Just signed up for my first HPDE event!

[dparm]

For those who say the pedal feel is "better" with one fluid over another...can you speak to that a bit more? I've used a variety of fluids in my cars over the years and never really noticed any difference. ATE Super Blue (RIP), SRF, Prospeed RS683, OEM BMW LV, off-the-shelf Castrol, etc. The difference to me has always been simply having new fluid.

For example, I tried Prospeed RS683 (aka Torque RT700) which they heavily advertise as "low compressibility" and "best pedal feel" but it was no different than the OEM BMW LV fluid...

[TrAcK TRaP]

Originally Posted by tsk94

Like I said, it's a trade-off. If you're someone that doesn't want to bleed/or doesn't bleed your brakes often then I agree that the SRF has an advantage.

I bleed my brakes after every, or every second event out of habit so this isn't a concern for me.

Just letting you know its overkill even for endless. SRF last a year easily and trust me its a 1 step up fluid .. At the end its your car your choice. Happy tracking bro..

[tsk94]

Originally Posted by dparm

For those who say the pedal feel is "better" with one fluid over another...can you speak to that a bit more? I've used a variety of fluids in my cars over the years and never really noticed any difference. ATE Super Blue (RIP), SRF, Prospeed RS683, OEM BMW LV, off-the-shelf Castrol, etc. The difference to me has always been simply having new fluid.

For example, I tried Prospeed RS683 (aka Torque RT700) which they heavily advertise as "low compressibility" and "best pedal feel" but it was no different than the OEM BMW LV fluid...

Yeah, it's basically the compressibility of the fluid resulting in a firmer, 'better' feeling pedal. I suppose like anything in terms of setup it's all individual preference and someone might disagree that the pedal feel is 'better' per say.

Never used Torque RT700 before so no comparison there. But the Endless had a noticeably more firmer pedal then the SRF.

[tsk94]

Originally Posted by TrAcK TRaP

Just letting you know its overkill even for endless. SRF last a year easily and trust me its a 1 step up fluid .. At the end its your car your choice. Happy tracking bro..

I don't use the Endless fluid all the time, I'm using either Endless or StopTech 660. Price to performance wise the StopTech fluid is better, as the only advantage the Endless has over it is the lower compressibility leading to a firmer pedal.

Overkill is all relative to how the car is being driven. Even if the fluid doesn't boil it loses performance as the fluid ages and get hot. You don't need to bleed the full system, the idea is to get the fluid that's in the caliper and mostly around the pistons as that's the fluid that gets the work the hardest and subject to the most heat. It may not be 'necessary' but it sure as hell doesn't hurt.

[spooni]

M is no longer a daily, so time to get busy!

Ordering ST60s soon, and thinking about tires too. Any simple weight reduction mods I could embark on? Also, what pads would be good for the ST60s? I will still use the car on the street a little, just weekend cruises and maybe one a day week to work a few times a month. I wouldn't mind some squeakiness.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by spooni

M is no longer a daily, so time to get busy!

Ordering ST60s soon, and thinking about tires too. Any simple weight reduction mods I could embark on? Also, what pads would be good for the ST60s? I will still use the car on the street a little, just weekend cruises and maybe one a day week to work a few times a month. I wouldn't mind some squeakiness.

Try a Hawk DTC-60. Fairly cheap and readily available, but you might get some faint squeaking at very low speeds. I daily on them and it's fine. Dave @ Zeckhausen Racing should be able to help out.

Otherwise a lot of people like the PFC 08/11 but they're way more expensive.

[Ximian]

Carbotech makes pads that perfectly fit the ST60 pad shape. Other pads may have fitment issues. You can search my post history for more details.

The XP20 compound in the front pairs perfectly with the PFC11s in the rear if that caliper is going to remain stock.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by Ximian

Carbotech makes pads that perfectly fit the ST60 pad shape. Other pads may have fitment issues. You can search my post history for more details.

The XP20 compound in the front pairs perfectly with the PFC11s in the rear if that caliper is going to remain stock.

XP20 seems pretty extreme to start with. Why not something like a 12?

[Kelse92]

Originally Posted by spooni

M is no longer a daily, so time to get busy!

Ordering ST60s soon, and thinking about tires too. Any simple weight reduction mods I could embark on? Also, what pads would be good for the ST60s? I will still use the car on the street a little, just weekend cruises and maybe one a day week to work a few times a month. I wouldn't mind some squeakiness.

