Mike,

I'm kinda surprised that there aren't some racing mods you can make that will make your brake system less vulnerable to heat damage -- I'm a neophyte when it comes to brakes though, so I could be completely off-base. Could you perhaps upgrade to beefier calipers with seals that can take the heat? Maybe even a brake fluid cooler?

- Warren

 

You can get a brake duct kit. Take a look at davepk's car next time. He has front air scoops and a hose which routes the air to the rotor. It looks like a good setup if you ask me. UL's friend is developing a kit you can mount from the bottom of your car instead of having to cut out the fog lamp area.

 

Indeed, I ran the front ducts gilcwong is talking about (from C&T Engineering - bolt on, no cutting) yesterday in the instructor sessions. Didn't have the cool composite rotor shields with integral ducting that were tried on Gilbert's car (because I melted them during testing :-), so we just ran a hose to the rotor eye.

Along with Carbotech Panther Plus pads all around and Motul fluid I experienced no braking issues all day long. The rear pads smoked quite a bit while I came in for the first passenger exchange, but after that everything was fine (first event with these pads). Rear ducts are in the works and will be added soon. I figured, from other people's experience, that the front ducts would help out, but they worked better than I expected. The wheels were cool enough to touch after a hard session, tire pressures were not excessive (which can happen from too much brake heat) and while I didn't try touching the rotors, I didn't feel that blast furnace level heat radiating from the wheel wells. Perhaps most telling, when I got back into the car after letting it hot soak, the pedal was still rock hard.

I highly recommend good pads (there are plenty of brands that will work), good fluid and brake ducts.

On the topic of rotor warping, I'm surprised that anyone has had trouble on the S2K. FWD Hondas are notorious for warping the front rotors, but the S2K seems to be pretty well set-up. The only example of brake problems I've seen was on a beginner's car. He'd never seen track time and I took it for a test drive from a cold stop and the brake pedal was vibrating under moderate brake application.

UL

 

Ultimate Lurker, what's the ETA on the C&T Engineering ducts? Do they have a web site, photos, prices?

How difficult is the install?

Thanks

 

I keep telling Tom to quit his day job and start working on this stuff full time, but he seems to think a stable income is important for his family :-)

But seriously, the front duct design is finished and rears are close. Tom has told me Feb/March to have the production pieces ready. This may not include rotor shields depending on whether or not he finds a resin that will hold up, or he may just modify the stock shields like King does.

I don't know what the final pricing will be since the kit components aren't finalized. I do know that Tom was talking about $250 for all 4 ducts (front and rear) - hosing is extra, but he can sell it to you so you don't have to go shopping around - high temp hosing will cost around $50, or you can cheap stuff from Pep Boys, but it isn't as durable. Price would be higher if rotor shields were included.

The install is simple. You just remove two bolts on each side of the front bumper and the bolt the ducts in place. You run a hose back to the rotor, zip tie and voila!

C&T's email address is tps2@loop.com. Phone is 562-421-2449. Or just wait a bit as C&T will become a board sponsor when the product is ready.

UL

 

UL,

this sounds like the solution I've been waiting for. One question: will this setup be safe to leave installed on a daily driver that sees a lot of rain?

Thanks,

Ted

 

Having seen the results of a stock setup running Porterfield pads on an airfield I am very interested in this easy to install ducting solution. I'll await C&T joining the sponsors list

 

To anyone who thinks rotors won't warp when you hose them off hot... go ahead and try it. As for rain, it's not a factor in and of itself as the rotor is pretty protected- unless you live where it rains sideways, the rim and dust shield on the back of the rotor keep it safe from all but minor mist.

A direct hit, such as sinking the rotor in a full chuckhole, or blasting it with water when washing it will warp a hot rotor- I don't care what car you drive. The key is HOT- it doesn't take that long for a rotor to cool off. If you go to a car wash, wash the rest of the car first. After the 5+ minutes it takes you to do that, the rotors will be cool enough that getting them wet won't matter.

 

marcucci,

Good point. Even after washing the rest of my car for 5+ minutes, my rotors will still hiss like mad when they get wet from the hose. Can the rotor still be hot enough to boil water, but not be hot enough to be vulnerable to damage?

- Warren