hahaha I sound like a pompous *** in my first post

"well kyle, you should know..."

wtf is wrong with me

 

Exactly, the reason for going to a big brake is for heat dissipation. If you have tiny *** brakes and are on them hard over and over, you either crack your rotors or boil your fluid or break chunks out of your pad. I've done the first two on wrx brakes with pads that are supposed to take a lot to fade, and a friend has done the third on similar pads. I've also faded my stock pads and boiled my stock fluid in my STi with stock brakes and street tires. Similarly, I've boiled fluid in my STi with race pads on street tires, who knows what will happen once I throw the NT-01s on.

Better pads can help, but if you are actually using your brakes hard it doesnt fix the problem, it just helps it until you crack your rotors or boil your fluid or catch your pads on fire.
+1 for hydraulic e-brake, never used one but have a friend who had a setup on his evo for a while. Have to be careful to not **** up your center diff tho.

No matter how big your brakes, if you want good initial bite and pedal feel, you need a decently aggressive pad.
If you haven't ever faded your jetta or L brakes, you don't drive hard.


In general though I agree, most people who do BBK's don't have any reason to. Unless you have faded the brakes you have, theres no reason to other than for the bling.

 

hahaha, yeah, I was complaining that my little brakes fade fast.

Other than that... yeah, I think we all agree on this

 

Ya its not saying big brakes aren't necessary.. it just points out exactly what you said.. people just expect the wrong results..

I have experienced serious brake fade on drives I do here in sonoma county when I have to brake and accelerate then immediately brake again etc etc.

there is also a down hill i like a lot that takes a serious toll on your brakes with heat.

 

you live in woodside...what are you doing with stock L brakes!? LOL! youre gonna fly off the mtn someday!

haha.

I guess i'll have to experience my first fading at a track day...since im a noob and all...

my rotors have a 1mm edge on the lip...if i get new ones with new pads, how long do you guys think i will have before i need rotors again? assuming i use autoX level pads? i just have to pace myself, because $100 a corner is gonna get old fast if i have to pay that once a year.

 

the only time I saw brake rotors worn down that much was on my buddies truck, which he never maintains. He doesn't exactly race auto-x, but his idea of a good time is repeat 60-0 stops.

Rotors should last longer than a year, I'd think. The service manual recommends inspecting the rotors every 30 months, or 30,000 miles. This does not necessarily mean they'd need replacement, but go figure. Just a guideline I suppose.

Also, the shop manual says that having a sunroof adds 25 pounds of weight. Sweet Jesus!

The solution to weak brakes is a thicker rear sway bar :RockOn - not mine:

 

yeah sunroofs suck. not the best place to have 25 lbs either.

 

Then I guess having a roof rack is even worse since there's aerodynamic drag to go along with the extra weight.

As for brakes, I've killed my front wheel bearings because, like many, I was in denial of how crappy the stock brakes were. I ran Carbotech Panther XP8 pads and ATE fluid at the track which didn't seem to fade. Oh no, it didn't fade but it cooked my wheel bearings and left heat checking marks all over my rotors. I'm now running a Stoptech BBK and still driving on toasted wheel bearings. Pad knockback, anyone?

 

My tires are 420 tread wear and I have brembos, aggressive pads, and motul



But I also don't run fancy sticky tires on the street, you will never be able to fully explore their limits without breaking the law or being unsafe. Not to mention you are wasting precious expensive rubber commuting on them, and they are loud/uncomfortable

Most people switch tires at the track

But I agree, tires play the largest role in stopping distance. BBKs are what not are for fade resistance since they can absorb and dissipate more heat

 

Consider me informed. Did not know about the wheel bearing issues someone else mentioned, either.

I've got the stock WRX calipers, SS brake lines, better fluid, and Hawk HP+ pads front and back and love it for our hills - Mt. Tam downhills, etc. are no problem. The only time I've experienced a noticeable amount of fade was when I was after a half-hour of following EQ Tuning on a too-fast NorCal drive. I could see where I'd have issues at a track day with all the heavy braking.

In comparison, my original stock pads were greasy about 1/3 of the way down Mt. Hammy. I've also been on a drive with a fellow WRX's stock pads were practically on fire halfway down the hill.

On the down side, the HP+ is harsh for around town driving. Fine for me since I'm driving, but it'll get passengers sick... The deceleration is not linear and the last few feet of braking are suddenly strong.

A side note: I had the displeasure of experiencing that ABS recall issue where wavy tarmac + ABS stop = oh my god no brakes. If anyone hasn't had that fixed yet - that's a big one to take care of.


Oh, how I'd love a hydraulic e-brake. I do my best to fake it with hand e-brake and clutch-in. But unfortunately, unlike a proper rally car, I don't have power to the fronts.

 

True, but remember, i autoX at Marina...where the people are...unique if thats the word haha.

Walking thru grid and seeing how modded someones car is and looking at their tires. I guess it is a money thing, but if youre real about driving, tires should be your first mod.