Not simple or cheap, but depending on the age of your car and its battery. The Antigravity is an easy weight reduction option.

What are you thinking of for tires??

And then for brake pads Cobalt Friction is my go-to.
They are special order and a small business, so plan 2-3 weeks of lead time for them accordingly. But they are great stuff. Off the shelf otherwise I liked the Endless Pads for awhile and have heard good stuff about PFC.
I have stock rear and ST-60 front brakes and I leave the XR3 Cobalts in the rear all the time and swap StopTech Street pads out with Cobalt XR1 or 2 compound in the front at the track. With the StopTechs (or pretty much any bbk on an e9x) pad swaps are really easy and don’t take much longer if you already swap wheels for track use.
They squeal some of course daily driving on the rear, but they’re not bad compared to some other pads I’ve heard lol

[Ximian]

Originally Posted by dparm

XP20 seems pretty extreme to start with. Why not something like a 12?

The XP20 is very similar to PFC 11s in torque so it's a good comparison. Also, it's CTs only compound I have experience with so I can recommend that one specifically. I also don't see it making things more difficult for beginners compared to something like an endurance pad. Endurance pads like the PFC 08s aren't particularly consistent as they and the rotors get very hot.

The descriptions on their web site aren't that great apart from the working temperature ranges.

[spooni]

Originally Posted by dparm

Try a Hawk DTC-60. Fairly cheap and readily available, but you might get some faint squeaking at very low speeds. I daily on them and it's fine. Dave @ Zeckhausen Racing should be able to help out.

Otherwise a lot of people like the PFC 08/11 but they're way more expensive.

WOW. Those are not cheap!

Originally Posted by Ximian

Carbotech makes pads that perfectly fit the ST60 pad shape. Other pads may have fitment issues. You can search my post history for more details.

The XP20 compound in the front pairs perfectly with the PFC11s in the rear if that caliper is going to remain stock.

I will check those out. Seems fairly affordable too

Originally Posted by Kelse92

Not simple or cheap, but depending on the age of your car and its battery. The Antigravity is an easy weight reduction option.

What are you thinking of for tires??

And then for brake pads Cobalt Friction is my go-to.
They are special order and a small business, so plan 2-3 weeks of lead time for them accordingly. But they are great stuff. Off the shelf otherwise I liked the Endless Pads for awhile and have heard good stuff about PFC.
I have stock rear and ST-60 front brakes and I leave the XR3 Cobalts in the rear all the time and swap StopTech Street pads out with Cobalt XR1 or 2 compound in the front at the track. With the StopTechs (or pretty much any bbk on an e9x) pad swaps are really easy and don’t take much longer if you already swap wheels for track use.
They squeal some of course daily driving on the rear, but they’re not bad compared to some other pads I’ve heard lol

Can you elaborate on antigravity? It's a 2010 with 114k miles. Easy miles, but still high.

I'm between RS4s and A052s. There aren't great tire sizes for the RS4, at least at the moment...

I'll check them out as well!!

[Kelse92]

Originally Posted by spooni

Can you elaborate on antigravity? It's a 2010 with 114k miles. Easy miles, but still high.

I'm between RS4s and A052s. There aren't great tire sizes for the RS4, at least at the moment...

275/35/18 RS4’s can be ordered direct from Hankook Motorsport if that helps your decision at all

On the antigravity battery, my OEM battery in my 2013 car was showing signs of beginning to fail so I replaced it with the Antigravity. It fits in the stock bracket and depending on which spec battery you order can be very close to the same power output as the OEM one

[dparm]

Originally Posted by spooni

WOW. Those are not cheap!

They are one of the cheaper pads for that caliper/size. Look at what the PFC costs by comparison (almost 50% more).

Remember that big pads will last a lot longer, it's not like you're replacing pads every weekend. Those ST60 pads are similar in size to mine, and I usually get 6 full track days out of them -- and that's on a car with even wider tires that generates more braking force.

[spooni]

Originally Posted by Kelse92

275/35/18 RS4’s can be ordered direct from Hankook Motorsport if that helps your decision at all

On the antigravity battery, my OEM battery in my 2013 car was showing signs of beginning to fail so I replaced it with the Antigravity. It fits in the stock bracket and depending on which spec battery you order can be very close to the same power output as the OEM one

Got ya! I'll check that out. Those don't seem too unreasonable cost-wise

Originally Posted by dparm

They are one of the cheaper pads for that caliper/size. Look at what the PFC costs by comparison (almost 50% more).

