I have a 98 civic hatch with a gsr swap. I recently started attending track events last year and grew quite fond of it. I been with the same brakes and almost the same tires for the past year. the only change was azenis to re11. after my frst thunderhill event, I noticed my brakes and tires are not on par with this track. I drive my car daily and attended 3 events this year. hopefully I will be able to attend more next year but I definitely feel like I need upgrade the vital components.

tires are obviously my first concern. they began to feel greasy on the 3rd lap out at thunderhill. I was running re11s in front and ra1s in the rear. ra1s are on a whole other level compared to the re11s. too bad they don't make them anymore such a great tire. love the fact they scream a little before they lose grip. but my next choice I been looking at is the hankook z214. they have the same pattern as the hoosier tires. anyone tried these out? how long do they last? I'm looking into at least 10+ track days out of them. they should grip great as I rode in a car with Hoosiers. main reason I'm asking about these are because of the price 160ish each. re11s are going for 130ish now. when reading reviews everyone has good things to say about it but most of them are autocrossers and don't stay out on the track for 15-20 sessions. and I couldn't find out about the longevity. they've been out for couple years already.*

im in the process of upgrading my 10" gsr brake setup to the itr 11" keeping the 4x100 setup. I got the calipers used for 40$ off cl. I'm trying to decide on what rotors to get. I either have to get the rotors from fastbrakes.com predrilled to 4x100 pattern or a brand from tirerack like the ate star slotted, cryostop, or brembo blanks and drill them myself. any advice on what rotor works bettering terms of heat vanes, rust prevention, best spider crack prevention? what brand rotors are u using? Kragen duralast ftw?

is anyone running 15x7 slipstream with the itr brake setup? what offset would be the best to clear the calipers with minimum rubbing? +40 or +45? I know 15x6.5 +40 definitely will not clear the caliper.

3rd I need some new pads. I been using hp+ forthe longest time ever. I'm thinking about upping it to ht-10. people tell me that blue will eat away my rotors. I have some friends running PFC 97 which seem to do awesome with the bonus of creating a light show at night. too bad they dont make those pads for the itr fitment. what are some good pad options besides ht10?

also i been thinking about getting an extra set of rotors and pads and swapping them in/out for the track, so I can run an even more aggressive pad. or would it just be better to run ht-10 full time?

 

Tires-stay on streets. You'll learn more. I'd say put star-specs on and call it a day. But your greasy feeling could be pressure related, it could be hot out, car could be set up wrong and overworking the tire, driver error, more grip out back with the ra1 than the front re11 causing epic understeer.

Brakes-itr 11 is good. Fastbrakes rotors work just fine. Don't buy anything slotted, drilled (they crack faster) or cryo treated (they don't last any longer). Cheap rotors are all you need.
Pads-i swear by hawk. Try the ht10 and see how it works for you. Once they are bedded in they are pretty easy on rotors. I've tried carbotech and didn't like them (wear too fast). I used to ove the old cobalts but when they ran out of vr's durring the change to the new line, I went to hawk and never left.

Wheels-15X6.5 slips need a small spacer. 15X7+40 fit no problem. 15X7+42 gramlights fit, 15X7+38 k1s fit

 

I would not mix street tires (e.g. RE-11) with R compound track tires (e.g. RA-1).

They still make the RA-1.

R compounds grip better than street tires. Street tires last longer than R compounds. That's the trade-off.

I agree with Lo-Buck that street tires are a better choice for those first starting out on the track; R comps grip better, but they give less warning before losing traction. Once you have enough experience to take advantage of the R comps, though, you'll want them, and you won't be worrying about how long they last.

 

I just ran the hawk HT-10 pads and like lo-buck I love hawk pads, the only ones I havent used have been the dtc series and blues(I went with ht-10 over blue). The HT-10 might have been a little much for my tires which made me more careful with applying brake pressure or else I easily would lock. I have been running kumho xs tires for awhile now which have been great but I plan to upgrade to ra-1s before my next event. I have the fast brakes 11 inch itr front brakes I should mention as well. My car is lighter (95 hatch) so the HT-10s may work out fine for your re-11s. FYI I just run a cheap blank redrilled to 4x100 rotor from the local car store. I just run HPDE's but deal with extreme heats down south and have experienced plenty of the gresy feeling, I have been able to handle most of that with tire pressure adjustments...actually just blew a motor recently at Sebring due to heat.

Listen to these guys, they know what they are talking about more than myself.

 

i've been racing on cheap rotors for a few years. they work fine.

 

So far so good for me with cheap rotors but my events are only 25-35 mins each so if lo-buck is racing on them then that reaffirms it.

FYI brembo blanks are even made in china now too so.....Dont look into that if you are.

 

If you want to stick with street tires, the Dunlop StarSpecs hold up to track use very well. 205/50-15 or 215/40-17 for an EG/EK/DC.

Consider the Nitto NT01 (225/45-15, though not nearly as wide as a Hoosier in the same size) if you like RA-1's, they are pretty cheap for low-end R-comps.

 

ok, this is a good place to tag along..
for my car my options from Hawk are basically the Blues, HP+, and DTC-60. The 60's are going to be my best option correct?

 

They still make the RA-1, so that is an option. Both the RA-1 and the NT01 are available in 205/50-15.

I haven't used the DTC-60, but it all depends on what you're looking for. If you want a track-only pad whose dust will corrode the paint on your car's body and wheels, get the Blues. If you want to use the pads on the street as well as the track, get the HP+. The DTC-60 is a track-only pad, and usually such pads have characteristics (need for warmup, plus squealing) that make them undesirable for street use, but for track use only, their grip and resistance to heat are better.

 

I use wilwood big brakes in the front and si in the back with htc60 and love it. Pads are lasting way better than other ones. I used the wilwood race compound one weekend at the california speedway and didn't get to the second day. Killed the pads in day and half.
RA1 are still around. Actually Honda challenge did go back to ra1 from 888. Don't mix R compound with street tire is like wearing one running shoe and one dress shoe and try the 100 meters.
For track days I love the nt01. Cheaper than the RA1 and toyo is parent company of Nitto.

 

Pricing depends on the sizes used. In some sizes the RA-1 is cheaper.

 

When I was looking last year, these were the best deals I found on Nitto NT-01's in 225/45-15:

$125 + shipping
http://www.onlinetires.com/products/...2+n%252Fa.html

$142 free shipping
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...tion&tmn=NT-01

 

I am using HT10's up front on cheap rotors on Kumho XS's. So far so good.

 

Hawk blue pads are good with stock on the rear in my del sol VTEC work good. Cobalt Front XR3 and rear XR5 are awesome in my type r, Stock pads in the rear would probably work fine too. Ps get a good dot 5 fluid