pre-release set of calipers caught a ride on a Subaru GR STi from the aptly-named Marathon Motorsports. “They never went below perfect,” stated Roland Prisker, one of the vehicle's owners, summarizing the feedback from team's drivers after the event. They were all impressed with the brakes, reporting superb pedal feel and modulation, zero fade or knockback and minimal pad taper. The drivers also reported the majority of their passing took place in braking zones. "Brake Late, Finish First" has been StopTech's tagline and in many ways the brand's philosophy going into the Continental Tire GRAND-AM 200. Keeping speed a little longer before braking for a turn can give a driver a split second advantage. Daytona International Speedway is a 3.56-mile, 12-turn course, which in a race like this holds nearly 750 turns. Any advantage in the corners magnifies out to a significant one overall in the quest for a podium finish. At the Kia 200 in Miami, there were around 950 turns, enough to give Turner the lead and the victory.
The two-piece, bolted four-piston StopTech STR-40GT racing caliper pulls features from both the original StopTech ST series calipers and the company's top-of-the-line Trophy STR racing calipers. It features StopTech's patented bolt-in bridge technology which reinforces the caliper, virtually eliminates distortion, provides slots to enhance cooling airflow, and allows changing brake pads without disturbing the caliper’s mounting. The calipers are machined from billet and sport a natural anodized finish that is impervious to color change at the continuous high temperatures experienced during race conditions.
The STR-40GT is available with pistons sized for the requirements of any production-based race car, including those with OE master cylinders, boosters and vehicle dynamics control systems. The correct pedal effort, travel and feel are maintained, as well as the distribution of brake torque between front and rear axles, yielding the maximum deceleration on the shortest notice. Only three years ago, StopTech only offered one line of calipers. The now ten-year old company has since joined the Centric Parts family along with Power Slot, a well-known performance brake rotor company. "Testing, development, engineering - it has all come together in new ways and a well of innovation has sprung up from the synergy," adds Lelchuk. Centric Parts now holds five braking technology patents and StopTech has no less than four distinct lines of Big Brake Kits and more than 700 platform offerings for every flavor of performance driver.
StopTech GT series racing calipers are available now through motorsports distributors and performance automotive aftermarket retailers. Visit http://www.centricparts.com/ for more information.
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