Remember that big pads will last a lot longer, it's not like you're replacing pads every weekend. Those ST60 pads are similar in size to mine, and I usually get 6 full track days out of them -- and that's on a car with even wider tires that generates more braking force.

Hawk is cheaper than the 11s but the 08s are a little cheap than the Hawks, hmmmmm

[dparm]

Originally Posted by spooni

Hawk is cheaper than the 11s but the 08s are a little cheap than the Hawks, hmmmmm

That's good. The Hawks are so stupidly easy to get that it's hard for me not to run them. Never backordered, yearly rebates, and even Tire Rack sells them.

I say try both and see what you prefer.

[atopa2002]

Originally Posted by dparm

That's good. The Hawks are so stupidly easy to get that it's hard for me not to run them. Never backordered, yearly rebates, and even Tire Rack sells them.

I say try both and see what you prefer.

And they have biannual 50% off sales too, Spring and black Friday.

[spooni]

Originally Posted by dparm

That's good. The Hawks are so stupidly easy to get that it's hard for me not to run them. Never backordered, yearly rebates, and even Tire Rack sells them.

I say try both and see what you prefer.

Originally Posted by atopa2002

And they have biannual 50% off sales too, Spring and black Friday.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by atopa2002

And they have biannual 50% off sales too, Spring and black Friday.

Wow, that's awesome.

I bought like 5 sets from Tire Rack when they had 25% off all Hawk products + mail-in rebate. I think I saved a few hundred bucks.

Also, Hawk is eligible for contingency money in NASA. :-)

[MisterClutch888]

^good call. noted.

[Davisca455]

spooni, Thanks for starting this thread!
And thanks to everyone else for sharing all of their knowledge!
The members shared some really solid advice for a first timer, and most of that advice certainly resonated with me, but mostly the bit about "seat time".
I bought my car in August of 2018 (took me till November to get it on the road though, BARF!).
I did my first HPDE (Thunderhill East) the following April and it rained pretty decently for the first 2 sessions.
I had brand new tires (PS4s), OEM brakes with Hawk HP Plus pads on the front and OEM pads on the rear, no lap timers or video and a legit coach.
My attitude was geared for fun and learning the track. I wanted to please my coach and to see what it was like to drive as hard as I dared without having my wife yelling at me. That was probably the highlight of the day!
I went to Thunderhill again a month later, without the coach, still no video or lap timers, the weather was dry and cool this time, and I just worked on the things he left me notes about.
I went again the following September, with the coach, no video or lap timers, and it was hot.
After the first session the coach told me I was much smoother and way faster than the first time. "SEAT TIME"
Just like playing baseball, its hard to improve if you're on the bench.

Hope to see you out there,
Chris

[spooni]

Originally Posted by Davisca455

spooni, Thanks for starting this thread!
And thanks to everyone else for sharing all of their knowledge!
The members shared some really solid advice for a first timer, and most of that advice certainly resonated with me, but mostly the bit about "seat time".
I bought my car in August of 2018 (took me till November to get it on the road though, BARF!).
I did my first HPDE (Thunderhill East) the following April and it rained pretty decently for the first 2 sessions.
I had brand new tires (PS4s), OEM brakes with Hawk HP Plus pads on the front and OEM pads on the rear, no lap timers or video and a legit coach.
My attitude was geared for fun and learning the track. I wanted to please my coach and to see what it was like to drive as hard as I dared without having my wife yelling at me. That was probably the highlight of the day!
I went to Thunderhill again a month later, without the coach, still no video or lap timers, the weather was dry and cool this time, and I just worked on the things he left me notes about.
I went again the following September, with the coach, no video or lap timers, and it was hot.
After the first session the coach told me I was much smoother and way faster than the first time. "SEAT TIME"
Just like playing baseball, its hard to improve if you're on the bench.

Hope to see you out there,
Chris

I did not expect for it to blow up like this!

Thanks for sharing I can't wait for summer to be over so I can really get back out there. I'm hoping to get my stoptechs and some better tires by next track day. The heat was not too fun for me and the poor car!

[spooni]

Originally Posted by dparm

Wow, that's awesome.

I bought like 5 sets from Tire Rack when they had 25% off all Hawk products + mail-in rebate. I think I saved a few hundred bucks.

Also, Hawk is eligible for contingency money in NASA. :-)

Decided to run DTC-70s on my stock calipers. Picked up front and rear for $350 shipped from TR. Can't wait to try em out! Now to figure out my tires