STILLEN brake cooling kit

SPOHN · 04-23-2012, 09:07 AM

^lol

wstar · 04-24-2012, 12:30 AM

Ran the new ducts at MSR Houston this weekend. No front fade or ice-mode issues all weekend w/ the ducts running and the new XP10 front pads.

I duct-taped off the fang intakes for one session (2nd of 4 sessions on the second day) as discussed earlier to compare. With the ducts closed, about 2/3rds into the session I was getting some front pad fade and extended braking distances. Also had one hiccup of ice-mode late in that run that was easy to correct quickly with the pedal. Un-taped the fangs for the next run and the system went right back to zero fade for the rest of the weekend.

I did get the rotor paint and caliper strips shipped to me in time. I ran the same spot of Genesis rotor paint all weekend. It stayed in the "bright red" range (679-804F) all through my first 5 sessions with the ducts, then it bumped up into a somewhat browner color (804-1074F, probably at the lower end of that range, not a huge change) for the one run I taped off the ducts.

I put the Alcon caliper temp strips on the outsides of the calipers (over the Nissan logo) and they never even blacked out the lowest section (250F), regardless of the duct situation. So either my caliper temps are awesome anyways, or it's just stupid user error with me putting the temp strips in the wrong place (do they need to go elsewhere to feel the heat, and/or does the thick grey nissan caliper paint insulate them too much?).

In any case, pretty pleased with the results

sixpax · 04-24-2012, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

Ran the new ducts at MSR Houston this weekend. No front fade or ice-mode issues all weekend w/ the ducts running and the new XP10 front pads.

I duct-taped off the fang intakes for one session (2nd of 4 sessions on the second day) as discussed earlier to compare. With the ducts closed, about 2/3rds into the session I was getting some front pad fade and extended braking distances. Also had one hiccup of ice-mode late in that run that was easy to correct quickly with the pedal. Un-taped the fangs for the next run and the system went right back to zero fade for the rest of the weekend.

I did get the rotor paint and caliper strips shipped to me in time. I ran the same spot of Genesis rotor paint all weekend. It stayed in the "bright red" range (679-804F) all through my first 5 sessions with the ducts, then it bumped up into a somewhat browner color (804-1074F, probably at the lower end of that range, not a huge change) for the one run I taped off the ducts.

I put the Alcon caliper temp strips on the outsides of the calipers (over the Nissan logo) and they never even blacked out the lowest section (250F), regardless of the duct situation. So either my caliper temps are awesome anyways, or it's just stupid user error with me putting the temp strips in the wrong place (do they need to go elsewhere to feel the heat, and/or does the thick grey nissan caliper paint insulate them too much?).

In any case, pretty pleased with the results

Great info ... thanks for sharing. Going to look into those cooling strips and paint.

ChrisSlicks · 04-24-2012, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

Ran the new ducts at MSR Houston this weekend. No front fade or ice-mode issues all weekend w/ the ducts running and the new XP10 front pads.

I duct-taped off the fang intakes for one session (2nd of 4 sessions on the second day) as discussed earlier to compare. With the ducts closed, about 2/3rds into the session I was getting some front pad fade and extended braking distances. Also had one hiccup of ice-mode late in that run that was easy to correct quickly with the pedal. Un-taped the fangs for the next run and the system went right back to zero fade for the rest of the weekend.

I did get the rotor paint and caliper strips shipped to me in time. I ran the same spot of Genesis rotor paint all weekend. It stayed in the "bright red" range (679-804F) all through my first 5 sessions with the ducts, then it bumped up into a somewhat browner color (804-1074F, probably at the lower end of that range, not a huge change) for the one run I taped off the ducts.

I put the Alcon caliper temp strips on the outsides of the calipers (over the Nissan logo) and they never even blacked out the lowest section (250F), regardless of the duct situation. So either my caliper temps are awesome anyways, or it's just stupid user error with me putting the temp strips in the wrong place (do they need to go elsewhere to feel the heat, and/or does the thick grey nissan caliper paint insulate them too much?).

In any case, pretty pleased with the results

Your rotor temps are in-line with what I would expect for your setup. Instantaneous surface temps on the face of the rotor are several hundred degrees higher.

I put my caliper stickers in the same place, got the fronts up to 400F which can be enough to boil the stock fluid, on one occasion I did see 450F. Ambient temperature does play a significant role in that as well as session duration and track layout.

Good results for the ducts I would say.

Nixlimited · 04-24-2012, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

Ran the new ducts at MSR Houston this weekend. No front fade or ice-mode issues all weekend w/ the ducts running and the new XP10 front pads.

I duct-taped off the fang intakes for one session (2nd of 4 sessions on the second day) as discussed earlier to compare. With the ducts closed, about 2/3rds into the session I was getting some front pad fade and extended braking distances. Also had one hiccup of ice-mode late in that run that was easy to correct quickly with the pedal. Un-taped the fangs for the next run and the system went right back to zero fade for the rest of the weekend.

