Tracking the stock callipers ?
 

How many of you track-day Z enthusiasts are using stock calipers, either with stock or oversized rotors? Are the stock calipers up to the task?

lots of posts on this, but in short, not as is. They really need better cooling. At a minimum, you need better pads and fluid.

Yup. I had better fluids...

not better pads..:shakes head:

if im tracking the car i would port the faux fang vent to the brakes, run better fluid and pads. i think the caliper themselves are fine.

I think if you were to plumb some cooling vents to the rotors it would solve a lot of problems, On top of that you would probably want to run better fluid and pads just for the sake of being able to stop better on track.

I think for normal track events under 30 minutes or so just swapping out the brake pads and the fluid is enough. For longer, more aggressive sessions, you'd probably need to do some venting like others have mentioned.

^^^I agree 100%. With Motul RBF600 and XP10 pads I never over heated the brakes in 20 min. sessions.

depends on the track.. With Motul and track pads, I wore them down to the backing plate and boiled the fluid in 20 minutes at little talladega, a very brake intensive track. I won't drive this car there anymore.

Is there a way to tell if you've boiled the brake fluid or overheated the brakes while you are driving? I'd hate to wind up a wall because of it.

they will get spongy, it will either be a very subtle 'that don't feel right' feeling, or noticeable. In either case, you need to slow down, and slow down right now, because they next hard braking, and they will go. The last time I ran the stock calipers on a track, I got just a slight warning, coasted the next .6 miles to the pits, and it took me about 50 yds to stop from 20 mph.

i see. What is cost less venting system? is that something that available now?
sorry if I missed thread.

What type of tracking are you going to do? Are you just starting out with DE track events or are you really going to work the car based on past track experience? Finding a good mix between what your plans are versus experience will determine what price point you will be looking at in terms of brake work/change.

Okay, thanks Mike. As a newbie to tracking (first HPDE next month) it's good to know what to look out for. I doubt I'll have any issues at least at first, since I won't be working my car anywhere close to it's limits.

Even still it would be wise to swap out the pads for track pads for the day. They are very easy to swap on the sport calipers.

Oh, yeah, I'm swapping out the pads to HP+ ones. Also going to Motul RBF600, and SS brakelines in a few days. :tup:

I recommend something a step above HP+ if you haven't already bought them. I used HP+ with no problems whatsoever on my 350Z and my C6 with Z06 brakes, and they worked great. Wore them down to the backing pads in 20 minutes with this car. If you haven't bought them yet, I recommend Carbotech XP10 front and XP8 rear.

Too late, I already have them. I heard the Carbotech's were a bit too harsh for the stock rotors. Any truth in that?

not that I have seen. My friend who really tracks hard gets more than a full year on stock rotors on his 350z with XP16/XP12 combo.

Interesting. Oh well, I heard from others that the HP+ (not HPS) were good for the track and a nice upgrade over stock.

A little harsh for daily driving but not harsh in terms of a track pad (pretty mild actually). I know people that do leave them in, but they don't drive their car every day.

BTW the HP+ suck, their heat capacity is the same as the stock pad, the aggressive initial bite invites ice mode, they are crap. If you haven't used them yet, return them.

Really? Damn. I thought it was the HPS pads that were no better than stock?

The HPS is strictly a street pad, probably about identical to stock. The HP+ is a very aggressive initial bite pad and is very difficult to modulate, very bad pad for a track newbie. The heat handling is only marginally better than stock, and when they start to overheat the ABS will go psycho on our cars. They will work ok on a 2000 lb Honda but our cars are just too heavy for these.

Okay thanks, I'll be contacting Z1 and see if I can ship these back for the Carbotech's.

So luckily Dustin/Chuck @ Z1 were able to help me out and I exchanged the HP+ pads for Carbotech XP10/XP8's. I should have them in time for my HPDE next weekend.

It sounds like they should be okay to Daily drive on for a few days before hand + the drive there (about 500 miles total)? Just a bit noisier and some added brake dust? I wanted to get them installed a few days before hand, just to make certain I have enough time to do it after work one day.

I love the XP10/8s. They are dusty as hell and will start to squeal if you leave them on for a few weeks. I essentially kept them on the car all summer long and my rotors look great. Definitely the way to go in terms of track pads.

Cool, good to know. If I was getting them earlier I'd just put them on this weekend, instead of having to deal with doing it after work one day. Luckily it seems like it's pretty easy to swap brake pads.

I bought some of this stuff: Home Page, I wonder if I should put some on the back of the front fenders and the rear bumper to make it easier to clean up?

I ran xp12/10 combo from march thru October with no real noise, just lots of dust. Even drove roundtrip from atlanta to Wisconsin for a road America weekend