Finally the last piece of the puzzle arrived! (this was actually last week but never got around to posting until now). It’s been a grueling and kind of frustrating process to get these suckers but I’m glad they’re finally in my hands.

When I originally ordered them on January 31st, I was told that it would take a week or two to assemble at the Brembo factory and then it would be shipped out. Great – not a big deal – I wasn’t in a huge rush and it was still pretty much the dead of winter with tons of snow on the ground so it’s not like they were going on the car anytime soon. A few weeks go by and I hadn’t heard anything so I followed up. I was told that they are still preparing the parts and they will be in touch soon. Another few weeks go by and still nothing. By this point, it was already March and I had no Brembos in my hands. I followed up yet again and was told they are reaching out to find out what the status is. Finally, by mid-March they said the product was going to be shipped ASAP and well… It was shipped the week after. Whatever – I still couldn’t put them on anyway but I hate being told one to two weeks and actually waiting months for something. I get that there are things that happen, but typically I find that as a customer, we’re given the best customer service with the shortest estimated wait time until we hand over the money then it goes downhill from there. Not ALL the time – but maybe it’s just me. Again, not a big deal – I got the product, they delivered on what I ordered so I’m not going to stay bitter about it but I would rather have a “it’ll be about 2 months” and have it show up in 4 weeks rather than a “it’ll be about 2 weeks” and have it show up in 2 months, you know?

Anyway – not only do I get to play ring around the rosie with this (unnamed) company for a few months, now I get to do it all over again with FedEx. The delivery was scheduled to be on a Friday. I called them on Monday before it even crossed the border and asked for them to hold it at the facility before having it go out on the truck for delivery when it got to Calgary. “No problem”, they said – and the tracking was updated. On Wednesday, I get a call saying the package is ready for pick up. I think to myself “whoa, an early arrival date. Good for me”. So I ask where can I pick it up and they said “Great Falls, Montana”. Turns out they decided to hold it at the border rather than where it’s originally supposed to go. Smart. No big deal – I tell them that this is a mistake – it’s gotta come to Calgary and I’ll pick it up when it gets here. Come Friday, it makes it’s way to Calgary with the exception that it will be held. What happens? It goes on the truck and out for delivery – I don’t get my brakes on Friday. Ugh. To save yourself the extra reading – the same thing happens on Monday too. I finally call again and ask that it does not go on the truck again and they assure me it will not. I end up picking them up on Tuesday – they did actually hold it the third time – but still a frustrating process nonetheless.

That’s my rant. At the end of the day, I got my brakes and I’m happy. I just wanted to do a quick post showcasing them before they got on the car – which likely won’t be for another few weeks until this weather decides to get its shit together. It’s April and it’s still snowing…

The beautiful boxes. lol

The GT calipers in all their glory. I can’t wait to put them on the car and get the car down on the ground.

Stainless steel brake lines

The slotted rotors. The coating should go away after the break in.

Another shot of the calipers. The packaging is amazing. The brakes come with a manual check list of everything to ensure all is in working order and all parts are accounted for. It’s then signed off by someone at Brembo and dated. I like those details.

Here we have Endless RF-650 brake fluid courtesy of Eric over at Zokusha Tuning. Shortly after receiving the brakes, I went on Instagram and asked for recommendations on new brake fluid. I’ve tried a few and am no expert in brake fluid so I thought I’d try something new. In the past, I’ve always used Motul as that seemed to be one that lots of people gravitated towards. One of the first times I had used Motul was about 10 years ago in my Civic. I had tracked with regular stock fluid and that was terrible – the pedal was mushy and it wasn’t long after the braking was just fading away. After switching to Motul, the braking was MUCH better on the following track days and that would’ve been the first time I became a believer.

This time around, a lot of the recommendations that came in were for Endless RF650. Not just for the JDM scene points, but this ended up being one of the top notch brake fluids out there. I mean, everyone knows I’ve built a track car and go to shows. I’m not going to front that fact but I hope I get some seat time on the track some time this year – I’ve been itching it but other things get in the way. It doesn’t help that it’s like 2.5 hours and a hotel stay away for a night just to get to our nearest track.

Upon receiving all the recommendations, Eric reached out and let me try out a liter of this apparently epic Endless brake fluid. I’m super stoked to be trying this out in combination with the Brembos.

If any of you local guys need parts, I highly suggest checking him out here:

https://zokushatuning.com/

Over the last year, he’s been super helpful with getting me quotes and information on products with no hesitation. He can get a lot of stuff that you don’t see on the website obviously – reach out to him via Instagram DM’s or email. You won’t be disappointed with his prices.

Once I get the Brembos on the car, I’ll be doing a review on it all and a write up on how everything looks and feels. Stay tuned! Now we just wait for the snow to go away so we can all have some fun.