“One of the nicest aspects of owning a P* has been the opportunity for engagement with other owners. I’ve learned so much from others with more experience and expertise and that has enabled me to take my car further in its development than I could have ever done on my own. This collaboration was at the center of bringing a series of new Rotora brake products to the P* aftermarket.
Boban had approached Rotora (located in Socal) about developing products for the P*, Rotora reached out to Robert who they knew to be involved with Polestars. Robert recently sold his P*, so he referred Rotora to me. My P* is not a daily driver, so it’s available for manufacturers to borrow, as product workups can take weeks. I offered my car to Rotora who used it as the fit model for the line of brake components displayed with this post. I’ve posted specs on the products to IG:lcfpolestar,
and I will be covering installation and performance feedback on Swedespeed. As for initial impressions of the Rotora products; first off, I am biased, objectivity left the house when I pushed the spend $$$ button. Prior to this project, I had never heard the term “Brake Bling”. This is truly jewelry for your P*. The quality is off the hook. Everything is either forged or machined aluminum. Rotora tunes the brake bias to increase the rear bite, which unloads the fronts. I can tell you, this modification has completely changed how my car behaves under braking. So with that I will suspend my comments. More to follow on IG and Swedespeed.”
I have always appreciated the Brembo front brakes on the P* and consider them to be one of the cars signature features. I, like many owners though, were never completely pleased by the disconnect between the performance oriented Brembos in the front and the very plain Jane rear brakes. Several owners have tackled this in various ways, with Elevate Cars making a direct replacement slotted rotor which matches the pattern on the front. Along with a polish and paint of the rear caliper and a set of P* graphics that makes a nice cosmetic upgrade that goes along way to resolve the appearance gap.
When Rotora approached me about using my car as a test fir for a new line of products for the P* I decided to go all in on a front and rear brake upgrade. This choice is not for the pocketbook faint of heart, and I am still in denial over what I spent.
They offer two brake system upgrades:
Option One: is new two piece cross drilled front and rear rotors, and new four pot rear calipers, painted to match the silver Brembos with the same exact caliper paint Volvo uses. This includes stainless steel brakelines and is fully compatible with the E-parking brake. The Rotora label can be omitted allowing the owner to place P* graphics on the rear caliper.
Option Two: A complete replacement of front and rear calipers and rotors, details here (I also replaced my brake fluid with Motul 660):
STREET CHALLENGE SYSTEM:
FRONT:
Forged Aluminum (2024-T6) 6-Piston Caliper (RF603 type, Silver)
380x32mm (15″) 2-Piece Directional Disc Ring (Airfoil Slot)
Forged Aluminum Bell Hat (6061-T6, black hard-anodize finish) with Anti-Rattle Float Drive Hardware
Forged Aluminum Caliper Bracket (7075-T6, black hard-anodize finish)
Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines
H6 High-Ceramic Performance Pad
REAR:
Forged Aluminum (2024-T6) 4-Piston Caliper (RF411 type, Silver)
355x29mm (14″) 2-Piece Directional Disc Ring (Airfoil Slot)
Forged Aluminum Bell Hat (6061-T6, black hard-anodize finish) with Anti-Rattle Float Drive Hardware
Forged Aluminum Caliper Bracket (7075-T6, black hard-anodize finish)
Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines (Upper & Lower)
H6 High-Ceramic Performance Pad
Rotora Electronic Parking Brake Module
Both options improve the braking performance of the car. Much the same way a aftermarket rear sway bar (RSB) shifts some of the handling bias to the rear of the car, so does this brake upgrade. Volvo purposely heavily bias the car to understeer as that is the safest for the general consumer. By shifting a calculated proportional share of the bias to the rear, the car livens up. As my race car alignment specialist observed when he was adjusting the camber and toe of my rear wheels, “…your stock setup is too tight…” Even with this brake upgrade, the brakes have been tuned by Rotora to maintain an understeer balance, the back end stays planted. Both myself and owner “Boban” (who installed Option One), have described that the car “…brakes now as if you are deploying a drag chute”. I’ll post more impressions once I get to track the car but I am very happy at this point. If you are interested in these products for your car, contact [email protected], mention this post to receive special pricing.-Jeff
See a photo collection here (you may have to cut and paste): https://www.flickr.com/photos/166260924@N04/albums/72157706179646031
And some immediate eye candy:
3 by lcfpolestar, on Flickr
11 by lcfpolestar, on Flickr
15 by lcfpolestar, on Flickr
5 by lcfpolestar, on Flickr
18 by lcfpolestar, on Flickr