2004 Ultimate Street Car Challenge

10 Test And 11 Acceleration

Big cross-drilled rotors and multi-piston Brembo calipers were pervasive in this year's field, but in the end it came down to a mostly stock brake system that walked away with maximum points in the 60-to-Zero Braking test. As in the acceleration tests, each entrant got three chances to get its stop on.

Employing original factory equipment along with braided lines, a slightly larger master cylinder and EBC pads, Brad Bedell's MR2 came to a halt in less than 100 feet, scoring the maximum 110 points. Incidentally, Bedell's 99.23-foot score is the shortest stopping distance we've recorded in the USCC. When prepping the car for this test, Bedell's mantra was simple. "Anyone who puts aftermarket brakes on this car doesn't stop as well," he said.

Bill Knose's Impreza placed second. The Subaru used an amalgam of brake equipment: Prodrive rotors and four-piston calipers in front, Wilwood assemblies in the back. The system's balance was undeniable, however, enabling the Subaru to stop in 106.74 feet, enough to grab 95 points in the second-place slot.

HPA's R32 Golf was wearing some of the most intimidating equipment in the field-Brembo hardware pieced together from various Porsche and Audi sources including 14-inch front rotors from an RS4 application, six-piston Cayenne Turbo calipers, 12.1-inch rear rotors with relocated R32 calipers and PBR metallic pads. It was enough for a 108.22-foot stop and third place.

Jason Cameron's RX-7 was next. It runs Brembo Gran Turismo binders at all corners, with 13.5-inch rotors and six-piston calipers in front and 11-inch discs in the rear. The heavy equipment hauled the Seven down from 60 mph in 109 feet even for fourth place.

Despite using radically different brake configurations, the two EVO VIIIs stopped within a single foot of each other. Like the Golf and the RX-7, Scott Gladstone's entry wore some serious-looking brakes at all corners that we later learned they were WRC tarmac assemblies. Fuller's Evolution only used StopTech big brakes up front and retained its O.E. equipment in the rear. Despite the huge wad of cash tied up in Gladstone's binders, the Sparco EVO stopped only about 4 inches shorter than Fuller's entry. While these competition Brembos are impressive as hell to the naked eye, we suspect their forte is more suited to repeated heavy use and that they were more beneficial on the road course than in this braking test.

Matt Andrews' Supra came up about a foot short of Fuller's EVO, and the final three contenders placed far behind the rest of the pack. Nick Wong's Skyline, which relied on big Brembos, stopped 18 feet behind the Supra and Andrew Campbell's Miata, which was the only car that relied on a completely O.E. brake setup, proved that ABS isn't everything. Scot Gray's black Eclipse placed dead last. - Karl Funke

Test 12 Braking