ORIGINAL: 944Turbo
There was an article linked from here a while back (hilux?) that indicated monoblocs may be more about ease of manufacture than strength. I am dont think BR/BB's fit under 16" wheels, my MB's were clipping wheel weights on my 16 CS wheels and my 17"s look pretty full,
Tony
Tony, I agree with you and i'm glad you said it first. The one-piece casting of the monoblocks will certainly lead to a lighter caliper therefore lower unsprung weight. Stories of BB's/BR's bowing under the stress of hard braking are poppycock in my view. In fact if anything the BB's/BR's should be stiffer than the monoblocks by virtue of the four huge steel bolts holding the two halves together. I think this can be seen in the design of the monoblocks such as the GT3 MK1/911 turbo calipers (bearing in mind they have the same piston sizes therefore the same power) in that they are physically larger than BB's/BR's in order to get the strength in there, and the fact they have had to be reinforced by a steel bolt through their centre to prevent them from bowing. I don't think the GT3mk1 caliper will fit under 17" rims despite having the same disc diameter than BB's. So monoblocks are the way to go for unsprung weight advantage, but that's it.
There is no doubt that the improvements in casting technology over time mean that monoblocks are simpler and cheaper to be manufactured over 2-piece calipers by virtue of a reduced parts count and a much simplified assembly process. But one thing for sure, the best part of the monoblock design is the fact that they don't need caliper plates, but that is a design feature that could be incorporated into 2-piece calipers and will only benefit you 15yrs down the line.
The problem with upgrading radial mount calipers on a radial mount hub is that unless the hole spacing between the hub and the caliper is bang on, like with medium black to big black conversions, then an adapter is required, and the chances are you will not have enough room or space to use adaptors. This is the difficulty Oli had with his GT3 MK2 6-pot caliper conversion which lead him to say it would be an easier conversion on axial mount calipers.
Patrick - see link below for the Porscheshop monoblock upgrade brake kits, one of which is for the M030 944 turbo's. I don't think the Boxster calipers are as large as BB's/BR's/GT3mk1/911turbo calipers but you may be able to source the necessary adaptors to suit your needs.
http://www.porscheshop.co.uk/acatalog/porsche_944_performance_brake_kits.html
