Brake advice please

[TCR]

Hi all,

I'm after some advice on brake upgrades. I'm have a 2000 WRX STi track car that I mainly race at Queensland Raceway, where the National Circuit is giving me some grief.

I started out running DBA 4000 front rotors and standard rear rotors with DS2500 pads but was going through a set of pads per race meeting and the front rotors were getting small cracks in them after two meeting due to excessive heat. I have just upgraded to DBA 5000 front rotors and 4000 series rear rotors with the same pads. I also took out the ABS on the car and at the last meeting I made a more conscious effort to be easier on the brakes. At the end of the meeting I had a bit over half the front pads left and the rotors held up ok but still looked as though they'd had a fair bit of heat into them. I have already removed the stone shields and am currently looking into cold air ducts. I have also upgraded to 17" rims in readiness to fit bigger brakes.

Just wondered whether I should be getting better results from the current combination or does my driving style need adjusting? Any advice on different pad or rotor combinations I could try. Eventually I would like some serious brakes and would also like some advice on possible combinations of calipers, rotors and pads to chase those damn porsche GT3s :)

Paul.

[dattoman1000]

Car was underbraked when it left the factory in terms of brakes vs HP and handling
Bigger is better...... 17's will help you achieve this
Depending how big you want to go on calipers will be up to you
Disc size your max will be about 330mm depending on inner clearance of the wheels
STI Brembos will bolt on if you have the inside clearance
Rears won't bolt straight on but can be made to fit.
Ducting is a must
2 piece disc is mandatory to keep the heat away from the bearings
Look to a good caliper...... Brembo or AP if your serious. A proper race caliper would be preferred over a street OE caliper like the factory Brembos if you can afford it.
Bif Red Porsche calipers are suprisingly cheap if you want to stick with something more OE.
Your pad choice is OK but the faster you go the better pad you need
maybe some DS3000 or RS14 Pagids.
Discs will craze whatever you do........ they go thru some serious heat cycles on the track and with the internal stresses in them when they are cast and the heat involved they will continue to crack
They are consumable......... just keep replacing them when they get too bad ( if you can get a fingernail in there they need replacing)

Thats my half arsed opinion anyway

[TCR]

Thanks Dattoman,

I have upgraded to the 17" wheels to eventually run a 330mm rotor. The Bembos won't fit under the standard 17" WRX rim but I want a serious race caliper anyway and have been considering either AP or Alcon calipers, but there still seems to be quite a wide choice of calipers within each brand.
I've heard that the Porsche calipers are surprisingly affordable but just wondered what sort of adaption would be needed for them to fit.

Paul.

[someone]

This is for Nissan Silvias but........ the porsche calipers are about halfway down the page.

http://www.uniqueautosports.com/pricelists/pricelist_silviabrakes.htm

[Southo]

How hot are the rotors actually getting ??

The DBA 4000's and 5000's have the heat indicators on the edge.

[TCR]

How hot are the rotors actually getting ??

The DBA 4000's and 5000's have the heat indicators on the edge.

All the indicators dissapear after the first race, so over 650 degrees celcius.

Paul.

[dattoman1000]

Brakes are seriously overheated then
No matter what pad you put on with those temperatures your performance will suffer
You need to do something about cooling them down so the red stays intact
Vapourise the green........ discolour the yellow...... but the red must stay

[TCR]

I've installed some brake ducts on the weekend so I'll see if that makes any difference next time out. Eventually I will be stepping up to a 330mm rotor and different caliper setup though.

Paul.

[bigmuz]

More excellent posts from dattoman.

Good stuff. Gold star for you. :D

[F|sh]

dattoman

were can i get the brake paint from?

[dattoman1000]

The guy that prepares my car bought a kit off me
He probably has abit left
At over $150 for the 3 paints its an investment most people won't make

[F|sh]

so peter howard has some.....

i might make some inquires tonight.

[oldcorollas]

thermal crayons etc from metal industry?

[F|sh]

hmm i wonder if heat treat has some.

[dattoman1000]

I'm seeing Peter tomorrow....... I'll ask if he has any left

[F|sh]

d/w about it. Will source thru a different avenue.