Secrets

Hi List people,
I've very much enjoyed the Road Racing/Brake posts. I do as many High Performance Driving Events as I can afford. See my HomePage under ROAD COURSES. Here's my contribution:

I strive for one new road course every year.

Stealth/VR4 Road Course ............. [was Adventures in Braking]

TOPIC SUGGESTION

OVERHEATING Boiled over cause the Wind deflector under the front bumper came loose and blocked air flow to the radiator. Duct tape fixed that problem. Also the radiator cap had never been replaced and was probably not holding enough pressure. Had temp problems at CMP 10/30/99 & reason still unknown. 8/00 suspected head gasket blown. Ouchhhh

TIRES Never tried the R1's. I use Yokohama. For autocross the 008RII 275x40x17 (they rub the front inner fenderwell just a little). For Road Courses the 032 255x40x17. If you are a novice, street tires are the best way to learn how our cars handle. They'll also save your butt because they talk to you before letting loose.

BRAKES Braided Stainless Steel lines really firm up the pedal during hard braking. I found Ford dot3 brake fluid is better than dot4 (at least Ford fluid doesn't turn as black as dot4).

Old Brakes '94 braking system. '94 Stock rotors. Porterfield R4 pads are the best I've used so far. I had been using stock pads because they are cheap ($ 43.69), but they can't take the heat generated and never last a whole day (<80 miles). The Porterfields with new rotors can last 2 days (250+ miles). The Performance friction pads, 83 compound ($196.03), I tried didn't even last as long as street pads, and cut CHANNELS in my new rotors! I tried some Hawk Gold pads [pricey at $225] at Rd America. Okay but too many $$$.

Porsche BRAKES Porsche calipers! Much better than the '94 system on a Road Course. Brad Bedell's kit WILL STOP our cars! Now using Supra Twin Turbo rotors. They are larger dia and directional for better cooling. Currently 1/19/2000 using a type 03 compound from Weston Motorsports 888 558-0631 and have gotten 583 track miles.

Porsche 993 & Supra ROTORS Pics of 993 rotors showing dimensions, fins, hats. Also Supra TT rotors. A group of 3Sers is investigating adapting the Porsche 993 rotors for our cars.

AP rotors/pads Pics of AP rotors showing dimensions, fins, hats. Also Porsche993 & Supra TT rotors. The AP pad is as large as BigRed Pad

BRAKE COOLING DUCTS Easy to do with parts from Home Depot. Plastic rain gutter collectors, 2' downpipe section, clothes dryer aluminum flex pipe & short connector, duct tape. Click on BRAKE COOLING.

OVERHEATING The intercoolers shouldn't add heat under the hood as they are inside the fender. To promote better heat transfer do: 1.) Take the useless FOG lights out! Straighten the veins in the intercooler. Protect the veins by covering the FOG light opening with screening. 2.) Remove the plastic vents in the wheel well and replace with screen to allow more discharge airflow. You may even want to put water spray nozzles aimed at the intercoolers.

STRUTT COVER SCOOPS I removed the strutt covers and found NO difference in under hood air flow. I ran a plastic hose under the hood and into the passenger compartment so I could feel the airflow. There was positive pressure at reasonable speeds and no significant difference with or without the strutt cover.

LUG NUTS Always use antiSeize, the wheels/studs get real HOT. And throw away those pain in the *** locking nuts. Make sure you coat the INSIDE of the hat of new rotors before installation.

Lap times HotLap timer provides a great way to check your consistancy.

Straight line braking If you brake sooner, you can go into the corner with the car balanced (with power) and exit faster. For those with greater pucker factors, try left foot trail braking and you'll feel our AWD cars rotate a little (akin to throttle steer). Or getting 'light' as one fellow found.

Spare parts Required if you plan to turn record breaking lap times or run in A group: Rotors, pads(front & rear), brake fluid, bleeding equip, antiseize, Mobil One, duct tape, antifreeze, air compressor, quality tire gauge, one or two extra track tires.

Trailer Oh, you'll need a tow a trailer to haul tires, parts, gas, etc.

