Tarox motorsport-quality steel replacement options for carbon ceramic brakes
Italian braking maestro Tarox has unveiled a welcome new range of custom ultra-high performance steel brake discs that will be wonderful news for owners of many high-performance vehicles and supercars. Thanks to the unique way Tarox crafts its discs in low volumes, its latest engineering solution is a vast range of custom-made discs to allow owners of cars with carbon-ceramic brakes to replace the hugely expensive rotors with a highest-quality steel alternative.
Cars like top-end Porsches and Ferraris could all be ordered with the pricey carbon option from new. Many canny owners removed these and mothballed them for fitment once the car is sold, but for those who have been enjoying them out on road or track, the stark reality of service replacement, and its associated cost can make even the most ardent – and affluent – of owners go a little weak at the knees. Bills of around £20,000 for all four corners are not uncommon in these rarefied upper marques.
Although carbon ceramic brakes do offer a marginal advantage at ten-tenths in the heat of competition, the truth is, for all but the most aggressive of drivers, Tarox’s CNC-finished steel alternatives will offer all of the performance and active safety ever needed. Each disc can be made precisely to the owner’s exacting requirements, fitting exactly to the original bell and slotting perfectly within the OEM calipers. The discs braking surface is machined from a solid billet of steel therefore have exceptionally high tensile strength compared to the usual cast iron. The ultimate tensile strength for these discs is rated at an impressive 57kg per square mm. To put this figure in perspective, the industry standard even for racing spec discs is usually 38 kg per square mm and the CEE standard U.T.S. is 25kg per square mm.
While the marginal performance difference in extremis will be noticeable to only a handful of frighteningly fast drivers, the difference in the cost will be blissfully apparent to all. As will the extended service life, increased ease of use and much more rapid warm-up times.
Commenting on this new range, Tarox managing director Valeria Taroni said, ‘Because of the way we hand-finish each and every disc in our factory, it is relatively easy for us to gear up for micro volumes like this and truly tailor a part that works for discerning enthusiasts. We also have motorsport-quality carbon ceramic discs in our own range, but recently we have noticed an increasing number of owners with exceptionally nice cars making the switch back to steel for ease of use and cost of maintenance. We can create literally any size or specification of disc for any car from either a detailed drawing or by using the old carbon disc as a pattern. When you see that the savings can amount to as much as a new family car, it begins to make a lot of sense!’
For more information on Tarox, visit en.tarox.com.
