Brake Fade at a DE

[Blue-S]

Were the pads thoroughly bedded? Could it have been green pad fade? Maybe the Porterfield folks will have an opinion. With Motul 600, I couldn't belive that the fluid boiled.

BTW -- Auto Club Speedway = California Speedway = Fontana. The marketing deal to rename it Auto Club Speedway began in early 2008.

[944boy]

Yeah, I just found out about that recently. I always had known it as California Speedway. But I have been out of the state for a while.

The pads had many thousands of street miles on them, and I was very careful about bedding in when they first went on.

I think I may have vaporized the pad, and the extra effort required to stop built up a ton of heat into the calipers. I might talk to the Porterfield guys to see what they think. I know I have also experienced brake fade in a 944 that had R4s's, but not quite to the same degree and not quite so quickly.

[MikenOH]

If so, don't expect a lot on the track from them. I had a HPS clone on for a while and they weren't even as good as the OEM.

[Topless]

I have boiled old fluid at the track but never felt pad fade/overheat in this car. I still run street tires.

A couple of things to check:
1. make sure all the little rubber air ducts and spoilers are in place under the car. Mine had been scrubbed off over time and they do help manage brake temps.

2. check for a sticking caliper. When one of my service trucks starts eating pads it is nearly always a caliper that does not fully release causing overheated pads.

[944boy]

The air ducts are good, I will check them again when I have the wheels off to flush the fluid again.

All the pads are wearing well, I don't think there are sticking calipers. My 944's rears were acting up, but those are sliding calipers.

The R4s is like the hawk HP+. They are aggressive street pads. I didn't expect them to be perfect, but was surprised how fast they went away.

I ordered a set of Hawk HT-10s for the front. They work from 300-1600 degrees. The rotors would be glowing bright red before the pads give up.

I was/am running street tires, but that was part of the problem. I had to slow down a lot because I couldn't go around the corner as fast as if I had race tires. Therefore relying more on my brakes.

I will report on how the setup works at Fontana.

[Boxster44]

I've had pad fade with OEMs on an '03S.... switched to Pagid Orange. One tidbit may help mitigate some heat - bought some GT3 lower air scoops for the lower control arm. It's a straight swap. They seem to channel more air into the hub area. And, about the cheapest things on the car at about $15 each from Sunset.

Good luck,

kj

[MikenOH]

Boxster44:
Was there a noticeable change with the GT3 ducts or hard to discern? I'm also thinking about these..

[Boxster44]

Mike,

I changed the two items simultaneously.... the Pagids were a big help (but tough on rotors). I'm thinking the scoops/ducts are just one of the little things that add to the equation.

kj