which first brake mod

[zxmarekxz]

I'm trying to decide what brake mods to go with first.

 

[stkjock]

upgrade to the Brembro

 

[JeremyH]

Kinda of a weird pole. Brake cooling ducts help tremmendously. There relatively easy to make the kit yourself for cheap and then get good pads and fluid. Next would come some ss lines and upgraded rotors.

 

[19COBRA93]

I'd suggest Brembos and SS lines/fluid at the same time. Then cooling ducts.

 

[DusterRT]

Depends. What exactly is it that you're doing with your car, and what are you trying to improve?

 

[zxmarekxz]

thanks guys

Depends. What exactly is it that you're doing with your car, and what are you trying to improve?

I want to give road coarsing a try. I've noticed that my brakes start to give after I give them some action whether on the highway from high speeds or around burbs. so first I want to get rid of that, I think it's called fade, lol . I believe that might be due to either fluid/line heat, or rotor heat, not sure.

I'm looking to get a rollbar for my vert first, then brakes, both after I do my LCAs and kmember with limiters.

 

[SoundGuyDave]

If you step on the pedal, and it feels like a wet sponge, then you boiled the fluid, and the gas is allowing compression. Swap the fluid for higher-temp stuff, like Castrol SRX ($$$$$$) or Motul RBF600 ($$).

If you step on the pedal, and it's nice and firm, but the car just doesn't want to slow down, and you keep stepping on it harder and harder, with little additional braking effect, then it's pad fade.

Any way you cut it, if you're going to put the car out on a road course, your brakes WILL get a workout. My advice would be to start with fresh rotors front and rear (newtakeoff.com or rockauto.com), and a good set of "semi-race" pads, like Carbotech XP10 or Hawk HT-10 up front, and XP8 or Hawk HPS in the rear. Flush the system with good fluid, and then just go out and drive...

Keep your stock stuff, and swap back after the track event. The race stuff is noisy and dusty, but it will survive the (ab)use you're about to put it through.

+1 on the rollbar, but unless you REALLY want it, skip the k-member and the limiters. The stock stuff is plenty strong enough!

SS lines and brake ducts are awesome, once you get your braking figured out. They'll help get that last bit of pedal firmness, and keep your brakes cooler, longer. If you become a track-whore, like me, then upgrade to the BBK as soon as you can afford it. The pads and rotors will last sooo much longer.

Drilled/slotted is pure bling, and actually detrimental to track braking, as it removes mass from the rotor, effectively making it a smaller heat sink. The drill points also create stress risers that are VERY prone to cracking under thermal cycling.

Good call on the rollbar, particularly with a convertible, but I would skip the k-member for now, and put that money into more track time. The stock stuff is plenty strong enough, and you'll get much more benefit from the additional time on track than you will ANY bit of kit.

 

[zxmarekxz]

If you step on the pedal, and it feels like a wet sponge, then you boiled the fluid, and the gas is allowing compression. Swap the fluid for higher-temp stuff, like Castrol SRX ($$$$$$) or Motul RBF600 ($$).

If you step on the pedal, and it's nice and firm, but the car just doesn't want to slow down, and you keep stepping on it harder and harder, with little additional braking effect, then it's pad fade.

Any way you cut it, if you're going to put the car out on a road course, your brakes WILL get a workout. My advice would be to start with fresh rotors front and rear (newtakeoff.com or rockauto.com), and a good set of "semi-race" pads, like Carbotech XP10 or Hawk HT-10 up front, and XP8 or Hawk HPS in the rear. Flush the system with good fluid, and then just go out and drive...

Keep your stock stuff, and swap back after the track event. The race stuff is noisy and dusty, but it will survive the (ab)use you're about to put it through.

+1 on the rollbar, but unless you REALLY want it, skip the k-member and the limiters. The stock stuff is plenty strong enough!

SS lines and brake ducts are awesome, once you get your braking figured out. They'll help get that last bit of pedal firmness, and keep your brakes cooler, longer. If you become a track-whore, like me, then upgrade to the BBK as soon as you can afford it. The pads and rotors will last sooo much longer.

Drilled/slotted is pure bling, and actually detrimental to track braking, as it removes mass from the rotor, effectively making it a smaller heat sink. The drill points also create stress risers that are VERY prone to cracking under thermal cycling.

Good call on the rollbar, particularly with a convertible, but I would skip the k-member for now, and put that money into more track time. The stock stuff is plenty strong enough, and you'll get much more benefit from the additional time on track than you will ANY bit of kit.

thanks for the detailed info, repped . the k w/ limiters is to fix my shifting issues, and I already bought it.

The pedal feel definitely changed, I could still stop, but the confidence level went to zero, I can't recall if braking distance was affected or not. I'm definitely going to add the fluid to my list and maybe the lines, and then see what else I can budget for.

edit: without a rbar, they wouldnt let me in, and the reason why I want to try it is because I like going fast =D

 

[Cone Sweeper]

If you step on the pedal, and it feels like a wet sponge, then you boiled the fluid, and the gas is allowing compression. Swap the fluid for higher-temp stuff, like Castrol SRX ($$$$$$) or Motul RBF600 ($$).

