[CleanAss]

I have about 9000 miles on the car. The track was about 110 degrees this weekend, hitting 113 at one point. I was amazed with all aspects of the car, except the braking system.

Initially I did completely aggressive braking and it took only 3 laps to overheat my front brakes to 850 degrees rendering them completely useless, even when rolling 5 mph. Afterwards I did very light breaking and relying more on engine breaking successfully keeping them withing 400 degrees.

I posted 2:09 time within those first few laps, right before I overheated the brakes. However, I could've done much better, as this was my first time driving this car on the track and I was very cautious about it. Without aggressive braking I posted consisted 2:10 time.

I didn't use the racing break plastic replacement cover that came from factory. I wanted to see how the car would stand up in stock form. Only mods I have is throttle body and subwoofer in the back (yes I rolled with it, and AC on

If it weren't for the breaks, this car would be completely incredible. Total control through the corners. Throttle very gradual and easy to modulate oversteer through corners. I used all the traction control and stabilitrack features with the "track" mode. I found the traction control to be perfect as it saved me well a few times I almost lost it, yet allowed me to powerslide through the corners. The revmatch for stickshift is incredible. Perfect for those hot corners. Also first gear tops out at 52 mph making hairpins awesome power drifts as the transmission lets you shift into 1st at any RPM like butter.

The power band is great and I could do majority of the track in 3rd gear. Few sections I would do in 2nd, and one corner in first. Few high speed sections in 4th. Don't think I went faster than 130mph anywhere.

The car does start to exhibit some body roll when throwing full weight into corners left then right at 90mph and smashing it atop 3rd. Still, feels very minor and managable.

Now only question: why should I install break ducts and not simply upgrade to better breaking compound?

[fighting irish]

Brake pad (not break) compound is only a small part of what can cause brake fade. Brake fade can also be caused by boiling your braking fluid and cooking your caliper seals. I'm assuming you also didn't replace the brake fluid with DOT4 like the manual recommends? High temps can also theoretically cause rotor warpage. Running your brakes at too high of a temperature can significantly damage your calipers. None of this will be fixed by simply changing the pads to a different material.

Read the manual, and do as it says. DOT4 fluid and brake ducts, and you will have a much safer time. It might be a PITA to put them on, but you really should do it. If you can afford a track day, you can probably afford to have someone install them for you. Track days are expensive! But much more expensive if you go the unsafe route...

[mbar]

People, please do yourself a favor and upgrade your brakes before going on the track for the first time. Yes, I understand that everybody hope they can skip the upgrade on their first time on the track (me guilty as well). These cars are FAST and we are at the peak of the summer. At minimum upgrade your pads and brake fluid. If you have another hour install the brake deflectors (SS model).
Yes, I know some people had success with stock pads, however every track, driver, weather is different. The last thing you want is to ignore a mild fade due to excitement and find out you don't have brakes at the end of a straight.

Be safe and have fun

[LibertyHill]

Any reason not to leave the brake ducts on in dry southern climates?

[mbar]

Originally Posted by LibertyHill

Any reason not to leave the brake ducts on in dry southern climates?

You will be exposed more to road debris and the car has a lower clearance.

[bballr4567]

Why not have the ducts on to keep the brakes cool? The cooler they are the better they work and give better feel.

[mjk3888]

I think the answer to the hassle of installing and removing the track brake deflectors each time is to create a custom brake duct with intake nozzles in the grill and flex hose run to the calipers.

I'm going to be looking into this when I get my 1LE to see if I can come up with a good DIY solution. I want it to retain factory ground clearance, not steal air away from the engine radiators, and have a way of being blocked off to keep debris from getting to the calipers during daily driving.

Maybe something could be done with the locations shown below? I'm not sure what the orange circled ducts go to but maybe they can be more effeciently used to cool the brakes if some hose is used to point the air directly at the calipers. If not I wonder if there is any room to run a duct from under the LED fog lamps and route them to the brakes.

[12blkgrayRS]

I flushed mine with Dot4 Motul and I was fine after a day at Texas world speedway, even with the stock brakes. V6 brakes mind you! My last car was upgraded to brembos and slotted rotors. it seems the new car brakes better than the old one...the weight reduction is also very noticeable in the new car.
Although the transmission suffered since I had no aux cooling. soon that will be rectified.
Btw, were you braking in that picture in the middle of a turn?

[G Fo12ce]

Originally Posted by mjk3888

I think the answer to the hassle of installing and removing the track brake deflectors each time is to create a custom brake duct with intake nozzles in the grill and flex hose run to the calipers.

I'm going to be looking into this when I get my 1LE to see if I can come up with a good DIY solution. I want it to retain factory ground clearance, not steal air away from the engine radiators, and have a way of being blocked off to keep debris from getting to the calipers during daily driving.

Maybe something could be done with the locations shown below? I'm not sure what the orange circled ducts go to but maybe they can be more effeciently used to cool the brakes if some hose is used to point the air directly at the calipers. If not I wonder if there is any room to run a duct from under the LED fog lamps and route them to the brakes.

According to this post the Euro models replace the LED DRL's with a brake duct.

Image from the Euro configurator


His is a 2.0 so the ducts are vertical but maybe there is a horizontal version for the SS. That might be a clean option if you don't mind loosing the DRL or if it's easy to swap just for track days.

What would be really cool is if someone made a DRL scoop combo but I'm sure that would necessitate grill mods.

