IMO, those GT3 brake ducts aren't likely doing a whole lot for you. More and more cars these days have that sort of plastic piece on the undertray. The C7 Corvette Stingray is another good example. Realistically however, for brake ducts to be moderately effective, the air needs to be dumped directly into the area where that air is needed. Otherwise the air is just diffused...it spills all over the place. In your case, you need cooling air in the center of the disc flowing into the vanes. Otherwise, most of the air isn't reaching its intended target. Please see the pic of our Endurance Kit integrated duct below. That is what a proper duct termination at the disc end looks like. The air only goes where it is supposed to go, and there's not really anywhere else for the air to go:
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Thanks for the advice and willingness to help me. After speaking with a few other helpful and knowledgeable people last night, I have a plan of attack after replacing the rotors.
-Get the car realigned and possibly corner balanced
-Get some datalogging going (Aim Solo DL) and share the logs with the knowledgeable folks here
-Get temp strips and/or pyrometer and check temps on hot pits
-Start doing the pedal dance religiously (get the 86Nanny pedal dance device once its available)
-Adjust my braking method to brake slightly earlier into faster corners and see how that affects my times
-Look in to revisiting brake ducting to get some extra air to the rotors
-Last resort would be the Endurance kit upgrade. Questions on that: Would I keep my calipers and just get a different mounting bracket and Endurance rotors and pads that would be it? Would the Endurance kit fit under my Mach V Awesome wheels?
Again I really appreciate the response and I am still happy with my BBK and the way it performs on track. I hope that if anyone else is experiencing the uneven wear that they'll speak up about it so we can come together and find the root cause of the issue.
I'll try to keep this thread updated with my findings. It may be a month or so before I start cracking away at this as I have some other financial obligations to take care of first.
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No worries...That's what we're here for!
That looks like a good/logical plan of attack. I have a feeling that addressing your corner weight and alignment will not only make your car handle substantially better, it will help even out your brake and tire wear. That alone should save you money and time in the long haul. On all of my track cars over the years (Integra Type R, miata, Z06, and 350Z), it was unbelievable what a proper setup from a legit race shop did to the handling. I believe it's money very well spent. You won't have to fight the car to do what you want it to do, you'll dramatically decrease your steering input in many situations, you won't have to throw it into certain turns, or rely on brakes to get it rotating...the list goes on. Just make sure you have the car configured as closely as possible to the actual condition it will be when you're driving it in on the track (your weight in the driver seat, half tank of gas, etc.).
As for going to the Endurance Kit, I agree that should be your last resort. Frankly, I don't think you'll need to go that route once you have the car properly sorted. If you do end up going that route, your best bet is to sell your complete Sprint Kit on the used market and start fresh. The cost of the components individually is greater than the cost of the entire kit. Just contact me if it comes to that I'll do what I can to help you out.
On wheel fitment I have the Mach V Awesome 17x9 as a confirmed wheel fitment without a spacer, but I don't know the offset. Someone on this forum has tried it successfully though. You can always
check the template to be 100% certain.
You probably aren't going to see a ton of posts about odd wear rates from other owners. We've sold many hundreds of these kits over the past few years, and the only time we typically hear from our customers is when they buy fresh pads and discs or win an event. Very few of them are having any problems, and the AP Racing hardware tends to be fairly bulletproof. Every once in a great while there are some minor malfunctions after the parts have been flogged unmercifully on the track for long enough, but it's nearly unheard of to have a manufacturing defect, etc.
Anyway, keep us in the loop. I'll be curious to see the results as you work down your list. Again, I think getting the car setup properly is going to pay big dividends for you. The car should feel a lot more planted and stable under just about all conditions, and particularly so in brake zones.
ps I forgot to say...I had my Miata set up with no passenger seat in the car and my body weight in the driver seat (roughly 200 lbs). When I put the passenger seat in and had a 200 lb. passenger, it was unbelievable how much worse the car felt! The thing didn't want to turn worth a darn (relatively speaking). I think on lightweight, low power cars like we have, the car is particular sensitive to changes. You don't have big power, big fat tires with huge mechanical grip, etc. to overcome any flaws. You lose speed and it takes you forever to claw it back!