[s-cars] The front brake upgrade grinds forward

[Evan Levine]

Aha, I understand you. Unfortunately I really don't know much about the
difference other than what you can read on stasis' website. (If you haven't
read that you may want to, it does a decent job explaining it)  but of
course cannot offer you much in terms of durability/truing issues.

With regards to the ducting, this is one of the better write-ups with pics
I've seen and is basically my plan for my E36 track car.
http://www.bmw-m.net/TechProc/brake_duct.htm

I haven't actually done it yet due to the fact that the brakes are
performing far better than I expected as is. Learning to brake better (which
you may already be doing) was the biggest issue for me. I was braking too
early and not hard enough thus extending the amount of time spent braking
which was causing any fade issues I was having. As I'm getting the hang of
trusting the car and braking harder and shorter it does not seem to be an
issue.

I think the main point people try to get across in the ducting systems is
evenly distributing the airflow over the rotor, which is done by directing
the air to the center of the rotor. For a UrS I think you'd have to do some
real custom work, whereas on the Miata and I would think STI I'm sure there
are kits out there. Or at least backing plates that you can mount and design
your own tubing to direct the air from up front.



On 3/23/06, Taka Mizutani <t44tqtro at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Evan-
> Thanks.
>
> I meant, what are the advantages of a floating 2-piece rotor versus a
> fixed 2-piece rotor? In terms of noise, durability, truing issues,
> replacement issues, etc.
>
> As for brake ducting, yes, it does matter to me. I'm not fading my brakes
> on a regular drive, but I have experienced brake fade on the street. I don't
> think I'd see brake fade in the STi (3300 lb. car with 326x30 front rotors)
> but I think it is very possible with the Miata (tiny rotors, albeit 2400
> lbs). I know brake ducting solutions are soon to be available for the STi if
> not already, don't know about the Miata- I wanted to hear some discussion
> about brake ducting and proper application of such.
>
> As for track use, I faded the Porsche 996 caliper / MBZ 320x30mm rotor
> running Hawk HPS pads at the Glen. Repeated 135 to 60 on the back straight
> and 100-110 to 60 on the front straight caused major brake fade by the end
> of a session, major "check your shorts" moment on the front straight when
> the pedal went to the floor and I had to look for a suitable place to crash.
> Fortunately, I was able to scrub enough speed w/ understeer to be able to
> keep the car on the track. :-)
>
> Taka
>
>
>
> On 3/23/06, Evan Levine <evan.levine at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > #1 - Floating/2 piece rotors are typically much lighter than solid
> > rotors. This is a good benefit for the track. Once you have the hats, you
> > also can simply replace the rotor rings with many different types and
> > relatively cheaply which is good for track usage.
> >
> > IN MY OPINION - I don't believe that there is any real downside to
> > 2-piece rotors other than having a MUCH higher cost than solid. For serious
> > track usage the weight savings is worth something, but on the street I think
> > the cost far out weighs the advantages. If you're on any sort of budget... a
> > solid rotor of the same dimensions on the street should have just about the
> > same braking performance.
> >
> > #2. I Have no idea.
> >
> > #3. Similar to #1, good brake ducting will allow better cooling for your
> > brakes at any amount of speed where there is wind passing through the car.
> > But back to the original question, does this matter for you personally? Does
> > your big brake kit need better cooling driving to work in the morning? I
> > would guess not considering I had no problems with mine running 25 minutes
> > sessions at VIR.
> >
> > Also - simply putting holes in places and such does not always have the
> > desired effect. While good brake ducting may be effective, I think a lot of
> > the products out there and some home made solutions may really be doing
> > nothing at all.
> >
> > Again, alot of this is opinion.
> >
> > Evan
> >
>
>