Heading out this weekend for my first event - a 670 mile tow to Road Atlanta! Car is as ready as it's going to get with fresh fluids across the board.

Final shot before I bolted on the front tires back up:

 

I'm not a pro, and sponsors do not pay my way; but they do help. Along with the folks at Buschur Racing, AMSOIL is a supporter of mine and I wanted give a shoutout to them and their help over the past few years as a recurring sponsor. I received my yearly shipment this weekend. 156+ lbs...

 

Track events are really really hard on the brakes. And you need to count them to be there everytime! Given the current speed of my car and the tracks I visit, I average between 75-95mph per lap with a top speed between 125-150mph.

Below are some pics of my stock Brembo calipers that I used last year. As you can see the excessive heat has turned them a very dk maroon. Here I'm pulling out the pistons to inspect and replace all the seals and dust boots. These will, in turn, become my backups for 2012.

I have already bolted on new (well; barely used) stock Brembo's for 2012 and all fresh AMSOIL DOT4 brake fluid.

 

I just changed the front dust boots on my calipers as well. I noticed that even after bleeding thoroughly twice, the brake pedal is still considerably spongy. Is it possible that there's an air bubble stuck in the calipers somewhere? Have you have any similar experiences when replacing your dust boots nate?

EDIT: I also noticed that you're using the Girodisc rebuild kits. Did you have any trouble getting the bigger pistons back in after changing the o-ring? The ones in my kit are slightly larger than the stock ones, and I couldn't get the pistons back in, so I kept the old ones in (theey were in good condition anyway)

 

Just wanted to say awesome thread.

 

The car suffered from some electrical issues this past weekend. I've finally traced it to a blown fuse which is the good news - but I don't have any track feedback from last weekend sadly.

Stay tuned...

 

Everything's tight - that's for sure. It takes time, steady pressure and patience to get things back in. Usually 2-3 are easy (little ones especially) and it's a crapshoot how long the rest take. I'll dip my finger into the fluid and rub the seals down to try and 'grease' them in easier.

And yeah, I had a spongy pedal after putting in new seals or pads. Solution; keep bleeding until it goes away. There could def be some air in there. Especially if you let the master reservoir get low during the bleeding process.
Once; the weekend before an event I had this exact issue. I figured it was good enough and was crossing my fingers. I came home from work the next night and had a pool of brake fluid on the ground. Turns out one of the seals had a fingernail length notch in it - which was all it took. Dunno if they shipped that way or if I did it on install. Overnighted parts...

 

In an attempt to keep the braking system cooler, I've got a series of projects! With my next event being (last) weekend, here's what I did have time to undergo...

I pulled the caliper & rotor off. Then I unhooked and removed the dust shield, which I am planning to leave off. I've really only left them on as I've been worried about them protecting the ABS sensors. So taking the advice I've got, I wrapped the ABS sensor and lines in the DEI wrap that's frequently used for exhaust or header wrap. You wet it down, tack it in place and spray it with the associated spraycan.

Below is a pic of the nearly finished ABS line wrapped, coated, and ziptied up. If you follow it to the bottom, that is the location of the actual sensor which has a separate chunk of wrapping protecting it.

 

The brakes felt good all day Saturday at Putnam Park running TTA. I think the most laps I ran in a single session were 6 and I had zero fade. I'll be taking off the rotors - time to put on new anyways - to see how the updated changes held up. But there was nothing smoking from the heat which is always a positive sign!

Latest review is up on the blog and also in the Motorsports section here on the forums:
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/mo...l#post10166477

As I mentioned, the event was at Putnam Park and I pulled out first place in TTA on Day #1.

 

Regarding keeping the system cooler, there is a vendor that will soon be selling SS replacement pistons which have been tested to transfer ~10-20% of the heat that the aluminum pistons transfer to the fluid. The pistons have a ventilation design. Additionally, modifications to the crossover tube are in store for durability.

 

Maybe I'm just not understanding you correctly, but 6 laps in a session doesn't seem like much?

 

6 laps is not a full session - no. Keep in mind that TT (Time Trials) is your best single lap throughout the day. You strive to get everything right all at once. You have to play the changing weather & temps, lap traffic, car dynamics and setup and a host of other factors.

Most TT guys setup their cars for just a few quick laps. We plan the fuel load to be as close to our min weight as possible, usually only leaving a few lbs to spare to gain every last bit of speed we can. Along with weight, more important is the condition of the tires and when they are at their optimum grip during a session. And by lap 6, any Hoosier is done past it's best grip levels!

Add to that our TT sessions are only 15min long - we get 5 of them - and depending on the track 5-8 laps is all you're going to get. Being one of the faster cars, I can only get 1-3 clean laps before getting the slower cars.


For comparison, the sprint races on this track last about 23 laps.

 

Here's some pics of the brake cooling upgrades I did prior to my last track event. Moving from TT/TA where I'll run between 2-6 hard laps to a 25-40 min Sprint Race environment I was very very concerned with my brakes. I ended up simplying my existing setup with shorter & straighter ducting with a more defined opening to pull in the air. Everything came through terrific and I plan to move to a phase II with simply a larger ducting setup.

Below are some pictures as well as the link to the official synopsis from the #929Evo's first official sprint race weekend: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/10218392-post272.html

Driver's side:



Passenger side:

 

Nathan, thanks for the pics. I'm looking to get myself some brake ducts too and I think the way you did it is the simplest I've seen so far.

I think I remember you mentioning once a while ago though that you had experimented with a similarly-positioned duct on the passenger side and found that it was robbing the oil cooler of air and causing oil temps to go up? Is my memory correct?

 

Thx.

And yes you are correct. Coincidentally at the same track even! And in my first session of Qualifying they shot up really high, but I did some updating to correct this.

1. I removed the block-out panel I had just installed in the fenderwell; basically covering the huge hole that's been rubbed into it with wide tires
2. I ran an additional duct from the little 'faux hole' in the bumper down and around and positioned it directly at the oil cooler. Maybe 16" altogether with a few zipties.

Those updates kept my temps in the 280-285 range during both of my races. Still a bit high, but not uncommon for grueling high rpm race conditions from what I've heard from others and experienced myself in TT.
I'm updating my setup now that I've proven that theory out - pics later this month.