Alcon CSL Cup Full Brake Kit

[titan]

OK peeps, here we have what I think is the ultimate E46 stopping kit.

Thorney Motorsport / Alcon "CSL Cup" Brake Kit.

Essentially Alcon's 6 piston monobloc caliper / 365mm semi floating discs, Goodridge hoses, billet brackets on the front and 4 piston monobloc, 343mm discs on the back, same hoses/brackets.

Needs 18" wheels, fitted just fine under Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2's. I have a set of these also..

These are supplied with Carbotech XP10 on the front and XP8 on the rear. The front discs and pads are near as dammit brand new, having seen only a few road miles and a wet trackday.

This little lot was around £4.5k - Lawsy's kit is around £3800 with pads I think.

I'm looking for £2800 and I expect these will be sold tonight. Collection only though.

I've had Alcons on a number of cars and they are just mindblowing. In terms of stopping power these greatly exceed the Porsche Ceramics I had on the GT2RS and with the size of the discs and good choice of pads, fade due to heat isn't an issue. In short - the last brakes you'd ever buy for your CSL.

Nothing thats used is ever "mint" however given the nature of heat and brake dust I think these are in as good condition as a secondhand set of brakes could be. Bolt them straight on, nothing more is needed.

[titan]

A quick pic of them under a wheel.....

[cslsuperfan]

BBK

The best parts for sale thread ever!!:thumbs:

[Clubber]

Sent pm

[Gibbo]

How do these compare to APs and where you based?

[MCSL]

I must say... that is the sexiest set of brakes i've seen all day

[Das Chin]

fantastic brakes and an awesome price lee.

someone will get a massive bargain here. too cheap!

[titan]

How do these compare to APs and where you based?

Well, the "AP vs Alcon" or "Which Brake Kit" threads go on and on and on.

I can only tell you what I know myself and why I chose Alcon.

1. The first time I chose Alcon over AP (evo) was because there were so many reported problems with APs discs. Conversely rally teams I spoke to just laughed and said "er..Alcon!"

2. I had the alcon kit on my evo and they were just awesome. Any instructor who drove the car or anyone who made comparison couldn't believe the stopping power. The kit held up extremely well and I never had any issues.

3. For the CSL I guess Thorney could have made a branded kit with AP perhaps - or just standardised on AP, hell you could argue they might have shifted more kits at the lower AP price and made more money!! but they chose Alcon.

4. Ariel Atom - who's brakes are those? Oh why they are the same 4-pot monoblocs as fitted to the CSL rear...

So for me I've always viewed the AP kit as "fast road/track", what the in-crowd buys, but the alcon is what the pro's use. Flame me by all means but that's how I see it.

In terms of price difference, I think an AP kit is considerably cheaper - around £3k new whereas these are about £4.5k.

Technical differences ? well on the rears alcon supply new (348mm) discs, hubs as well as calipers, whereas AP just chuck a new caliper over the OEM discs. I guess this "should" mean that the rear brakes are uprated to match the fronts whereas perhaps the AP focusses more of the brake upgrade on the front. Dunno. As I said, these threads can go on and on and on.

The reality is, here we have a set of brakes which cannot be beaten on stopping power or longevity, have a track record (pun not intended) which shows zero issues with the kit, the discs don't crack and they are branded with CSL Cup which I think is a nice touch on a CSL.

[titan]

How do these compare to APs and where you based?

oh sorry, I'm in Rochford, Essex.

[shimmy]

Look great, glWS Titan.

[Rick H]

I've got Alcon CSL Cup brakes with RS29s. I got them from a register member, they were virtually on my doorstep at a price that I'd have been an idiot to ignore. They were put on by Darren Woods in Stockport with AP600 fluid.

I have no experience of the APs so I can't compare.

To live with, well they certainly stop the car but it took a day in Wales with Ben for me to fully "get" what they're about. What I'm not sure about is pedal travel and initial feel - initially I was concerned about shunting Ben but as the day progressed, I got used to them and more confident.

Pedal travel is longer than I'd like, and after some discussion with someone on here who clearly knows his stuff - a possible solution was to put on 2lb pre-load valves to retain some brake pressure after the pedal is released.

After some thought, I've decided to leave them as they are, not use valves and just get used to them. The more I drive, the more familiar with them I'm getting and I'm now more able to judge feel and the grab point.

They have a bit of clatter which, oddly perhaps, I quite like.

The general view appears to be that APs are better for track as they have shorter pedal travel and grab sooner (I'm sure AP guys, or anyone that has used both systems will correct and elaborate on that) and the CSL Cups are easier to live with day to day for people like myself who are not out and out track drivers.

I don't see why they should be more expensive than the APs.

[titan]

Initial bite is down to pad choice. I ran XP12 pads prior and these were quite nasty for road use. If road was your thing then XP8. (Having used pagids, mintex and others I really prefer and rate the carbotech stuff)

But I really don't know why road use is ever a critera for kits like these. If you need a floating 365mm disc and monobloc assembly for road, then you're either a nutter or have some mentalist roads near you.

Brake fade and heat issues is generally down to the size and type of discs. AP uses the original E46 disc (328mm), the Alcon is a 348 mm disc. Part of producing a good brake system to fit a standard car (ie retain existing brake cylinders/bias etc) is that the front/rear split has to be maintained. Probably another reason why alcon increase the rear disc size.

as I say on and on and on. But lets not derail this thread

[Rick H]

"But I really don't know why road use is ever a critera for kits like these. If you need a floating 365mm disc and monobloc assembly for road, then you're either a nutter or have some mentalist roads near you."

Well I think because most of the cars (on here anywayz) are used on the track as well as road in varying degrees. Ok, when pottering off to the garden centre for a few geraniums is the sole use of BMs finest, bbks border on the unnecessary and are a waste of money, but then so would a CSL be in the first place.

My reasoning was that the car will be used on a track, will be used on Welsh roads (and will be used to pick up geraniums) so I need all the help I can get plus I'd probably get back what they cost on resale so like yours, having them makes a lot of sense. :thumbs:

[shimmy]

Is my front disc really 328mm?

And I'm sure he callliper design and matrial make a huge difference to the heat dissipation.

[titan]

Rear. One question was why the Alcon set is more expensive. They provide additional discs whereas AP do not.

Fronts are same size although you make a good point about the material. AP had cracking issues in the evo world no such troubles with alcons. Was a while back could be bad batch or redesign who knows. I was only trying to explain why all my cars have had alcons with zero issues.