I did get the rotor paint and caliper strips shipped to me in time. I ran the same spot of Genesis rotor paint all weekend. It stayed in the "bright red" range (679-804F) all through my first 5 sessions with the ducts, then it bumped up into a somewhat browner color (804-1074F, probably at the lower end of that range, not a huge change) for the one run I taped off the ducts.

I put the Alcon caliper temp strips on the outsides of the calipers (over the Nissan logo) and they never even blacked out the lowest section (250F), regardless of the duct situation. So either my caliper temps are awesome anyways, or it's just stupid user error with me putting the temp strips in the wrong place (do they need to go elsewhere to feel the heat, and/or does the thick grey nissan caliper paint insulate them too much?).

In any case, pretty pleased with the results

Great info. As MSR Houston used to be my home track, curious where you would see fade on the track. I never had any issues with my STi, but I got some fade occasionally on my brother's vette.

Kyle@STILLEN · 04-24-2012, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

Ran the new ducts at MSR Houston this weekend. No front fade or ice-mode issues all weekend w/ the ducts running and the new XP10 front pads.

I duct-taped off the fang intakes for one session (2nd of 4 sessions on the second day) as discussed earlier to compare. With the ducts closed, about 2/3rds into the session I was getting some front pad fade and extended braking distances. Also had one hiccup of ice-mode late in that run that was easy to correct quickly with the pedal. Un-taped the fangs for the next run and the system went right back to zero fade for the rest of the weekend.

I did get the rotor paint and caliper strips shipped to me in time. I ran the same spot of Genesis rotor paint all weekend. It stayed in the "bright red" range (679-804F) all through my first 5 sessions with the ducts, then it bumped up into a somewhat browner color (804-1074F, probably at the lower end of that range, not a huge change) for the one run I taped off the ducts.

I put the Alcon caliper temp strips on the outsides of the calipers (over the Nissan logo) and they never even blacked out the lowest section (250F), regardless of the duct situation. So either my caliper temps are awesome anyways, or it's just stupid user error with me putting the temp strips in the wrong place (do they need to go elsewhere to feel the heat, and/or does the thick grey nissan caliper paint insulate them too much?).

In any case, pretty pleased with the results

Thank you very much for the excellent write-up. By the way, little racers tip, "duct tape" when used on a race car is referred to as "race tape" or "100 MPH tape." If you exceed that speed, you then refer to it as "200 MPH tape." LOL

SPOHN · 04-24-2012, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle@STILLEN

By the way, little racers tip, "duct tape" when used on a race car is referred to as "race tape" or "100 MPH tape." If you exceed that speed, you then refer to it as "200 MPH tape." LOL

ChrisSlicks · 04-24-2012, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle@STILLEN

Thank you very much for the excellent write-up. By the way, little racers tip, "duct tape" when used on a race car is referred to as "race tape" or "100 MPH tape." If you exceed that speed, you then refer to it as "200 MPH tape." LOL

Yep, in the army they call it 600 MPH tape and in the air force they call it 1000 MPH tape, so yeah it is good for any speed to want it to be, LOL. I've seen race cars held together by the stuff

sixpax · 04-24-2012, 06:07 AM

...noob question though...I thought the caliper was actually the item that was most responsible for heating the fluid to the boiling point ?

also I wonder if it would do any good to drill some holes in the dust shields ?

ChrisSlicks · 04-24-2012, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixpax

...noob question though...I thought the caliper was actually the item that was most responsible for heating the fluid to the boiling point ?

It is, for getting to that fail point. However you will get pad fade and typically experience ice-mode long before the fluid boils. You see higher caliper temps when there is less pad material left, but he had brand new pads in this case.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixpax

also I wonder if it would do any good to drill some holes in the dust shields ?

At that point you might just as well remove them altogether.

wstar · 04-24-2012, 02:14 PM

Mostly my fade spots would be the two areas where I see double braking zones back-to-back going the CCW direction: just before Diamond's Edge, and just before the Bus Stop. In both cases you've got a hard hit on the brakes at the end of a straight to come down from e.g. ~115 -> ~80, then a very brief steady throttle, then another brake hit all the way down to ~45 or so in a very short distance (give or take whatever for car/skill). Whenever I've gotten fade on the track and/or ice-mode problems, it's usually the second brake zone in one of those two spots.

(for those unfamiliar with this track, here's a PDF with the major corner names labeled: http://msrhouston.com/pdfs/RoadCourse-corners.pdf . The first case I'm talking about the braking zones and just before and just after Turn 3 going into Diamond's Edge, and the other pair straddles Turn 7 heading down into Bus Stop).