If you step on the pedal, and it's nice and firm, but the car just doesn't want to slow down, and you keep stepping on it harder and harder, with little additional braking effect, then it's pad fade.

Any way you cut it, if you're going to put the car out on a road course, your brakes WILL get a workout. My advice would be to start with fresh rotors front and rear (newtakeoff.com or rockauto.com), and a good set of "semi-race" pads, like Carbotech XP10 or Hawk HT-10 up front, and XP8 or Hawk HPS in the rear. Flush the system with good fluid, and then just go out and drive...

Keep your stock stuff, and swap back after the track event. The race stuff is noisy and dusty, but it will survive the (ab)use you're about to put it through.

+1 on the rollbar, but unless you REALLY want it, skip the k-member and the limiters. The stock stuff is plenty strong enough!

SS lines and brake ducts are awesome, once you get your braking figured out. They'll help get that last bit of pedal firmness, and keep your brakes cooler, longer. If you become a track-whore, like me, then upgrade to the BBK as soon as you can afford it. The pads and rotors will last sooo much longer.

Drilled/slotted is pure bling, and actually detrimental to track braking, as it removes mass from the rotor, effectively making it a smaller heat sink. The drill points also create stress risers that are VERY prone to cracking under thermal cycling.

Good call on the rollbar, particularly with a convertible, but I would skip the k-member for now, and put that money into more track time. The stock stuff is plenty strong enough, and you'll get much more benefit from the additional time on track than you will ANY bit of kit.

Your are the KING of information imo man. You always put up the best information imo. I completely agree with all things said.
I know for me, because I haven't invested in a BBK, i've stuck with the stock setup - but I have a set for racing ( race pads/stock rotors ), race fluid all the time ( and checked before every race ) and a brake cooling kit I made. Which for someone who doesn't have the cash to spend on a BBK is another way to get around it.

 

[Germeezy3]

Brake ducts should be last, especially for occasional track laps. Soundguy Dave pretty much wrote out what you should do word for word! SS lines will give you that last bit of confidence that the spongy factory lines take away and they are fairly inexpensive.

 

[Philostang]

I think the OP wasn't referring to an entirely new K-member, but the K-member brace with limiters (from CHE, I believe). I have those, and they made a big difference in shifting (mostly due to consistency - the tranny isn't jumping around on you and your 2nd-3rd shift is much more precise).

Anyway, like others I'll +1 the rest of what Dave said.

Also, if you're going to be tracking the car more than a very few times a year, get comfortable with the idea that you will need to bleed the brakes very frequently to combat that spongy pedal. First you need a complete flush with a quality high-temp fluid (Motul RBF 600 is recommended), and then bleed before each event. It just becomes a regular on your track-day prep list.

Best,
-j

 

[zxmarekxz]

great info all, thanks!!!

I guess I'll have to learn to bleed the brakes, lol - i knew this was coming

 

[908ssp]

The brake ducts I made last week. I won't hook the hose up till I put the front end back on.

 

[ArizonaGT]

High temp fluid no matter what

 

[19COBRA93]

The brake ducts I made last week. I won't hook the hose up till I put the front end back on.

Edit: Are those veins directional or not?

 

[zxmarekxz]

The brake ducts I made last week. I won't hook the hose up till I put the front end back on.

it looks good, thats fo sure

 

[Infamousjim]

Drilled/slotted is pure bling, and actually detrimental to track braking, as it removes mass from the rotor, effectively making it a smaller heat sink. The drill points also create stress risers that are VERY prone to cracking under thermal cycling.

I'm going to repeat this, as it's huge... DO NOT get drilled/slotted rotors (maybe slotted if it's an expensive track rotor, but NOT drilled)

 

[zxmarekxz]

I'm going to repeat this, as it's huge... DO NOT get drilled/slotted rotors (maybe slotted if it's an expensive track rotor, but NOT drilled)

cool, thanks. I was considering drilled for the bling , but I guess its not worth it. I always suspected that the holes decrease friction surface but figured bigger size would make up for that, and I thought that only the crappy brands broke. Good to know that its a unanimous belief.

 

[knownukes]

I'm going to repeat this, as it's huge... DO NOT get drilled/slotted rotors (maybe slotted if it's an expensive track rotor, but NOT drilled)

+1 I serverely cracked my BAER drilled and slotted rotors in 2 track events. I was lucky to have an unrelated mechanical problem during the 2nd track event(3rd total track days) or it would have been catastrophic for me. BAER makes a slotted only rotor which I have run for several track events w/o issue.

 

[zxmarekxz]

+1 I serverely cracked my BAER drilled and slotted rotors in 2 track events. I was lucky to have an unrelated mechanical problem during the 2nd track event(3rd total track days) or it would have been catastrophic for me. BAER makes a slotted only rotor which I have run for several track events w/o issue.

yikes, good to know.