Track Rotors & Pads

[JDM FACTOR]

I have a pair of AutoZone rotors and Spec VR's used once at Sebring. They are kinda old though. Last time I used them was back in 2004 or 05' after I took them off the car and stored them for another event.

Pads look decent, been sitting in plastic bags in a cool dry place all this time. Will these be ok to run for a track event I'd like to do next weekend?

[Dave_B]

Easy enough to swap pads back and forth, why not bring them as a backup set. Then run them for a session and take it easy and see how they go.

[coolhandluke]

Are those pads bedded in with the current Autozone rotors? If so, I say run them and follow Dave's advice by bringing a backup set.

[JDM FACTOR]

I'll bring the GT Sports that are up front now but I don't have another set of VR compound.

The pads are bedded into the autozone rotors, they were brand new rotors and brand new pads used once at Sebring for a few hours of track time.

I guess I can do a test run on the street and see how they feel but I won't be able to get them up to temp properly.

[coolhandluke]

I say run them.

[TurboCup87]

I say run them.

Speaking of brakes, the Spoons are on!

[cheezthis]

I have a pair of AutoZone rotors and Spec VR's used once at Sebring. They are kinda old though. Last time I used them was back in 2004 or 05' after I took them off the car and stored them for another event.

Pads look decent, been sitting in plastic bags in a cool dry place all this time. Will these be ok to run for a track event I'd like to do next weekend?

Old VRs...use them. I did earlier this year, and they're still one of my favorite brake pads.

[JDM FACTOR]

What new model of Cobalt took over the Spec VR compound? I loved the VR's.

[coolhandluke]

Cobalt brought their pad compounds in house and the pad compounds changed. Jay, Erik, and other's will do better chiming in here, but Cobalt has yet to release a pad that was as good as the VR's IIRC.

[JDM FACTOR]

Cobalt brought their pad compounds in house and the pad compounds changed. Jay, Erik, and other's will do better chiming in here, but Cobalt has yet to release a pad that was as good as the VR's IIRC.

That really sucks. What's everyone running now?

[Dave_B]

I think Erik has mentioned that XR2's are the closest.

I've got a set of VR's I'll be selling soon. Not new, but hardly used.

[Erik95LS]

I think Erik has mentioned that XR2's are the closest.

I've got a set of VR's I'll be selling soon. Not new, but hardly used.

yeah Cobalt claims the XR3 is the closest, but I think the XR2 is more like the VR, but may be a bit much for street tires.

I miss Spec VRs

Probably going to Carbotech or Hawk again next time, though XR2s are great, just too abrasive and somewhat susceptible to breaking up.

[JDM FACTOR]

Well I took my car out to the track yesterday...wasn't a happy camper.

I just never feel confident with how the brakes perform on my car when you get them up to temp. It has to be the autozone rotors I was running because the pulsating, vibrations seemed like a warped rotor. Rotors developed pretty bad hard spots and once the heat got in them, it was tough to get around that issue.

I can't give you any feedback if it was the pad but most likely not, they were fairly new cobalt spec VR's.

Is a hard pedal too much to ask for? Should I accept that I will always have a soft pedal and be confident with that in these cars? I don't normally track the type R so I'd like your feedback about pedal feel and what you've experienced. Should I get rid of ABS in order to achieve a hard pedal?

Brake setup I'm currently running:

Spoon Calipers
Goodridge Lines
Motul 600 fluid
Cobalt Spec VR pads
AutoZone Rotors
Tires: Hoosier R6 but for this event I ran Toyo R888's.

Brakes were still soft when I ran the Hoosier's in Sebring. No real comparison with how the car felt with the Toyo R888's, I had to brake about 200 ft before the 400mark due to the pulsating being so bad.


Should I look into PAGID Yellow's and a little bit better of a rotor?


Oh and the dust shields are off the car in case you ask.

[JDM FACTOR]

Anyone have any experience with Performance Friction's 01 compound?

I love those but don't know if they make it for our cars

[Dave_B]

First, were the rotors/pads properly bedded?

What brake lines are you running?

What fluid?

I can honestly say I've never lost confidence in my brakes, ever.

My setup was stock calipers, Cobalt Spec VR's, Goodrich SS lines and ATE super blue fluid.

Also, are you bleeding the inner and outter bleed screws on the Spoon calipers? Seems if you still don't have solid pedal feel there is air in there somewhere. Bleed, bleed again and when you think all of the air is gone, do it another time.

Start from the farthest corner from the MC, the RR, the LR, then RF and finally LF.

If all else fails, shoot me a PM. I'll send you over to Orlando. I know someone there who knows how the pedal should feel.

[JDM FACTOR]

Hey Dave,

Yeah the pads were bedded in. They were on the same pair of rotors at Sebring for 2 sessions making this it's 3rd.

Goodrich lines all the way around

Motul 600 fluid.

Rotors were warped. There might be some air in the system but there's always been a soft pedal.

[Dave_B]

There shouldn't be a soft pedal, not at all. At least I've never had one.

Have you always also had the spoon calipers? Have you double checked bleeding both inner and outter?

If the rotors still have life and you can stand a trip to O-town, I can get all of them turned for ya.

[coolhandluke]

Yeah the pads were bedded in. They were on the same pair of rotors at Sebring for 2 sessions making this it's 3rd. .

Not to nit pick, but I don't feel taking a set of pads out on track qualifies as bedding them in.

If you've never seen/read it, here is StopTech's article on brake pad bed-in:
http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedintheory.shtml

[JDM FACTOR]

They were broken in properly. *And in addition to this they had 2 sessions which felt fine at Sebring. Just going to get some better rotors and re-bleed.

[coolhandluke]

How old are your current Duralast units?

[JDM FACTOR]

There about 3 years old

[coolhandluke]

Ah, out of warranty then.

[JDM FACTOR]

Yeah they are old. I know you guys like the AutoZone's and I do too. I have a set paired with gt-sports for the street and I have had zero problems.

For a nice track set, does anyone offer a 2-piece setup? I saw the StopTech AeroRotos. Any extra cooling I can get the better with the tracks I visit. Sebring, Homestead and partial events now at PBIR. I'm running R6 compound.

[coolhandluke]

I agree with others that rotors are a wear item so the cheaper the better. You already have the dust shields removed, so the next step may be brake cooling options.

[JDM FACTOR]

luke, what kind of cooling options are available? I heard it's very difficult to route cooling ducts in the proper place. I see a lot of guys running just ducting positioned at the face of the rotor instead of the proper way which should be directed at the veins of the rotor.

I remember a while back reading an article about the S&M racing guys running brake ducts towards the veins of the rotor but had some issues.

Any advice would be appreciated though. I have the brake ducts hooked up, I just need to run the duct work but in the proper direction. I could direct air towards the caliper...?