Summer projects

[Casey_SS]

Forum has been a little slow lately so thought I'd post some progress pics of the AIX to AI conversion that's been draining every ounce of sweat out of my body....

Bilstein coilovers (courtesy of Mindy's track car - "Deliverator"), rebuilt lower control arms, Global West uppers...car might actually turn now and stop eating the sidewalls:



StopTechs (also courtesy of Mindy & Deliverator...I'm officially in the red on marriage credits now:



New valve springs:



Restrictor plates - hopefully one of these will get me AI legal without major tuning issues...shooting for 3350lbs / 350hp. Dyno day coming soon...witnesses welcome:



Complete power distribution redesign & re-wire to fix the bujeezus out of the fuel pump issues I had at Hallett:



HUGE thanks to Mindy for not only sacrificing the trick parts off her new ride but also correctly installing all the driver side stuff while I screwed around with the other side. Simply amazing. I must have suffered terribly in a past life or something.... Hey, I did replace it all with AIX championship winning parts. Oddly that didn't seem to make a dent in my marriage credit deficit though....

Bunch more little stuff to do but it's coming along nicely...can't wait for ECR!

[way2neary]

Casey,

You're making awesome progress. Glad to see its coming along so quickly. Also, you just got an awesome deal on that car, especially given all those stellar parts you've been able to "borrow."

And, given how well your car will be dialed in, I'm definitely sensing a royal butt whooping at ECR!

[Adam Ginsberg]

You're going to really like the StopTech's. The only downside is you'll have to relearn the braking points at all the tracks you've been to. I've had a set on my car this whole season, and I still haven't made "full" use of them, IMO.

It's nice to go for the pedal, and get the same exact performance time, after time, after time.

[marshall_mosty]

It's nice to go for the pedal, and get the same exact performance time, after time, after time.

\
Until your Master Cylinder develops an internal leak... Then it's like you are back on PBR's and street pads (very long pedal)...

I thought I was just overusing the brakes at TWS and Hallett, but after putting the new MC on, it firmed right up!

StopTech's are the bomb. I just stocked my spare pad basket so I don't have to worry about pads for the next 2 seasons.

[jdlingle]

\
Until your Master Cylinder develops an internal leak... Then it's like you are back on PBR's and street pads (very long pedal)...

I thought I was just overusing the brakes at TWS and Hallett, but after putting the new MC on, it firmed right up!

StopTech's are the bomb. I just stocked my spare pad basket so I don't have to worry about pads for the next 2 seasons.

How much life do you get out of your pads Marshall?

[marshall_mosty]

How much life do you get out of your pads Marshall?

Approx 4-5 weekends, depending on the track. Hallett and ECR (I'm told) is more abrasive on pads. However, I hammer them pretty hard wherever I use them...

For reference, I was getting 3 track days out of a set of PBR caliper type pads.

PBR Setup
Lifespan: 3 days
$165/set ($55/day)
$660/season

StopTech Setup
Lifespan: 9 days
$285/set ($32/day)
$384

Savings over 6 weekends a year = $276.

The savings doesn't even consider the better feel of the brakes (think a knob with 1-10 in "1" incriments for the StopTech versus 1-3 in "1" incriments for PBR), and the peace of mind knowing they will be the same corner after corner. Also, it has proved difficult to find the limit of the brakes (Even with ABS).

[Casey_SS]

When is it generally advisable to replace the rotor rings? Hats? Mine were used on the street more than the track and I can feel a pretty good wear lip on both sides of each rotor. They look great though and I'm sure they'll be fine for at least a few weekends. I could never get much of a wear lip at all on C6 rotors before they cracked so this is uncharted territory for me...

[marshall_mosty]

When is it generally advisable to replace the rotor rings? Hats? Mine were used on the street more than the track and I can feel a pretty good wear lip on both sides of each rotor. They look great though and I'm sure they'll be fine for at least a few weekends. I could never get much of a wear lip at all on C6 rotors before they cracked so this is uncharted territory for me...

Casey,
I brought my kit used from Jeff Brooks, who had it on his AI car (Maximum Motorsports shop car) for about a season prior to selling it to me 4 years ago. I have two enduros (9.5 hours total) and probably 12 weekends over the course of the last 4 years on the same rings that came with the used set. I've put about 4 sets of pads on the car with the same rotors. All I can say is they wear like iron. I recently caved and got a replacement set of rings as a "just in case". I'm not planning on installing them right now. Maybe for the 2012 or 2013 season.

[BlueFirePony]

Approx 4-5 weekends, depending on the track. Hallett and ECR (I'm told) is more abrasive on pads. However, I hammer them pretty hard wherever I use them...

For reference, I was getting 3 track days out of a set of PBR caliper type pads.

PBR Setup
Lifespan: 3 days
$165/set ($55/day)
$660/season

StopTech Setup
Lifespan: 9 days
$285/set ($32/day)
$384

Savings over 6 weekends a year = $276.

The savings doesn't even consider the better feel of the brakes (think a knob with 1-10 in "1" incriments for the StopTech versus 1-3 in "1" incriments for PBR), and the peace of mind knowing they will be the same corner after corner. Also, it has proved difficult to find the limit of the brakes (Even with ABS).

If you are interested in a few other data points, I am getting between 9-10 days on my pads.
I usually try to get a track day before and a half-full day of testing the Friday of a race weekend...so figure 3 days per weekend so I have info on the stock setup but only TT and DE sessions since I switched to the AP Racing calipers when I started with this group.
Metal Matrix
Lifespan 9-10 days
$260 ($28.90/day at 9days)
$520 for a season

EBC Blue
Lifespan 9 days
$199 ($22.11)$398 for a season
I've only just run the Blue's this year for the first time (MSRC, Hallet and TWS). For an endurance pad they did not last as long as I hoped but they are much cheaper and frankly I like the feel of them. EBC is coming out with a race-only compound in October that I might try next year.

[BlueFirePony]

If you are interested in a few other data points, I am getting between 9-10 days on my pads.
I usually try to get a track day before and a half-full day of testing the Friday of a race weekend...so figure 3 days per weekend so I have info on the stock setup but only TT and DE sessions since I switched to the AP Racing calipers when I started with this group.
Metal Matrix
Lifespan 9-10 days
$260 ($28.90/day at 9days)
$520 for a season

EBC Blue
Lifespan 9 days
$199 ($22.11)$398 for a season
I've only just run the Blue's this year for the first time (MSRC, Hallet and TWS). For an endurance pad they did not last as long as I hoped but they are much cheaper and frankly I like the feel of them. EBC is coming out with a race-only compound in October that I might try next year.

In the spirit of sharing, another couple nuggets of info to factor into my pad wear:
my rotors are slotted AND cross-drilled - Using DB4000 right now.
my car weighs a lot
Really just want slotted rotors but could not find any that fit my $, size, and construction requirements - gonna look around for next year for sure - I've switched back to the stock rotors in the rear since Hallet
Purely anecdotal on my part, but in my experience cross-drilled eat pads much faster that just slotted and are much more prone to cracking.
Both front and rear rotors have cracked substantially well before 1mm of wear.
Also, with proper ducting they don't offer any better cooling.