Italian company Brembo has spent the last 56 years building the best brakes in the world. They supply kits not just for aftermarket enthusiasts, but also to top motorsport teams and car manufacturers as Original Equipment (OE). But even the best cannot deliver their promise of “utmost safety, comfort, and improved product performance” if the brakes fitted on a car are fake.
No, we’re not talking about those tacky, gaudy caliper covers that ricers can’t enough of.
The problem here is, people are getting ripped off whenever they buy counterfeit Brembo brakes. They pay good money for an imitation that may look like the real deal, but will never measure up in terms of durability, quality, and most important of all, performance.
Trust us, you do not want your knock-off brakes to fail during a track day or spirited drive, specially when you’re barreling towards a corner at over 100 km/h.
What’s good is, Brembo has provided 5 ways so we can spot an authentic brake kit from a fake so no one ever gets duped.
Anti-Counterfeiting Card
If you must know, all Brembo High Performance Components come with an Anti-Counterfeiting Card. This should come sealed in a wallet, with a silver strip on the back, that will reveal a 6-digit code when scratched. Enter this on original.brembo.com to confirm that its an original.
Sale of Calipers Alone
Always keep in mind that Brembo never sells calipers separately, without the other key components. Because kits should always sold as a set. But here’s where it gets tricky. At times, the caliper itself may be a real Brembo product. However, it was designed for a specific vehicle, to work with a specific disc, adapter clamps, and pads, which will not suit another model.
The Cost
It’s no secret that Brembo brake kits can get expensive. You’re paying for the R&D, technical expertise, quality, performance, and to some extent, the brand name. So if a product is being sold at a ridiculously low price, you might want to think twice. Even if you remove shipping costs, sales margins, and ‘suki’ discounts, Brembo kits don’t come cheap.
Always remember that if sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
The Catalogue
Everything that comes out of Brembo is designed for a specific application, for a specific vehicle, and can be found in their catalogue. Their inventory stretches from Abarth to Volvo and everything in between. However, do note that Brembo does not have brake kits for all vehicles.
See if they have a kit for your model by searching through the Brembo Brake System Application List. If it’s not there, there’s a good chance that the set you’re looking at is fake or a shady mishmash of real parts.
Or you can always remove all doubts and double-check with an Official Brembo Distributor.
Official Brembo Distributor
When in doubt, you can always buy direct from an Official Brembo Distributor. These guys only sell authentic Brembo, offer parts support, and honor manufacturer warranty.
Find the Brembo Distributor in the Philippines by visiting brembo.com. To make life simpler, we looked it up and it’s AutoPerformance Ph and you can shoot them an e-mail at info@autoperformance.com.ph.
