Back in early September, 2015, I decided to try out one of SCCA's new "Track Night in America" events. These events start around 3PM at various tracks around the country. I left work around noon, drove (from Philadelphia) in my FR-S to NJMP, unloaded my tools and the rest of my loose bits, and off we went! I bought a camera mount for the passenger headrest to mount my GoPro, and 3D printed mounts for my RaceCapture data logger. I have updated the design since, but haven't yet gotten around to printing and testing it, so if anyone's interested, feel free to contact me.
So I'd never driven Lightning before, and was driving my bone-stock FR-S. The first session I got acclimated to the track, even though I only got one hot lap before two knuckleheads in the advanced group ran into each other.
During the second session, I noticed the brakes fading pretty severely. I adjusted my braking distance and pressed harder. Some of the entries into turn 1 were still a bit hotter than I'd have liked ... and this is what I found on the wheels when I pulled into the paddock.
During the second session, I noticed the brakes fading pretty severely. I adjusted my braking distance and pressed harder. Some of the entries into turn 1 were still a bit hotter than I'd have liked ... and this is what I found on the wheels when I pulled into the paddock.
Amazingly, those little piles of black dust weren't stuck to the wheels, but they did manage to stay on even after the cool down lap and the drive to my paddock space. Definitely a LOT of brake dust!
I started asking around the paddock. I was parked next to two other FR-S/BRZ's, so I asked them how many miles they had on the car and how many track days they'd done. And what pads they were running. One guy said he'd done four track nights (equivalent to about 2 weekends at a NASA event, or a bit less) and had 18k miles on the car. Umm, yeah ... I had 11k on the car and this was my first. Of course, I was used to driving a race car so I had much more experience. The other was using Carbotech pads but only had one previous track night. My conclusion was that OEM pads can't handle the heat when you start pushing it. But there was some pad life left, so I figured, why not go out for round three?
The third session was similar to the second, massive fade after about 1 hot lap. And I got to know the track pretty well at this point. By the end I was braking at what would be the 700 yard mark instead of about the 400 yard mark. And pushing the pedal to the firewall as hard as I could. And still coming in hot ... On the last heavy braking section in the cool down lap, I realized that the brakes hadn't recovered at all and there was a heavy metal on metal sound. Guess I cooked them! Post-session inspection revealed extensive spalling and no apparent pad thickness, but I didn't have a spare set so I drove home as is. That night I ordered stock pads and rotors from Advance Auto Parts so I could have them by Saturday for repair.
As you can see by the headline photo, pressing the pedal to the firewall actually wrapped the left front backing plate right around the pistons. Including indentations from the pistons! I just ordered a brake cooling kit and some Frodo DS2500 pads for this years' track sessions. Aside from the brake education, I really enjoyed the Track Night events. They were a lot of fun, and I didn't have any complaints about the awareness of the advanced group drivers regarding pointing people by. The convenience of driving your street car for a low-key event was hard to beat!
I started asking around the paddock. I was parked next to two other FR-S/BRZ's, so I asked them how many miles they had on the car and how many track days they'd done. And what pads they were running. One guy said he'd done four track nights (equivalent to about 2 weekends at a NASA event, or a bit less) and had 18k miles on the car. Umm, yeah ... I had 11k on the car and this was my first. Of course, I was used to driving a race car so I had much more experience. The other was using Carbotech pads but only had one previous track night. My conclusion was that OEM pads can't handle the heat when you start pushing it. But there was some pad life left, so I figured, why not go out for round three?
The third session was similar to the second, massive fade after about 1 hot lap. And I got to know the track pretty well at this point. By the end I was braking at what would be the 700 yard mark instead of about the 400 yard mark. And pushing the pedal to the firewall as hard as I could. And still coming in hot ... On the last heavy braking section in the cool down lap, I realized that the brakes hadn't recovered at all and there was a heavy metal on metal sound. Guess I cooked them! Post-session inspection revealed extensive spalling and no apparent pad thickness, but I didn't have a spare set so I drove home as is. That night I ordered stock pads and rotors from Advance Auto Parts so I could have them by Saturday for repair.
As you can see by the headline photo, pressing the pedal to the firewall actually wrapped the left front backing plate right around the pistons. Including indentations from the pistons! I just ordered a brake cooling kit and some Frodo DS2500 pads for this years' track sessions. Aside from the brake education, I really enjoyed the Track Night events. They were a lot of fun, and I didn't have any complaints about the awareness of the advanced group drivers regarding pointing people by. The convenience of driving your street car for a low-key event was hard to beat!
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