Road Course Nobody should have soooo much fun.

Stealth/VR4 Road Course ............. [was Adventures in Braking]
TOPIC	SUGGESTION
OVERHEATING	Boiled over cause the Wind deflector under the front bumper came loose and blocked air flow to the radiator. Duct tape fixed that problem. Also the radiator cap had never been replaced and was probably not holding enough pressure. Had temp problems at CMP 10/30/99 & reason still unknown. 8/00 suspected head gasket blown. Ouchhhh
TIRES	Never tried the R1's. I use Yokohama. For autocross the 008RII 275x40x17 (they rub the front inner fenderwell just a little). For Road Courses the 032 255x40x17. If you are a novice, street tires are the best way to learn how our cars handle. They'll also save your butt because they talk to you before letting loose.
BRAKES	Braided Stainless Steel lines really firm up the pedal during hard braking. I found Ford dot3 brake fluid is better than dot4 (at least Ford fluid doesn't turn as black as dot4).
Old Brakes	'94 braking system. '94 Stock rotors. Porterfield R4 pads are the best I've used so far. I had been using stock pads because they are cheap ($ 43.69), but they can't take the heat generated and never last a whole day (<80 miles). The Porterfields with new rotors can last 2 days (250+ miles). The Performance friction pads, 83 compound ($196.03), I tried didn't even last as long as street pads, and cut CHANNELS in my new rotors! I tried some Hawk Gold pads [pricey at $225] at Rd America. Okay but too many $$$.
Porsche BRAKES	Porsche calipers! Much better than the '94 system on a Road Course. Brad Bedell's kit WILL STOP our cars! Now using Supra Twin Turbo rotors. They are larger dia and directional for better cooling. Currently 1/19/2000 using a type 03 compound from Weston Motorsports 888 558-0631 and have gotten 583 track miles.
Porsche 993 & Supra ROTORS	Pics of 993 rotors showing dimensions, fins, hats. Also Supra TT rotors. A group of 3Sers is investigating adapting the Porsche 993 rotors for our cars.
AP rotors/pads	Pics of AP rotors showing dimensions, fins, hats. Also Porsche993 & Supra TT rotors. The AP pad is as large as BigRed Pad
BRAKE COOLING DUCTS	Easy to do with parts from Home Depot. Plastic rain gutter collectors, 2' downpipe section, clothes dryer aluminum flex pipe & short connector, duct tape. Click on BRAKE COOLING.
OVERHEATING	The intercoolers shouldn't add heat under the hood as they are inside the fender. To promote better heat transfer do: 1.) Take the useless FOG lights out! Straighten the veins in the intercooler. Protect the veins by covering the FOG light opening with screening. 2.) Remove the plastic vents in the wheel well and replace with screen to allow more discharge airflow. You may even want to put water spray nozzles aimed at the intercoolers.
STRUTT COVER SCOOPS	I removed the strutt covers and found NO difference in under hood air flow. I ran a plastic hose under the hood and into the passenger compartment so I could feel the airflow. There was positive pressure at reasonable speeds and no significant difference with or without the strutt cover.
LUG NUTS	Always use antiSeize, the wheels/studs get real HOT. And throw away those pain in the *** locking nuts. Make sure you coat the INSIDE of the hat of new rotors before installation.
Lap times	HotLap timer provides a great way to check your consistancy.
Straight line braking	If you brake sooner, you can go into the corner with the car balanced (with power) and exit faster. For those with greater pucker factors, try left foot trail braking and you'll feel our AWD cars rotate a little (akin to throttle steer). Or getting 'light' as one fellow found.
Spare parts	Required if you plan to turn record breaking lap times or run in A group: Rotors, pads(front & rear), brake fluid, bleeding equip, antiseize, Mobil One, duct tape, antifreeze, air compressor, quality tire gauge, one or two extra track tires.
Trailer	Oh, you'll need a tow a trailer to haul tires, parts, gas, etc.
Road Course	Nobody should have soooo much fun.

Last updated: 16 Jan 2003
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