BIG stopping power.... need your opinion

[SkinnyVT]

Lee's kits have a lot of "pretty" machining which looks fantastic but puts the price higher then the more basic IE offerings. I've only had overheating problems with a Massive Street kit (on the track with S50 power) but Lee has long ranted about the inability of narrower rotors in other manufacturers kits to handle track temps.

I think that is your issue right there, that is way too small of a kit for the speeds you must be reaching. I can understand why many people on here were rubbed the wrong way by Lee's personality and opinions but he has been nothing but helpful to me.

So, to the OP, the answer depends on how much power you are expecting, what the total weight of your car will be, what size rubber you will be running, etc. Are you going to stick with 4-lug or convert to 5? Are you willing to do ducting?

The e30 crowd still seems to like UUC but the majority of the bimmer race community only run's their stickers on their cars because they have to due to them sponsoring BMWCCA club racing, otherwise they wouldn't touch a UUC part.

[Fidhle007]

Now I know UUC is best for wheel clearance (and I think I'll be going with their kit) but from what I saw on IE's website they are using a Wilwood caliper now. I don't know a ton about this stuff but it seems like the same one Lee is using? I know the older IE kits used a Cobra caliper, right?

It's a different (and Lee would argue cheaper) caliper but yes it is a Wilwood offering. It's much narrower then the Superlite that Lee uses, hence the added wheel clearance.

I think that is your issue right there, that is way too small of a kit for the speeds you must be reaching. I can understand why many people on here were rubbed the wrong way by Lee's personality and opinions but he has been nothing but helpful to me.

So, to the OP, the answer depends on how much power you are expecting, what the total weight of your car will be, what size rubber you will be running, etc. Are you going to stick with 4-lug or convert to 5? Are you willing to do ducting?

The e30 crowd still seems to like UUC but the majority of the bimmer race community only run's their stickers on their cars because they have to due to them sponsoring BMWCCA club racing, otherwise they wouldn't touch a UUC part.

Oh, entirely that was my problem. They were great brakes on the street and even fine on the track in the morning but they were shaking like whores on crack by the end of the day... Lee was far less then helpful with customer support though (something I'm not going to get into here) but still has decent product offerings. This is why I'm using his parts as the basis for my kit but I'm doing as much in-house as I can. That way I only have myself to yell at if something fails.

[SkinnyVT]

Fair enough, don't like the service, do it yourself. I would take that approach as well.

Btw, UUC will maintain that their latest kit doesn't use a Wilwood caliper and that it made in house.

[SkiFree]

I think that is your issue right there, that is way too small of a kit for the speeds you must be reaching. I can understand why many people on here were rubbed the wrong way by Lee's personality and opinions but he has been nothing but helpful to me.

So, to the OP, the answer depends on how much power you are expecting, what the total weight of your car will be, what size rubber you will be running, etc. Are you going to stick with 4-lug or convert to 5? Are you willing to do ducting?

The e30 crowd still seems to like UUC but the majority of the bimmer race community only run's their stickers on their cars because they have to due to them sponsoring BMWCCA club racing, otherwise they wouldn't touch a UUC part.

Good questions for the OP that need to be answered before deciding on a kit.

Lee does come off a little abrasive sometimes but so does Jeff Ireland however both know what they're doing.

I'll type a little more here later as I put together the IE kits (got some on the table right now), just a little busy today.

[Wh33lhop]

Lee is pretty much a sniveling douche, but I would still get his stuff over the UUC offering. Also keep in mind that while he is a douche, if he is going to make money off of you he will be helpful, and he does know his shit.

[Fidhle007]

Lee knows what he wants to know and is rather inflexible when it comes to alternative opinions. I met one of his friends at the track awhile back and he told me "He's really opinionated and likes things a certain way. He doesn't always get that what works for him might not be the best for somebody else and vice versa. I have to tell him to shut up a lot..." I'm paraphrasing a bit but that was pretty much it.

[MR 325]

I'm curious if anybody is running the IE kit with Wilwood caliper. Wondering how wheel clearance compares to the UUC.

[SkiFree]

I got the 290 kit to fit under a set of 16' alpinas the other day (if you know those wheels you know the back of the spokes slope inward and can be a tight fit for bbk's)....


Lee uses the wilwood superlight 4-piston caliper with the nice thick rotors, IE uses the wilwood dynalite 6-piston with slightly thinner rotors. I'm not quite sure on all the exact details of all the dimensional differences between a uuc and IE kit, but I do know that in the smaller 290mm kit (IE has both a 290 and a 310mm kit) the IE rotor is about 1/4 smaller diameter than the one used in the uuc kit so the rotor/caliper sits in slightly snugger.

I AM NOT trying to sell anyone on the IE kit, i simply am around them everyday and know them pretty well.

[MR 325]

Awesome, thanks for posting that! (Andrew right?)

This is Matt from TNG.

[2002maniac]

I'm rofling at fiddle with his man sized 12.75 rotors. That is absolutely overkill. I bet lee's street kit with proper track pads and ducting is more than 99% of e30's will ever need (swap cars included).
To be honest the IE kits look very well thought out and put together and i don't think lee's kits are blingy either. Most of his adapter brackets are waterlet cut, cad plated, mild steel.

[revhead888]

haha thanks for that... now im back to looking at the IE kits

[SkiFree]

Awesome, thanks for posting that! (Andrew right?)

This is Matt from TNG.

Ha, small world. This is Andrew.

** revhead888 - no matter who's kit you go with please understand that shipping a BBK (#55) to Australiais not the cheapest thing to do, just a heads up.