Brakes @ Summit Point this weekend ...
 

... well I didn't tear the car up so that's good. But had my day cut short on account of the brakes.

I had put some EBC slotted rotors and NDX Blue Stuf pads on ... did not get a chance to put RBF-600 in or do the SS lines but was going to take it easy like last time anyway,

Anyhoo...all of a sudden the pedal got really stiff, like driving an old car without power brakes. I had to push like incredibly hard to get it to slow down. Didn't happen in a bad spot, thank goodness so I just made it the rest of the way around and hit the pits.

The pads smelled pretty bad when I came in. But after they cooled down they seem fine. Drove it to work a few times this week and it still seems fine.

I am guessing because the pedal did not go to the floor and got stiff, that my issue was not with boiling fluid. I am thinking the rotors and pads were better than stock, but because they are better they got hotter. Or I may have run the brake booster out of vacuum maybe ?

Either way I am going to do the booster canister thing, and get some cooling ducts on the calipers.

Any thoughts or input appreciated.

http://www.the370z.com/members/sixpa...4317-370z5.jpg

ice mode

thanks ... am I correct in assuming that means it was vacuum related and not heat related ? I was too worried about keeping the car on the asphalt scrubbing off speed, so did not look at the dash to see if the ABS light was on ... by the time I looked at the dash I was coasting into the pits and did not see on but that was about 2 minutes later ...

It's cause by the weird programming in the ABS computer. People have claimed to be able to fix it by messing with the vacuum system. I have had success just driving around it.

Pads too aggressive, ABS doesnt like it. It is not a fault, it's just program that way

Also could have been pad fade. If you overheat the surface of the pad then they will glaze and you'll get significantly reduced braking performance. SP Main has 2 hard braking zones the front straight being the worst, 130mph -> 40mph.

Look Ma, No Clutch!
 

It was good seeing you up at the Point last weekend. Add some brake ducts and sign up for a full weekend next time.

My second day was quite memorable. While on the track, my clutch slave cylinder began to fail (meaning I was finding it harder and harder to disengage the clutch). I had to make a quick decision and just leave it in fourth gear for the whole session. After pit in, I needed a push to get back into the paddock.

Then it hit me… I have no ability to engage the clutch and I drove here with my tire trailer. I want to thank the guy from Nissan Motorsports who stayed with me until 7:00 p.m. trying to fix the problem. However, it soon became clear that the problem could not be fixed.

I was sitting in the now empty paddock in a driving rain storm. I had a decision to make. Call my wife and let her know that I am going to need a tow because I broke my car. Or…

I turned the car off, disengaged the parking brake, and pushed the gear lever into first gear. Then I hit the starter button. The car lurched forward and fired to life in first gear. I drove about twenty feet and pulled the gear lever into neutral. A firm push on the shifter fell neatly into second gear. I could do this!

I was able to drive the 60 miles home without the use of my clutch!

And for everyone (not in this track section) who flamed me last year for my thread on how to drive the 370Z without the clutch. Screw you!:driving:

CSC failure?

Yup.

And SixPax, EBC make great pads but every pad reacts differently to each car. Why don’t you just use Carbo Tech XP/10’s? We know that the CarboTech’s work great on our cars. Why experiment with other pads?

Remember, I tried to use a set of Porterfield R-4’s that morning. Porterfield is a recognized name in brake pads. But the brake judder was so intense I had to pit after 3 laps and swap my well worn CarboTechs back in for the rest of the weekend.

And if anyone is interested, there is a $500 set of barely used Porterfield R-4’s in the trash can across from the gas pumps.

Sucks to hear about what happened with the brakes. I was looking forward to testing out my XP8's on the main circuit that day. Do you guys know of any other groups that do hyperdrives at Summit Point? NASA screwed me out of this one on the 18th and their next one at SM isn't till November. I don't have the money to do a full day/weekend, but one hyperdrive session for $50 is good enough.

yup same experience with them here. if anyone has he dough to try, get cobalt friction

I hear ya Mike ... I guess it is the pioneer in me, just figured I would try something different in case it was better than what anyone has done thus far. I think when I go back it will indeed be for a full weekend, and I think I am going to try both the XP10's and some EBC Reds and Yellow. I'm not going to be comfortable out there until I can get something I have confidence in. Also will get the brake ducting done ... hopefully I can stay out there longer than 8 laps LOL.

What tires are you running Craig? I've found that with my XP8's, my braking is still limited by my tires and I have RE050A's on mine. I'll probably upgrade to the XP10's the next time I get pads, depending on how much track experience I have by then.

XP10's are a bit overkill for street tires, you're safer with XP8 since the friction level shouldn't overcome traction quite so easily.