Surface Transforms Carbon Ceramic Discs – A New Era

We are proud to announce that we now supply, sell and install Surface Transforms’ revolutionary carbon ceramic brake discs.

Our assistance in Surface Transforms’ extremely rigorous research and development programme makes us one of the UK’s leading service providers of these class-leading discs.

We supply discs that will fit cars from the following manufacturers: Porsche, McLaren, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Nissan, Mercedes AMG, and Koenigsegg.

Our video below details some of the benefits of Surface Transforms (ST) discs, as we prepare a Porsche 911 GT3 for an upcoming track day. 

What Are The Benefits Of Surface Transforms?

The unique continuous carbon construction of ST’s discs not only makes them more powerful and durable than factory-fit carbon ceramic discs, but also gives them up to three times the heat conductivity as well, meaning lower temperatures between heavy braking applications.

The reliability and consistency offered by ST’s discs is also greatly improved over standard-fit carbon ceramic brakes, as their layered surface allows for more stable friction between the pads and discs. As a result, precisely controlling the brakes is far easier, leading to increased confidence and driveability. The wear on brake pads is also significantly reduced. 

Surface Transforms’ discs are also incredibly cost-effective particularly when considering the total cost of ownership. ST discs are approximately 50% less expensive than buying replacement carbon ceramic discs from the manufacturer, and uniquely, can be refurbished up to three times after heavy use, giving them an average expected lifespan of 12,000 to 15,000 track miles. ST discs are designed to be compatible with your car’s existing brake calipers, which means the original carbon ceramic discs can be reinstalled when the time comes to sell your car, and its residual value will be protected. Additionally, after the original discs have been reinstalled, you will be able to sell the removed Surface Transforms discs, too.

The Technology Behind Surface Transforms

As opposed to factory-fit carbon ceramic brakes, which are made from chopped pieces of carbon bonded to a ceramic surface with resin, Surface Transforms’ discs are instead made by interweaving perpendicular continuous long carbon fibre sheets to form a 3D multi-directional matrix. The discs are then machined, instead of being moulded.

This matrix is both stronger and lighter than using chopped fibre. It also allows for improved thermal conductivity. In comparison tests with Porsche’s PCCBs, it was found that ST discs ran at approximately 100°C less during heavy braking applications.

During testing, Surface Transforms discovered that this increased thermal conductivity means that it could create carbon ceramic discs that are the same size as cast-iron discs, but could offer improved thermal performance, when previously carbon ceramic discs had to be made larger to compensate for their lower heat conductivity.

The table above shows how Surface Transforms carbon ceramic brake discs reached lower temperatures compared to carbon ceramic discs from Brembo. With equal-sized discs fitted to the ‘Fast SUV’ and ‘Fast Saloon’ vehicles, it is possible to see how much cooler the ST discs ran. The difference between the temperatures on the ‘Fast Saloon’ is particularly notable, with ST discs running approximately 250-300°C less.

The last row of the table show when the discs were fitted to a ‘sports’ category vehicle. The key benefit was that the Surface Transforms discs were able to run slightly cooler than Brembo’s discs, despite being smaller in terms of diameter and width.  ST discs are able to compete against larger carbon ceramic discs, and can deliver better performance. Due to being smaller and thinner, ST’s discs will be lighter, leading to a reduction in unsprung mass, and an improvement in handling and driveability.

Surface Transforms carbon ceramic discs also offer improved weight savings of up to 70% when compared with iron brakes, which is typically around 20 kilograms of unsprung mass. Reducing unsprung mass greatly improves a car’s handling, and is considered more effective than reducing sprung mass in relation to improving how a car drives.

Reducing brake disc mass reduces the inertia in the vehicle’s drivetrain. This allows the whole drivetrain system to rotate with less resistance to changes in speed. When a brake disc is rotating at high speed, it will be less willing to be slowed down, and as such, braking distances will be increased. A lighter brake disc will still have inertia, but it is easier to reduce its speed, as the weight in motion is lower. But as brake discs do not operate in isolation, and are instead considered as a component of the entire drivetrain, reducing their mass is beneficial not only in terms of braking, but also in terms of acceleration, as their lower weight makes them easy to move up to speed. Simply put: lighter brake discs allow a car to accelerate and slow down much faster.

The production process for ST discs also means they are corrosion free, and they also generate less CO2 due to the greatly reduced brake dust that they create. Their carbon layering also reduces noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) in daily driving.

ST discs are designed and manufactured in the UK, to the highest industry standards.

To find discs for your vehicle, follow the link below.

Surface Transforms