Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghostog27
Any brake kits you would recommend? I was thinking OEM because they work. I did two track days, and heavy braking on the regular 25k miles. I want to do some more track days was considering the Z26 package but I don't think they will hold up to my driving style/track days.
I'm on a budget right now, would like the 4 piston brembos but yea. I just need something that is gonna work. Not warp and have issues because of heavy braking that's why I like OEM.
Any suggestions on the route I should take would be great.
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That's actually pretty good lifespan. I've done maybe 10 track days and at 11k miles I'm right at 2 sets of pads and 1 set of rotors being used. Assuming you haven't added a ton of power or put on a significantly grippier tire the stock pads should do fine if you haven't had any issues with them. Z26 definitely won't work for track driving nor would any other carbon-ceramic pad in that category. If you drive hard enough that you find the OE pads are fading the first thing I'd add is cooling. I think the duct kit for the SS should fit on your car and it's pretty cheap. If that doesn't work you can try going to a more entry-level track pad like Powerstop TrackDay or Hawk's equivalent (blanking on the name right now) and those will resist fading a little better than stock and shouldn't be expensive like Carbotech or some of the high-end racing pads. I'm also a little leery of grippier racing pads because those tend to generate more heat which can cause issues with damaging seals and stuff like that which can lead to brake failures (side note, if you haven't switched to DOT4 fluid already you'll definitely want to do that ASAP).
For rotors definitely stick with OEM or at the very least solid-face rotors. Slots and cross-drilling won't do anything helpful for performance and if anything will be worse since they have less mass for thermal capacity and the thinned-down sections act as a propagation point for cracks.
Past that, I'd start saving for a set of the 4-piston fronts from the SS. Unfortunately you won't be able to swap rears due to the difference in the parking brake, but sets of rotors/pads/calipers do come up in the for sale section of the forum every now and then. From there as you keep getting faster there's more options for pads and the calipers will be better suited to handle the higher heat levels.
And don't have to take any of that as gospel or anything, just my 2 cents.