Should Subaru release a motorsport version of the BRZ?

[Scubynubie]

I don't have time to go into a detailed post, but here are some quick interesting info bites about brakes:

1. the Nissan 4-Pot/2-Pot calipers that were on the 300ZX TT are identical to the Subaru 4-Pot/2-Pot calipers.

2. Brake fade is most directly related to your brake fluid. Having a brake system that can dissipate heat efficiently will help reduce the chance of fade occurring, but if you aren't running good fluid, your brakes will go away. Of course, if you go too crazy with your fluid, you won't experience fade, but you'll discover all kinds of new catastrophic brake failures.

3. Your brake system can only work as well as your tires have grip. In other words, if you can get your car into ABS, that is as quickly as you will be able to stop your car. You can put on a better brake set-up to manage heat, but it will not allow you to stop the car any faster.

4. For this reason, running stickier tires will work your brakes harder, so if you put on sticky "R" compound tires, you will likely have to improve your brake set-up to get back to the point where you can get ABS to engage.

5. The second leading cause of brake fade is improper use. If you want to see if you really need to improve your car's brake capacity, have an experience driver take your car out on the track and see if they run into the same issue.

[Dave-ROR]

Most modern cars have enough stock brake to lock r comps without an issue Oh and I didn't know that the Subaru WRX 4 pots are the same as Z32TT calipers. Fluid related fade happens but it's not the only component to create brake fade.

Just for some examples of some pad abuse, here you go... (linking to avoid people having to scroll past the pics)

This is a Hawk Blue 9012. One of my teammates installed it wrong. It was raced like this for 5 hours. I took the first stint in it and immediately noticed the problem but we were in third at the time about 6 hours into the race.. it got better after a few laps so we just ran it (we didn't know it was backwards at the time)..

Note the mark from the piston.. on the pad material...
http://www.itrexpo.com/users/dave/ch...kes/brake1.jpg
This is the backing plate, which was instead used as the pad
http://www.itrexpo.com/users/dave/ch...kes/brake2.jpg

This pad was destroyed on Sebring's club course (a very brake unfriendly configuration). This pad was used simply because we needed something to work for a 2 hour stint. It worked for about 1 hour 45 minutes before failure. This pad is from a set of $20 wearever silvers (yes, I'm serious about that).
http://www.itrexpo.com/users/dave/ch...kes/brake3.jpg
http://www.itrexpo.com/users/dave/ch...kes/brake4.jpg

The above resulted in a damaged (melted) brake piston...

This is a stoptech semi-track pad. This was also from Sebring's short course. As you can tell we badly overheated the material but the pad still lasted for about 6 hours of race use on a brake unfriendly track and never really failed, but obviously it's life was reduced because it was a poor pad choice for the job.
http://www.itrexpo.com/users/dave/ch...kes/brake5.jpg
http://www.itrexpo.com/users/dave/ch...kes/brake6.jpg
http://www.itrexpo.com/users/dave/ch...kes/brake7.jpg

The race car runs 1000-1200 degree rotor/pad temps, calipers in the 400-500 range (at sebring club course). This is what happens when you either use a valid pad incorrectly or you use pads that were not designed for the intended purpose.

With better pads (or correct installation :P ) we've gotten over 14 hours of racing straight (endurance racing) on a set of pads without killing them.

[Levi]

A motorpsort version called BRZ STI could come.

[Dimman]

Levi, GT300 rules have some of the loosest interpretations of 'production-based' in existence. That BRZ will possibly be competing with a Corolla that has a mid-mounted bespoke V6 in it...

[duffman13]

All these brake comments are funny to me and I can see alot of magazine racers and only a handful of people who have actually been on a track for any period of time.

I currently DD, auto-X, and HPDE a RSX Type-S with Stoptech Street Performance pads (good to 1300F according to them), Ate SuperBlue/TYP 200, running on Hankook RS-3s. The rest of the brake hardware is stock. The power is stockish with bolt-ons and tune.

Power-wise and weight-wise the cars are pretty close to identical.

Brake heat capacity-wise, the RSX-S and BRZ are very similar as well. The RSX has slightly larger front rotors, but the BRZ has a larget 2-pot caliper (I'm assuming slightly larger pad), and vented rears.

I don't overheat my brakes on 4x30 minute HPDE sessions at VIR or Summit Point, though the pads get used up quickly once you crest 1000F. The tires get greasy way before the brakes have ever been close to giving out on me.

This is where I say the following: There is no likely need for anything other than pads and fluid unless you are tracking the car for longer than 30 minute sessions with R-Comps and probably 50+ more horsepower. otherwise the only thing you are making faster is your wallet from the weight of the money you just removed from it.

Not to say big monoblock calipers don't look cool though. And I would consider the DBA rotors for the wieght savings if they didn't cost so damn much.