Nice recipe. I'm going to have to do something about my rotors this year.
They're getting thin and the longitudinal cracks scare the tech
inspectors--and a few alert spectators. I'm not fond of Hawk pad material. I
find Performance Friction 93 to be really wonderful and easy on the bits. I
haven't tried carbon-Kevlar. I'll give the cryo treatment a try--it does
seem like snake oil, but odd things happen at very low temperatures. I'm
reading "A Different Universe" (and almost understanding it) by Robert
Laughlin who won the Nobel prize in Physics for his superconductor work. His
discussion about phase changes and movement of nuclei in solids at
superconductor temperatures leads me to believe there might be some rational
explanation for why it would help.
I drove my 360 at a Ferrari track day yesterday and was looking over the
brakes on a Enzo that was there getting wrung out. Massive brakes, and the
rotor material looks like it's partially carbon. They looked kind of rough
surfaced, but it was probably just material deposition from the pads. Fast
car, though I was able to stay with him for a couple of laps by really
pushing the 360. then my tires started going away and I decided I'd feel
really stupid if I rolled my toy.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-fot@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-fot@autox.team.net] On Behalf
Of Jack W. Drews
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 7:59 AM
To: fot@autox.team.net
Subject: brakes rubbers
I used to have to rebuild calipers at least once per year. My dust covers
would be hard, brittle, and fall apart to the touch after one or two events.
Over the past three years I made several changes, with the happy results
that I can run a set of calipers at least three years without having this
problem, and these calipers have external dust covers.
Here's the list of the changes I've made, realizing that some contributed
and some did not contribute to the solution of this particular problem:
1. I switched to Toyota calipers. I don't think the car stops any better,
and I don't think they have much more pad area than the stock ones, but I'd
have to measure to be sure. After two seasons, my dust covers are still soft
and pliable. Yeah, I know it's illegal., and I expect a beating with an old
Hoosier for doing this. Please don't move me to Group 6 at Road America for
this, though.
2. I stopped using Hawke Blue pads. They scoured the rotors to the point
that I had to replace rotors about every two seasons. They shed little
shards of metal, presumably from the rotors, that imbedded in the clear coat
on my Panasports which offended my tender aesthetic sensibilities.
3. I installed the aluminum hubs, which may or may not contribute some
cooling, but as a side issue these hubs with their larger inside bearing and
with the aluminum material, allow the lubricant in the inboard bearing to
live for a whole season, as opposed to a lubricant degradation every three
events.
4. I switched to Carbon Kevlar pads.
5. I had a new set of rotors cryogenically treated.
With the carbon kevlars and the cryo rotors, life of both parts is double.
My current rotors are now two seasons old and show no degradation
whatsoever. I've completed seven events with these pads, and I'll be able to
use them for at least several more events. The rotors still look like new. I
was totally skeptical of the cryo treatment and suspected that it was a
metallurgical form of snake oil, but happily the results have proven that
opinion wrong. Best of all, all these problems have gone away.
uncle jack
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