[NRBRNG]

Update after first track session:
Oregon in February: 34 degrees, snow flurries, rain... We had it all. Consequently, it was road tires all day (Conti DW) and standard stoptech pads up front-not the Cobalts. I did run Cobalts in the rear on OEM calipers to help the bias which worked incredibly well. I have to say the DW's were fantastic in the cold and wet conditions. Very impressed.
Back to the brakes...Out of 5 sessions i was lucky to get 2 dry ones towards the end of the day and really get on the brakes as normal (to extent the DW's would let me). Performance was very good, good initial bite, zero fade. Best of all- MUCH cooler after sessions. Not a very scientific gauge...but just standing next to the fronts i could feel very normal heat radiating, whereas the rears were their usual furnace heat and pinging for several minutes. I will know more when the same Cobalts are front and rear and also test with heat paint.
All hoses, flanges and backing plates held up perfectly thus far.
Happy so far. Next day is March 10th. By then it should be 75 and sunny...


OK. First phase of the winter project finished and ready to test at Portland Int Raceway at the end of the month (Son of Quattrofest... Yes! RS4's...)

I have needed a solution for overheating brakes for a while now. I previously ran stock with Cobalt XR2 pads. No problems with fade, bite was great and stopping power was fantastic... just tons of heat that ultimately shortened pad life (1-2 days max).
ST60's were the stoppers chosen and I decided to do everything at once with the ducting set-up. The work was completed by our outstanding local shop run by Eddie Nakato- AR Auto Service in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Bimmerworld CF backing plates ($398) http://store.bimmerworld.com/carbon-...tes-p1412.aspx
Apex inlets ($200), some ducting (not much).
The cost of molding and amortizing it is clearly tough with these prices, but hey if they get the job done, it's less than the cost of two sets of pads...

CF plates: Well, they are light and CF, but the fit definately needed some work...lots of grinding and sanding around the outside in order to fit. But fit they do. We are not sure how long they will last without some reinforcement around the pipe area that exits to the ducting though...
The Apex inlets look good, good molding, nice and stealthy tucked away, but at $200 clearly the tooling costs outweigh the material costs but that is totally normal these days. Ducting fits great to these inlets.

I am running the Stoptech street perf pads on the road and for the track Cobalt XR2's that are available for the ST60's. This combo should stop a bus.
Can't wait!

Cheers, Mark