need help with my brake set-up
 

Hi, planning to upgrade my brakes. i rarely use my brz so i don't plan to spend too much $ for something that i rarely use. bring it to the track once or twice every 2 months and used on the street 2-3x a week max.

currently installed a goodridge ss brake line and planning to get stop tech slotted rotors for both front and rear, then ebc yellow stuff brake pads for front and stop tech brake pad on rear. will that be an ok set up? tried searching for reviews for the stuff i want but can't seem to find any. any advice would be much appreciated, don't mind the dust as long as it will make my car stop better than oem brakes, noise as long as it doesn't sound too loud then i can deal with it.

Slotted rotors won't really gain you anything, and will shorten pad life. I'd keep stock rotors.
Flush fluid with fresh DOT4 of course.
Pads:
Stock power level I'm betting a lot of people would do fine with Hawk HP+ pads. They do dust a ton, and squeal like mad until beaten into submission at the track. Temperature range isn't as high as dedicated track pads, and apparently when they go off it's very abrupt, but I've never had a problem running them on my stock S2000 at the track. Very grabby and grippy pad, more so than Carbotech XP8 and XP10 pads I've used. It's almost like having a supercharged brake booster! Some like this (I do), others do not.

Carbotech XP8 are more $$$ but have a higher temp range. Dust of course, brownish and cleans up easily enough. Squealing is almost nonexistent after track use, and it's actually a pretty streetable pad. I've dailied the S2000 for months on end with these.

XP10 is another heat range higher, but I doubt it's needed for a stock-hp FR-s/BRZ. Also quite streetable, I've run it on the RX-7 for months.

StopTech "Street Performance" pads might be OK. Had them as streets on the FD, but never tracked them.

You might try the same compound front and rear. I know a lot of people insist on higher-spec pads in front, but for me, in my cars, I like having the same compound front/rear.
Lower-spec rear pads can have you underutilizing rear grip and can reduce overall braking performance.
That said, if there are stability issues in the braking zone due to too much rear brake bias, then going to a lower c.f. rear pad is a good way to depower them.


One more thing: The "right" brake pads for one driver might be different from the "right" pads for another driver! This is true even at the very highest levels of motorsport. Some drivers are just harder on the brakes than others, and of course preference for initial bite, responsiveness, and "feel" varies a lot as well. Ultimately you and only you can really determine what is best for YOU.

If you want to stop better than OEM then get better tires.

Tracking once a month and streeting 2 -3 days a weeks is far from infrequent use.

If those facts are true you would need at least seperate pads for street and track, better fluid, and maybe a BBK.

Had EBC yellow on my last car and on only street driving 1 corner the pads turned to dust somehow. I blame it on the fitment because they didn't just slide in, the tabs were so tight. It was my first brake job so I didn't think to file it but I guess I should have. But why would they make their pads fit like shit?

What exactly are you trying to improve? IMO it sounds like you're just throwing random parts at it without knowing what exactly you want to "fix".

If you want to stop shorter, you'll need more tire grip. If you can engage ABS then the brakes are already more powerful than your tires can handle.

Once you have more grip, then you can look at pads with more bite.

Are you experiencing any pad fade currently on a track?

Based on what you've said so far, I would bet that the most you'll need is better fluid and more aggressive pads. I'd personally stay away from EBC and look at other brands instead (Ferodo, Project Mu, Winmax, Hawk, etc).

This^

I have heard it many times before on here and elsewhere, not to mention is has showed up in some gaming simulators surprisingly (Gran Tourismo 6)

i.e. I would be racing on tires much like the FRZ had on stock, and when I would break almost no deceleration or turning ability. Comparatively I would change to the extreme side and slap on racing slicks and be able to stop in less than half the distance and flip the car on a dime.

The best mod of stopping distance is stickier tires IMO.
just my .02 cents though.

Keeping the brakes from fading at the track should be a bigger priority than having stickier tires. I'd rather go to the track on OEM tires with better pads and fresh DOT4 fluid than go on upgraded tires with stock pads and the factory-fill DOT3.

What kind and what size tires do you run?

That along with how you use the car will tell us the most about what would work for you.

- Andy

Stopping distance and brake fade are two different catagories tho :) if I wanted stock brakes to last longer under harder use than regular driving, I agree better pads, fluid, maybe some SS lines.

tires are re-11a 225/45 on 17x7.5 rims.

car is used 2-3x a week and track about once or twice every 2-3 months. also i want more responsiveness on the pedal when i step on it. don't plan to stick with stock rotors since this happened after 4x on the track and about 3,000km on the car.
http://i.imgur.com/zqKMA0Hl.jpg

RacingBrake offers a affordable OE BBK that allows you to use a 322x25mm rotor.
it keeps your stock calipers while gaining additional rotor diameter to help reduce brake fade.

OE BBK Thread

also
1+ on upgrading your tires,
a racing based compound and better sized tires will decrease stopping distance due to the better grip.

You're definitely overheating the pads (a LOT). They're getting so hot that they're melting and smearing.

If you want to have a "put it on and forget it" solution, try a hybrid pad like the Winmax W4 or Project Mu HC+800. Expect noise and dust.

If you're comfortable swapping pads yourself, get race pads (Winmax W6, Project Mu Club Racers, Carbotech XP10, Hawk DTC60) and swap on the pads for canyon/track use, and then put the OEM pads back on for everything else.

Make sure you get good brake fluid for both pads; that'll be the next weak point.