wheel studs and brake calipers part II

[trackjunkie]

In my earlier post I commented about the my experience at the track with the brakes getting super hot and having to replace wheel studs and brake caliper seals, and adding venting to the brakes. Well, now I am almost finished, and wanted to share some lessons learned.

1. Brake venting, ducting, involved setup
Granted it was our first time doing this, installing ducting for the brakes in this car is not for the do it at home crowd. You definitely need a lift, and air tools, otherwise prepare to spend a couple of days at least. Also for any ducting to the brakes, be prepared to cut into the splash guards in a couple of places.

I went with the TF ducting kit because it was a complete kit. I had hoped to be able to combine it with these carbon air ducts, but the diameter of this carbon duct and the hose from the TF ducting kit are different. The TD ducting kit comes with a reducer that fits the carbon air ducts but if you clamp the reducer, you run out of clearance and the hose hits the wheel well. So I went through the grill as the instructions on the kit said.

On the driver side, you have the water tank blocking your path to the brakes, so the kit comes with adapters to move the water tank about a 1/2" to allow the hose to come through. Any larger diameter hose, I am not sure how it would fit.

Finally it is done, it is functional, but as I stated, I wish I could have used the fog lights opening. Having zip ties on the grill area is not my ideal scenario, but it will work. Anyone interested in the carbon ducts, I am ready to let them go cheap.

2. Braking noise
I added the Titanium shields to the brake pads and installed the dba 4000 slotted rotors. The braking is noisy now, probably because the whole setup is new, but for me that is not a big issue. Specially at the track, that noise on cold brakes when you drive around the paddock is a sign that you are serious

3. Lug nuts, and "tuner" wheels, beware of fit
I thought I was all set with the Muteki open ended extended nuts and they work fine on the OEM wheels. However, as we got ready to test clearance with my Motegi racing wheels we realized the lug nuts would not fit! The lip on the Muteki lug nuts does not clear the opening of the Motegi wheels. Thank god I checked this now before being frustrated at the track. It turns out, I need "tuner" style lug nuts. And the open ended extended lug nuts out there that are narrow enough are all aluminum lug nuts. Great looking, but not really functional for me as I take them in and out, I will destroy them in no time. So I went with these Zerg steel short lug nuts that should fit. Will look kind of weird on the extended wheel studs, but they will work. If anyone knows of any narrow, open ended and extended lug nut (and steel) please let me know.

I will report how well the setup does at my next track day next week. Looking forward to it ...

[ayau]

The bolt pattern on those Motegi wheels is 5x108. How does that work with our cars (which is 5x100)?

[rice_classic]

When you're saying "tuner" it really translates to 17mm socket vs 19mm socket. This happened to me but I just took a grinder and "modified" the wheel so I could continue using my 19mm sockets size nuts. I understand, however, that most folks don't want to take a grinder to their wheels.

FYI, when buying wheels and lugnuts make sure you verify what size lugnut your wheel will accept.


You also said: Be prepared to cut into your splash guards... Personally I think you just remove the splash guards, they're not doing you any favors whatsoever when you're on track.

[trackjunkie]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

When you're saying "tuner" it really translates to 17mm socket vs 19mm socket.

The lip of the Muteki lugnuts measures 22mm vs the narrow ones where the lip measures 20mm. Close but enough that it does not fit. I could see that grinding would remove the extra couple of milimeters to make it fit.

[Ninjin]

The Muteki SR48 lug nuts fit in my Motegi MR119 wheels, but I know another member locally had an issue with the SR48s not fitting in Motegi MR125s. Definitely try before you buy, if possible.

I can't wait to hear the results of your track time, especially since these are all upgrades I'm looking at myself!

Sent from my GS4.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by trackjunkie

The lip of the Muteki lugnuts measures 22mm vs the narrow ones where the lip measures 20mm. Close but enough that it does not fit. I could see that grinding would remove the extra couple of milimeters to make it fit.

Yes. but the "tunder lugs" use a 17mm socket (or special socket of equivalent diameter) vs the standard lugs which fit a 19mm socket.

Right?