Poll: Who tracks their 86 without going BBK
 

Who has been successful at eliminating heat/fade problems at the track with just simple pad/fluid/rotor upgrades?

I'll let you know what happens when I bring the car to Laguna Seca with stock rotors and tires, but RBF600 fluid and Project Mu club racer pads.

What tires your running makes a big difference here.

absolutely.

while BBK sure look cool......they will increase unsprung weight...which is NEVER GOOD....honesly 14" big rotors on a 200hp car at 2700lbs is serious overkill....

95% of braking performance is pad selection with fluid.....the fluid in the car seems pretty decent considering how severely I overheated the brakes on track.... A proper race pad with decent fluid will be enough for most track day people anywhere near stock power.....

If you are planning boost....then BBK becomes a better option

I was more speaking to the Essex Sprint Kit type kits rather than a flashy BBK.

I'm going to try and keep my stock rotors and calipers (with track pads & fluid) for as long as possible while I save for the Essex AP Racing Sprint BBK, which saves 20 pounds of unsprung weight over stock, I believe.

I will try to keep temps under control with some brake ducting and a proper backing plate from @Touge Factory

My first trip to the track saw me glazing the stock pads pretty bad. They came back around after a few more sessions with less abuse and two cool down laps. I would say the weakest link in the stock brake system would be the pads followed by the fluid. Bare minimum, go with some Super Blue to be safe.

Normally I wouldn't go to the track on stock pads and fluid, but there was a gap in the travel schedule and the opportunity presented itself. Had to go!

I agree on 14" rotors but not all BBKs run 14" rotors and not all of them are heavier than the stock components.

The majority of braking performance is *tires*. Tires stop the car, period. Any pad that can lock up your given tires is enough pad. OEM pads will lock up very sticky street tires. Pads will give you more friction which helps of course, but you also switch pads for their other characteristics (higher MOT, friction preferences, release and bite, modulation, etc) and fluid solely for heat.

My BBK (Essex Comp Sprint) is 10lbs per corner less than the stock components. I destroyed the stock stuff on the track :(

I think my car had air in the calipers from the factory, I made it just a few laps at Mid Ohio before getting fade. Air was in both *rear* calipers.. not heat related as the rears get very little heat in them.

Switched pads and fluid and they were smoking after every session of course but they were fine. Next event at Sebring they were smoking badly and fluid boiled during cool down driving.. oops.. then the rotors delaminated.

I voted pads first since that's the route I did take.

Need and want are two different things, but there are a lot of benefits to going with a big brake kit if you plan to keep your car and track it over the next couple of years. Check out this article I wrote on big brake system benefits you may not have considered. It talks about things like long-term running costs, wasted track time, confidence in the car, etc. At first glance, a big brake just seems like a big expense. Once you think it through though, it makes a whole lot more sense. I'd say about 96% of my big brake kit customers who track their cars tell me, "I wish I had done this a long time ago.":thumbsup:

Not any more... lol

Arrived today--just in time for my weekend @ Roebling.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8370/8...006ea3f7_b.jpg

Awesome! :)

im going to push the stock brakes till they fail, then ill get them replaced under warranty and then go BBK