I just got back from my second track event and I have some questions.

After removing the pads and rotors I noticed some stuff. After 200 track miles on VRs/VXs, one set of front pads has 4mm and 5mm of pad left and the other side has 5mm and 6mm left. Why the difference side to side? What is the full deapth of the Spec VR's? How much longer will these last if they are 4mm after 200 miles?

Also, I noticed smoke from the front brakes a few times after 20-30 minutes sessions. Is this normal for hard use? Do I need brake ducting? Is anyone else wearing their pads this fast?

I also noticed the shocks seem bouncy (for lack of a better word). Am I approaching the limits of the stock shocks?

I was running with 225/255 (40F 38R) Victoracers with the saner in the middle position. I did not have any problems, would I would benefit from the stiffest setting at all? Would this add to slow speed understeer and high speed stability? What do you guys think?

You can also check my album to see the remains of my pads and tires.
Track pads/tires/rotors

 

Looks like you were only using half your tires.

I've never noticed any heavy side-to-side variation in brake pad wear on my car.

 

I noticed that...which sucks because I am maxed out on camber

 

What is the full depth of the VR pads?

Does anyone have a set new or used with more than 4mm left for sale?

 

Tires:
What pressure were you running? Wear like that may indicate pressure set too low. However, tire pressures for optimal grip result in increased shoulder wear. Also, what are your camber and toe settings? I run 1.5 deg front and 2.2 deg rear and have relatively even wear, though the outer shoulders typically cord first.

Also, you can help even out the wear by flipping the tires on the rim.

Pads:
Uneven pad wear is pretty normal on my car, with the inside pads wearing faster than the outside pads. This may be due to increased heat, so brake ducting would help in that scenario, but may be inherent to the design of the calipers. If wear ever becomes more uneven than this, you may have a sticking piston. Watch for deterioration of the rubber dust boot as particles from it can jam the piston.

 

If you are smoking VRs maybe you are just braking too much (seriously, I used to wear pads faster when I was much slower). Also, did you bed them in before you started doing full sessions at 100%? If you didn't much of the wear might have happened in the first session of use.

Keep in mind that driving style can be a big factor in both the tires and the brakes, so it's hard to compare between different drivers' experiences even if the cars were identical. Even more so the track... e.g., 200 miles at Streets of Willow is vastly different from 200 miles at big Willow just next door.

 

I was running 40F and 38R

Camber is at -1.7F and -2.2R

Toe on the other hand was set up for autocrossing (I forgot about this) so I have somewhere in the range of 1/4 in toe out. (don't have spec sheet with me)

I was already prepared to flip the tires, but I can't justify victoracers if I only get 2-300 miles on a set with flipping.

Thanks for the advice on the piston wear. I've been looking at break ducting and I will probably go down this road over the winter.

 

I did bed them in the first time out at the track, but I swapped pads and drove for about 100 miles on the same rotors (b/c my replacement rotors were not in yet). I put the race pads back on the aformentioned rotors again for my second event. I also notice some really bad scoring on the front rotors and the pad material was also solidified in the middle of the pad where the crack would be. (check album link for pics)

As for braking too much, I'm not sure I understand. There are 3 hard braking zones from 112mph, 105mph and 90ish mph, and that's it. Other than those places any brake usage is minimal.

 

Is that tire pressure cold? I might be in the minority here, but I ran my RA-1's at 28 front and back and got great grip and wear at TWS this last weekend. I would guess that if you are running 40psi in the cold you may be going over the maxium pressure, which i'm assuming is 44, for that tire!!

 

Surely not. I would think those must be hot pressures.