Here's a video of me going through that sequence: MSR Houston CCW - TDE 20120421 - 370Z - YouTube. The second pair at the end of the back straight looks a lot tamer in that video than it generally is, as on this session I was braking earlier and softer than usual.

Mike · 04-24-2012, 07:23 PM

Finished mine up today. Here is a couple shots of the fangs and front of the car with Stillen bumper.

Also, Nismo guys, in another thread Dwnshft posted the part numbers for the Nissan Motorsports ducts that you could use with this kit.

More photos going in my long lost journal thread

SPOHN · 04-24-2012, 07:24 PM

Oh yea Mike.

Mike · 04-24-2012, 07:35 PM

Going to little Talladega a week from monday and couldn't go without this kit. I had it on my avoid list, even though its one of the most fun little tracks there is, especially when its just a group of friends renting it for the day.

takjak2 · 04-26-2012, 08:59 AM

In for eagles.

04-23-2012, 09:07 AM	#1 (permalink)
SPOHN A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Covington, GA Age: 47 Posts: 14,844 Drives: Waiting on next Z Rep Power: 223	^lol __________________

04-24-2012, 12:30 AM	#2 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3596	Ran the new ducts at MSR Houston this weekend. No front fade or ice-mode issues all weekend w/ the ducts running and the new XP10 front pads. I duct-taped off the fang intakes for one session (2nd of 4 sessions on the second day) as discussed earlier to compare. With the ducts closed, about 2/3rds into the session I was getting some front pad fade and extended braking distances. Also had one hiccup of ice-mode late in that run that was easy to correct quickly with the pedal. Un-taped the fangs for the next run and the system went right back to zero fade for the rest of the weekend. I did get the rotor paint and caliper strips shipped to me in time. I ran the same spot of Genesis rotor paint all weekend. It stayed in the "bright red" range (679-804F) all through my first 5 sessions with the ducts, then it bumped up into a somewhat browner color (804-1074F, probably at the lower end of that range, not a huge change) for the one run I taped off the ducts. I put the Alcon caliper temp strips on the outsides of the calipers (over the Nissan logo) and they never even blacked out the lowest section (250F), regardless of the duct situation. So either my caliper temps are awesome anyways, or it's just stupid user error with me putting the temp strips in the wrong place (do they need to go elsewhere to feel the heat, and/or does the thick grey nissan caliper paint insulate them too much?). In any case, pretty pleased with the results __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details Last edited by wstar; 04-24-2012 at 12:32 AM.

04-24-2012, 02:14 PM	#11 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3596	Mostly my fade spots would be the two areas where I see double braking zones back-to-back going the CCW direction: just before Diamond's Edge, and just before the Bus Stop. In both cases you've got a hard hit on the brakes at the end of a straight to come down from e.g. ~115 -> ~80, then a very brief steady throttle, then another brake hit all the way down to ~45 or so in a very short distance (give or take whatever for car/skill). Whenever I've gotten fade on the track and/or ice-mode problems, it's usually the second brake zone in one of those two spots. (for those unfamiliar with this track, here's a PDF with the major corner names labeled: http://msrhouston.com/pdfs/RoadCourse-corners.pdf . The first case I'm talking about the braking zones and just before and just after Turn 3 going into Diamond's Edge, and the other pair straddles Turn 7 heading down into Bus Stop). Here's a video of me going through that sequence: MSR Houston CCW - TDE 20120421 - 370Z - YouTube. The second pair at the end of the back straight looks a lot tamer in that video than it generally is, as on this session I was braking earlier and softer than usual. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details Last edited by wstar; 04-24-2012 at 02:24 PM.

04-24-2012, 07:23 PM	#12 (permalink)
Mike The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Loganville, GA Posts: 5,944 Drives: 370z Rep Power: 2188	Finished mine up today. Here is a couple shots of the fangs and front of the car with Stillen bumper. Also, Nismo guys, in another thread Dwnshft posted the part numbers for the Nissan Motorsports ducts that you could use with this kit. More photos going in my long lost journal thread __________________ NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

04-24-2012, 07:24 PM	#13 (permalink)
SPOHN A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Covington, GA Age: 47 Posts: 14,844 Drives: Waiting on next Z Rep Power: 223	Oh yea Mike. __________________

04-24-2012, 07:35 PM	#14 (permalink)
Mike The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Loganville, GA Posts: 5,944 Drives: 370z Rep Power: 2188	Going to little Talladega a week from monday and couldn't go without this kit. I had it on my avoid list, even though its one of the most fun little tracks there is, especially when its just a group of friends renting it for the day. __________________ NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

04-26-2012, 08:59 AM	#15 (permalink)
takjak2 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Sterling, VA Posts: 1,922 Drives: Legit Racecar 370Z Rep Power: 144	In for eagles. __________________ Mods \| Stuff \| Things \| Seat Time \| Nismo facebook.com/TeamSparrowSpeed

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