[HumanWiki]

Originally Posted by CleanAss

I have about 9000 miles on the car. The track was about 110 degrees this weekend, hitting 113 at one point. I was amazed with all aspects of the car, except the braking system.

Initially I did completely aggressive braking and it took only 3 laps to overheat my front brakes to 850 degrees rendering them completely useless, even when rolling 5 mph. Afterwards I did very light breaking and relying more on engine breaking successfully keeping them withing 400 degrees.

I posted 2:09 time within those first few laps, right before I overheated the brakes. However, I could've done much better, as this was my first time driving this car on the track and I was very cautious about it. Without aggressive braking I posted consisted 2:10 time.

I didn't use the racing break plastic replacement cover that came from factory. I wanted to see how the car would stand up in stock form. Only mods I have is throttle body and subwoofer in the back (yes I rolled with it, and AC on

If it weren't for the breaks, this car would be completely incredible. Total control through the corners. Throttle very gradual and easy to modulate oversteer through corners. I used all the traction control and stabilitrack features with the "track" mode. I found the traction control to be perfect as it saved me well a few times I almost lost it, yet allowed me to powerslide through the corners. The revmatch for stickshift is incredible. Perfect for those hot corners. Also first gear tops out at 52 mph making hairpins awesome power drifts as the transmission lets you shift into 1st at any RPM like butter.

The power band is great and I could do majority of the track in 3rd gear. Few sections I would do in 2nd, and one corner in first. Few high speed sections in 4th. Don't think I went faster than 130mph anywhere.

The car does start to exhibit some body roll when throwing full weight into corners left then right at 90mph and smashing it atop 3rd. Still, feels very minor and managable.

Now only question: why should I install break ducts and not simply upgrade to better breaking compound?

You went out in 110° weather, with OEM fluid and no track ducts? That was pretty much a sure bet to overheat and fail. The manual even tells you not to do that.

Next time, install your ducts, run something like Motul RBF or similar and you'll last much longer. You'll probably still cut down the OEM pads, but they'll at least last longer because they glaze or your fluid boils.

I was out in 85F w/o them and even with my Motul, the pedal was staring to fade. There is simply not enough non-vented cooling in the wheel area for constant hard braking with the factory equipment to dissipate. These cars, while lighter than Gen 5, have more power and can create more speed going in to braking zones.. Now, while they have go faster in to corners, you still need to bleed some speed.

I got as much as I did in March/April at Road America with OEM pads because its was 50F and that track has a nearly 1mile long front straight and two almost as long straights evenly spaced. So, you've got plenty of straight high-speeds to cool the rotors/pads off.

[mjk3888]

Originally Posted by G Fo12ce

According to this post the Euro models replace the LED DRL's with a brake duct.

Image from the Euro configurator


His is a 2.0 so the ducts are vertical but maybe there is a horizontal version for the SS. That might be a clean option if you don't mind loosing the DRL or if it's easy to swap just for track days.

What would be really cool is if someone made a DRL scoop combo.

That would be my preference, to functionalize the false intake below the DRL's while retaining the lights themselves.

[Thor142]

So you didn't upgrade your fluid to DOT 4 and install the cooling ducts? Why? You didn't do what the manual said to do and your brakes failed

[Cuda7050]

Originally Posted by CleanAss

I have about 9000 miles on the car. The track was about 110 degrees this weekend, hitting 113 at one point. I was amazed with all aspects of the car, except the braking system.

Initially I did completely aggressive braking and it took only 3 laps to overheat my front brakes to 850 degrees rendering them completely useless, even when rolling 5 mph. Afterwards I did very light breaking and relying more on engine breaking successfully keeping them withing 400 degrees.

I posted 2:09 time within those first few laps, right before I overheated the brakes. However, I could've done much better, as this was my first time driving this car on the track and I was very cautious about it. Without aggressive braking I posted consisted 2:10 time.

I didn't use the racing break plastic replacement cover that came from factory. I wanted to see how the car would stand up in stock form. Only mods I have is throttle body and subwoofer in the back (yes I rolled with it, and AC on

If it weren't for the breaks, this car would be completely incredible. Total control through the corners. Throttle very gradual and easy to modulate oversteer through corners. I used all the traction control and stabilitrack features with the "track" mode. I found the traction control to be perfect as it saved me well a few times I almost lost it, yet allowed me to powerslide through the corners. The revmatch for stickshift is incredible. Perfect for those hot corners. Also first gear tops out at 52 mph making hairpins awesome power drifts as the transmission lets you shift into 1st at any RPM like butter.

The power band is great and I could do majority of the track in 3rd gear. Few sections I would do in 2nd, and one corner in first. Few high speed sections in 4th. Don't think I went faster than 130mph anywhere.

The car does start to exhibit some body roll when throwing full weight into corners left then right at 90mph and smashing it atop 3rd. Still, feels very minor and managable.

Now only question: why should I install break ducts and not simply upgrade to better breaking compound?

OP The 2:08 is a very good lap time. The best part is that you and the SS were faster than a 2016 GT 350 on both Saturday and Sunday! Nice work!

http://www.speedventures.com/results/Default.aspx

Saturday Lap Times:

SS 2:09.657
GT 350 2:10.139

Sunday Lap Times

SS 2:08.814
GT 350 2:08.855

[Cuda7050]

Hey CleanAss, what is your driving experience level at the track?