First things that fail tracking a performance package BRZ

[mkodama]

The brake pads and CENTERCAPS.

The pads overheat and give a warped rotor feeling bad enough to end a track day; a little surprising on stock Michelin Primacy HP tires. The real surprise is the front center caps fell out but not the rears; my theory is the front brakes make enough heat to relax the centercap retaining tabs.

This was track day #6 in the BRZ at Laguna Seca and the problems only started showing up when my instructor had me braking harder.



Time to look into new pads!

[8RZ]

I always remove the center caps anyway, because weight reduction!

[CSG Mike]

Center caps are always supposed to be removed for track use.

And yes, OEM brake pads are always insufficient.

I've posted thousands of times, that with even the most basic instruction, you will not have enough brake pad, Performance Package Brembos or not.

Street pads belong on the street. Track pads belong on the track.

PM me and lets get you a proper set of brake pads.

[mistople]

You're rocking stock pads after six track days?!

I'm amazed that thing slows down at all at this point. Good to know though. I'll remove my caps next month.

[nico_rsx]

Losing center caps is not specific to the brz. I lost both front caps on my previous car (rsx).
The front wheels were too hot to touch. I came to the same conclusion: The plastic get so hot that the tabs gets soft.

[mkodama]

Originally Posted by 8RZ

I always remove the center caps anyway, because weight reduction!

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Center caps are always supposed to be removed for track use.

And yes, OEM brake pads are always insufficient.

I've posted thousands of times, that with even the most basic instruction, you will not have enough brake pad, Performance Package Brembos or not.

Street pads belong on the street. Track pads belong on the track.

PM me and lets get you a proper set of brake pads.

Will do!

Originally Posted by mistople

You're rocking stock pads after six track days?!

I'm amazed that thing slows down at all at this point. Good to know though. I'll remove my caps next month.

Performance package brakes aren’t full on track brakes, but they are pretty damn sweet. 6 track days, 7800 miles, and pads still have >50% material remaining. Same goes for the Michelin Primacy HPs, lol.

Originally Posted by nico_rsx

Losing center caps is not specific to the brz. I lost both front caps on my previous car (rsx).
The front wheels were too hot to touch. I came to the same conclusion: The plastic get so hot that the tabs gets soft.

[Lex_K]

Some clubs make you remove the center caps. It is not because of the heat, the wheels actually deform enough due to forces on them during track days and make the center caps pop out.

[8RZ]

Wouldn't you say the heat contributes to the deformation? Also could depend on alloy of the wheel.

[14stu]

Originally Posted by 8RZ

Wouldn't you say the heat contributes to the deformation? Also could depend on alloy of the wheel.

The wheel itself has enough thermal mass and surface area for cooling that it does not heat up much. Your plastic center cap itself is more likely to heat up than the ~20lb aluminum wheel.

Just think about how tough welding aluminum is, getting heat to stay in the metal is a pain thanks to its ridiculously high rate of heat transfer (silver and gold are about the only materials better than aluminum at moving heat energy).

I have partially melted center caps at the track, the thin plastic doesn't hold up to the heat well.

[8RZ]

Makes sense, aluminum cools rather quickly as well.

[mistople]

Originally Posted by mkodama

Performance package brakes aren’t full on track brakes, but they are pretty damn sweet. 6 track days, 7800 miles, and pads still have >50% material remaining. Same goes for the Michelin Primacy HPs, lol.

I have those brakes. I smeared the pads after one day. More power to you!

[Horrid_Funk]

I have a performance package BRZ I just took out for its first track day yesterday at Sonoma. Winmax W6 pads worked fantastic, easily out-braking the stock tires. I didn't have time to flush the brake lines so I was using stock fluid and I didn't get much pedal mush at all after 7 sessions, so the brake kit is managing heat pretty well. Also had the Jackson DR/OC and temps maxed at 230 F which I was very happy with.

I also didn't remove my caps and didn't even notice if they were still on, I'll have to check LOL.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by 14stu

The wheel itself has enough thermal mass and surface area for cooling that it does not heat up much. Your plastic center cap itself is more likely to heat up than the ~20lb aluminum wheel.

Just think about how tough welding aluminum is, getting heat to stay in the metal is a pain thanks to its ridiculously high rate of heat transfer (silver and gold are about the only materials better than aluminum at moving heat energy).

I have partially melted center caps at the track, the thin plastic doesn't hold up to the heat well.

You might be surprised at how hot the wheels get.

Carefully put your hand close to a wheel next time you come off track!

[14stu]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

You might be surprised at how hot the wheels get.

Carefully put your hand close to a wheel next time you come off track!

I've nearly burned my hand trying to check tire pressures immediately after coming off track, so I'm painfully aware of how hot rotors get. But the wheels themselves shouldn't heat up too much (not enough to thermally expand enough to loosen a center cap.).

The thermal camera videos of brake cooling tests show the rotor behind the wheels glowing hot and the wheels in front dark and cool but the scale could be too high to read the wheel temps.

I'll have to take some temperature readings next time, I'm not nearly as sure the wheels don't get that hot anymore. I know they could very quickly because I've changed wheels in between sessions and while the tires were warm the wheels weren't.

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