New Big Brake Kits for Pontiac GTO 2005-06

StopTech,  the ultra-performance division of Centric Parts, has introduced a front Big Brake Kits for the 2005 and 2006 Pontiac GTO.  StopTech Big Brake Kits provide shorter stopping distances, better brake modulation, firmer pedal feel and less brake fade resulting in stronger, more reliable performance on and off the track. 

The StopTech Big Brake Kits for the 2005-06 Pontiac GTO comes with a pair of 355X32 slotted or drilled floating directional AeroRotors featuring billet aluminum mounting brackets with stainless steel hubs, DOT-compliant stainless steel braided Teflon brake lines, high performance street pads and forged, high performance, patented, four-piston front ST-40 calipers. 

The original production run of the Pontiac GTO was built by Pontiac Division of General Motors in the United States from 1964 until the mid 70s.  The Pontiac GTO was relaunched in the United States in 2004, based on the Holden Monaro's V platform. The revival was prompted by former GM chairman Bob Lutz, who drove a Holden Monaro while on a business trip in Australia. It was Pontiac's first American import since the 1993 Pontiac LeMans.  The GTO was produced by GM's Holden subsidiary in the suburb of Elizabeth, South Australia.

StopTech, the ultra-performance division of Centric Parts, is a leading innovator of world-class brake components and systems for production-based racing cars and high performance vehicles on the street and track.  StopTech was the first to offer balanced brake upgrades for production cars and remains the worldwide leader with more than 700 platform offerings to dramatically improve overall braking performance.

StopTech ultra-performance braking systems and components are available through motorsports distributors and performance automotive aftermarket retailers.  For more information on StopTech, visit www.StopTech.com.

Centric Parts Boxing Team is a Knockout

Most automotive companies sponsor race cars and race teams as a way to build brand image in the male dominated demographic. It also adds a note of toughness to be associated with a rough and rugged sport marked with control over power and speed while at constant risk.

Well Centric Parts has taken it to a new level. Meet Team Victory Muay Thai; literally the most kickass team to be sponsored by a brake company ever. The amateur kickboxing and Thai boxing and team proudly wears the company logos including StopTech and Power Slot.

The best part is that this is no empty ploy to pretend the company has a boxing heritage. The team's coach is actually Rod McKiver from the Centric Parts IT Department in Southern California. Plus this isn't the padded gloves and shiny uniform brand of boxing. Where talking about punching and kicking without even a shirt to protect you from the hail of abuse.

Team Victory Muay Thai debuted with their new sponsor last month at the Rising Star Muay Thai Kickboxing event in Las Vegas. They returned with a handful of medals and the respect of their opponents.

This month was their opportunity to prove that lightening can strike twice. They showed up at the California State Commission amateur fight to compete in three different classes. They won all of them. Respect earned.

As Coach, Rod McKiver from Centric Parts may have the most inspirational story of the whole team. Started boxing at 18, he went on to hold an amateur record of 35-6 before moving on to Thai boxing. He earned a professional Muay Thai record of 6-2 before a car accident nearly severed his arm and forced his retirement from the sport.

He began teaching Thai boxing and boxing at different boxing gyms and started a free Martial Art & Boxing outreach program in Inglewood for kids and adults from ages 5 and up. In 2007 he made the jump and opened the first Thai boxing school in Inglewood as a business, and has since trained legions of fighters including UFC fighter Reuben Duran.

So maybe think twice before talking back to the guy from the IT Department. You never know who his friends are.

200 Mile Race Successes End of Long Development Road for StopTech GT Racing Brake Caliper

As Paul Dalla Lana, Joey Hand, and Bill Auberlen stepped up to the podium after the Continental Tire GRAND-AM 200 in Florida, over 500 employees of StopTech performance brakes and Centric Parts on the west coast also pumped their fists in their air in victory. The trio of drivers had piloted the #96 NorthWest/Turner Motorsport BMW M3 to an exciting third place GS class finish at the 200-miler, no small feat, armed with the performance brake company's first official set of StopTech GT racing calipers.

When Dalla Lana and Bill Auberlen won the Kia 200 in Miami a month later, it was an even sweeter day at Southern California facilities of StopTech and Centric Parts.

The STR-40GT racing calipers from StopTech, the ultra-performance division of Centric Parts, were installed not long before the first race and came loaded with the company's braking innovations and optimized for endurance racing. The successful first race represented the end of a long development road for a company that has been working hard to make a name for itself amongst drivers of production performance cars such as Porsche, BMW, Audi and Mercedes. The winning second race proved that lightning can strike twice if you put enough research, development, testing, and quality into the final product.



"Running a production based race car at the limit for over 100 consecutive laps or for 24 hours straight requires consistent, reliable stopping power from the first minute to the last," points out Dan Lelchuk, President of Centric Parts. "The StopTech engineering and design team has delivered a racing caliper for these extreme situations that also adheres to the vehicle modification rules set at these series and events."

The company treated the StopTech GT racing caliper as an underground project during the development phase. http://www.centricparts.com/ and http://www.stoptech.com/, the company websites, made no mention of them. There was only was only a passing reference on its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/stoptech) and on one of its blogs (http://www.stoptechblog.com/) late last year when the StopTech GT racing calipers made a test run at the world's longest closed course endurance race.

At that event, the 2010 25 Hours of Thunderhill, the pre-release set of calipers caught a ride on a Subaru GR STi from the aptly-named Marathon Motorsports. “They never went below perfect,” stated Roland Prisker, one of the vehicle's owners, summarizing the feedback from team's drivers after the event. They were all impressed with the brakes, reporting superb pedal feel and modulation, zero fade or knockback and minimal pad taper. The drivers also reported the majority of their passing took place in braking zones.

"Brake Late, Finish First" has been StopTech's tagline and in many ways the brand's philosophy going into the Continental Tire GRAND-AM 200. Keeping speed a little longer before braking for a turn can give a driver a split second advantage. Daytona International Speedway is a 3.56-mile, 12-turn course, which in a race like this holds nearly 750 turns. Any advantage in the corners magnifies out to a significant one overall in the quest for a podium finish. At the Kia 200 in Miami, there were around 950 turns, enough to give Turner the lead and the victory.

The two-piece, bolted four-piston StopTech STR-40GT racing caliper pulls features from both the original StopTech ST series calipers and the company's top-of-the-line Trophy STR racing calipers. It features StopTech's patented bolt-in bridge technology which reinforces the caliper, virtually eliminates distortion, provides slots to enhance cooling airflow, and allows changing brake pads without disturbing the caliper’s mounting. The calipers are machined from billet and sport a natural anodized finish that is impervious to color change at the continuous high temperatures experienced during race conditions.

The STR-40GT is available with pistons sized for the requirements of any production-based race car, including those with OE master cylinders, boosters and vehicle dynamics control systems. The correct pedal effort, travel and feel are maintained, as well as the distribution of brake torque between front and rear axles, yielding the maximum deceleration on the shortest notice.

Only three years ago, StopTech only offered one line of calipers. The now ten-year old company has since joined the Centric Parts family along with Power Slot, a well-known performance brake rotor company. "Testing, development, engineering - it has all come together in new ways and a well of innovation has sprung up from the synergy," adds Lelchuk. Centric Parts now holds five braking technology patents and StopTech has no less than four distinct lines of Big Brake Kits and more than 700 platform offerings for every flavor of performance driver.

StopTech GT series racing calipers are available now through motorsports distributors and performance automotive aftermarket retailers. Visit http://www.centricparts.com/ for more information.