Brakes and rotors for track
09-28-12, 01:50 PM
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Brakes and rotors for track
Hey guys just curious for the guys that track their F. I installed brand new oem front brakes/rotors back in AUG, took it to two track days since and now need to change them again is this the life expectancy for them. Looking at the forum seems like nothing is better than original brakes and rotors for the track. I am going to another track event soon and def need to change them, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated thanks.
09-28-12, 05:58 PM
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Well I did one or maybe two track days with oem pads and experienced too much brake fade that I changed to carbotech XP10's in the front and XP8's in the rear (oem rotors). I have used them for 6 or so track days and they still have maybe one or two track days left in them. They have much better stopping power with better bite and NO fade. I use them for daily driving as well so I don't have to change them between track days and DD. They work well for DD in that they still bite when cold unlike most track pads... They are noisy and dusty however and that is the trade off..... I purchased XP12's for the front that i'll use next year since I am now using R-compound tires just to see if they're even better. I just changed back to oem pads for the "winter" just a couple of weeks ago. I have 14K miles on my F and the 8 total track days on the oem rotors and I have a little less than half the life of the front rotors left... I'll be putting the Racing Brake 2 piece rotors that Figs has available on in the spring....
09-28-12, 06:10 PM
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^ glad to hear you have liked the XP10's. I actually just received some today that I plan on running at the track in early November for a weekend HPDE event. Did this event last year on stock pads and rotors, though the car did fine for the weekend my oem pads were toast by the end. They really took a beating and if I could say so myself I think they slightly "melted", but they did work and I didn't notice any fading even while doing threshold braking from 130+mph multiple times. Now have the Carbotech pads for peace of mind.
09-28-12, 10:33 PM
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thank you guys for your input. i need to change the front brakes and rotors. dont know what to do now in terms of replacements, just changed my rear rotors and pads afraid if i run a different setup up front the car might not run right.seems like factory pads burn out fast damaging the rotors then creating the need to replace both. you think i should try figs two piece rotors for my event with pads doc is running? or buy factory rotors and use the pads u suggested. i just dont want the car to sound like crap, i use it as a daily driver. is that why u switched to factory pads? how do they compare to hawk pads?
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09-30-12, 05:07 AM
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thank you guys for your input. i need to change the front brakes and rotors. dont know what to do now in terms of replacements, just changed my rear rotors and pads afraid if i run a different setup up front the car might not run right.seems like factory pads burn out fast damaging the rotors then creating the need to replace both. you think i should try figs two piece rotors for my event with pads doc is running? or buy factory rotors and use the pads u suggested. i just dont want the car to sound like crap, i use it as a daily driver. is that why u switched to factory pads? how do they compare to hawk pads?
but obviously oem pads are not working out for you since you melted them on 2 track days and prematurely ruined your rotors it sounds.... (i'm surprised however that your rotors are truly shot in this time frame..... is your shop/dealer trying to take advantage of you? what was the rotor thickness? that is the only way to know for sure regarding this.... (or the cracking issue detailed below)If you want good track performance and no noise for DD, then i think you'll have to change between track days and the street. it will take about 1-2 hours for you to do it after the first time or so and you learn the process. you could also DD the track pads for a few days to see if it's truly "too much to bear" regarding noise.... just a thought....
OEM (and i'm sure lower cost alternative such as centric) rotors do fine for track although i am getting small cracks in the rotors surrounding the drill holes.. (barely within spec at this point) (less than 1cm from holes and edge and also they do not connect between holes...... if they are beyond this, then they will need replaced) I am definitely getting the 2-piece rotors as i said, but they are some coin...
you can purchase them directly from carbotech... very nice people and are happy answer questions about their products as well... Figs is running xp8's front/rear and seems happy... Lobux runs 12's i believe... if you're running street tires, i'd run 10's... if R-comps, then 12's... but probably not a huge difference between them... you can always start with the 10's.... use them and see if you'd like to go more or less aggressive with bite.... and if you need pads then can sustain higher/lower brake temps....
Last edited by ERDoc74; 09-30-12 at 05:10 AM.
09-30-12, 09:57 AM
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Thank you Doc for such an excellent response, the rotor has a small lip and it does have an uneven surface so based on what I have heard you cannot put new pads on rotors that have grooves in them. In terms of thickness I think they r still good.
09-30-12, 04:03 PM
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I hope Lobux chimes in, but wherever you got that info about the rotors is not accurate.... Just bed in the new pad on the old rotors as long as they are within spec on thickness and you will be fine.... The new pads will wear the old grooves, etc.... Sounds like someone is trying to sell you new pricey rotors for no good reason.....
09-30-12, 07:56 PM
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Very interesting. i got screwed before than as well. if you can please tell me what is the appropriate thickness range for the front rotors, i will check the thickness myself. The shop does not sell me the rotors i usually get them myself, but they said that basically if you dont want to take the risk of having your wheel vibrate/shake change rotors.
xp12 front and xp10 rears sounds very nice, are you running on Factory tires. i think What Doc said in previous post with street tires XP10 Front and xp8 rear is a good combo going to order my front pads tomorrow. i just changed my rear rotors and pads with factory but what do you think doc should i get rear carbotechs as well and throw them on for the track and then switch back to factory. or will it be ok, i know the rear brakes are less used during track. just dont want them to melt like the fronts.
xp12 front and xp10 rears sounds very nice, are you running on Factory tires. i think What Doc said in previous post with street tires XP10 Front and xp8 rear is a good combo going to order my front pads tomorrow. i just changed my rear rotors and pads with factory but what do you think doc should i get rear carbotechs as well and throw them on for the track and then switch back to factory. or will it be ok, i know the rear brakes are less used during track. just dont want them to melt like the fronts.
10-01-12, 10:07 AM
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IIRC. Starting front rotor thickness is 30mm and need replaced at 28. Rears start at 28 and need replaced at 26. I'm pretty sure this is right, but I do know for sure it is stamped on the rotor itself the min thickness. Hopefully someone will correct me if I am wrong...
As far as the rear pads, I would change them to carbotechs as well for track days as you don't want too much brake bias in between fronts and rears.... Obviously the fronts are stressed much more than rears during braking but I fear that if you have say xp10's front and oem rear pads that this could cause undesirable handling characteristics at the track with repeated high speed braking.... I don't have first hand knowledge of this however and this is just my speculation, (but based on info gathered from much more experienced members here on this forum.... I.e. Lobux.... We're is he btw?
. Hopefully he will post on this thread soon and give his opinion! 
As far as the rear pads, I would change them to carbotechs as well for track days as you don't want too much brake bias in between fronts and rears.... Obviously the fronts are stressed much more than rears during braking but I fear that if you have say xp10's front and oem rear pads that this could cause undesirable handling characteristics at the track with repeated high speed braking.... I don't have first hand knowledge of this however and this is just my speculation, (but based on info gathered from much more experienced members here on this forum.... I.e. Lobux.... We're is he btw?
. Hopefully he will post on this thread soon and give his opinion!