1st lap = warmup. Me =

2nd lap = pushing the car a bit. itr = me =

3rd & 4th laps = pushing the car MORE. itr = me =

5th lap = getting closer to the limit, but azenis are getting hot. itr = me =

6th lap = pedal travel a little more than I remember. Turn 4, itr = me = Turn 5, WHERE'S THE BRAKES??? PEDAL TO THE FLOOR!!! PUMP PUMP PUMP!!! itr = , me = , passenger =

7th lap = leaving the session early b/c the brakes were that bad. GONE.

I pitted in and figured I boiled the fluid. Never done that before, but the fluid is old. on me. I thought I could get through one more event, but I guess not. So I only got one session all day.

We get ready to go to the hotel for the evening, and Jetydosa notices a grinding metal on metal noise from the front of my car (no squeal indicators, so that's weird). Chris N give me & :middlefinger:

We get to the hotel, and I borrow some hps pads from Pyromaster, put them on, and notice that I'm down to all 4 backing plates in the front. Nice. On top of that, I have apparently pushed all 4 pistons on the spoon calipers out of their sockets. One of the pistons had some fluid (a few drops) coming out of the seal. ****!!! Of course I'm far from home... So I have a hard time getting the pistons to go back in (hopefully just b/c of the fluid pressure), but finally get them in and get everything back to together. I stop at the mexican restaurant looking like a vagabond, and drop off flashlight to Jetydosa, c-clamp to Pyromaster, and allen key set to Russ. Thanks for the stuff guys. :middlefinger: to Chris N.

me = done. motul = not available anywhere in lil talladega area. I limp it back to ATL hoping to not drop all of my fluid on the hwy before my return.

The story is almost over, but not quite. For some reason, everyone on the hwy is doing 85mph the whole way from Talladega to ATL. On top of that, when I get to ATL, people are doing 90+ through the entire downtown area, and everyone is weaving in and out like madmen. I'm loving the cut me off and brake check me move the whole way back. Finally, I move to the far left-hand lane and am going a little faster than everyone to get up to an open area with less traffic. Some old thunderbird is riding my *** now. I can't even see his headlights, and it looks like he's trying to race a galant gts. He goes around me, cutting myself and some others off, and then runs up on a 3-car pileup in the left hand lane. A bumper is sitting in the road, and that lane is stopped by these people's cars. I casually get over, hoping not to cut anyone off, but most importantly there is no way I could've stopped in time. I have no idea why downtown ATL was so crowded with traffic like that. I have never seen it like that on a Saturday night. EVER. Ok, so I'm now home with some more brake work to do.

*WHEW*

Lesson learned. Next time I will flush the brake system and make sure I have plenty of pad material + extra pads when I go to the track.

Now I'm off to start another thread on spoon caliper rebuild.....

*Special thanks to Trey, Asahi, Jetydosa, Pyromaster and buddy, Chris N and buddy, and Russ. I wouldn't have made it home without you guys.


Modified by Black R at 9:46 PM 3/21/2004

 

[QUOTE=Black R] I have no idea why downtown ATL was so crowded with traffic like that. I have never seen it like that on a Saturday night. [QUOTE]

It's NCAA B-ball tournament.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, Ken. Hope you can save the calipers!

 

The Endless NA-R isn't good for track at all.... I've used it on the track and it faded halfway through the session. Now I'm using them as the street-only pads.

If you plan on using Endless, the CC or MA series are the way to go. The MA-11 squeals like a **** but it lasts forever. And it is a little too aggressive even for R tires (they are recommend to be used with slick tires). The Cobalt specVR is a much better setup for R tires.

 

eek, Good luck with the repair.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Black R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Lesson learned. Next time I will flush the brake system and make sure I have plenty of pad material + extra pads when I go to the track.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

A very important lesson learned and I'm glad that it was "minor" compared to what could've happened.

Don't skimp out/be lazy about self teching the car. Check and double check important items such as your braking system.

Good luck with the rebuild. I haven't really put much thought into the rebuild of my calipers yet but if anything, I'd look for Nissin calipers that have the same piston size(s) and start from there. I doubt Nissin did a complete one off for Spoon calipers and that you'll be able to find seals/rebuild kit fairly easily (I hope).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wai &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The Endless NA-R isn't good for track at all.... I've used it on the track and it faded halfway through the session. Now I'm using them as the street-only pads.</TD></TR></TABLE>


Actually, my experience with the NA-R's was totally the opposite. I've only used them at autox and lil talladega (1.35mi course), but I went there last year and had 3 back to back sessions with no fade. The azenis were getting HOT and squirmy though..... The na-r suck for street imho. They squeal and dust a lot + cold bite is terrible. I got them from a buddy who got them through a&j I believe... they recommended that setup as a good street/ track crossover.

Sounds like the cobalt VR is a good track pad. What about a good street/ autox pad? I just need quick initial bite and no warmup time. I'm gonna dremel some of jeff's old stockers for street use tomorrow.

 

Only decent street/track combo pad from Endless is probably the CC-Xs.

Cobalt spec VRs are nice. GT Sports are pretty decent too but they're on the noisy side for street use. You can always use Axxis Ultimates and yank off the wear indicators. That's what I'm currently using for street and I'm happy with them.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Black R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Actually, my experience with the NA-R's was totally the opposite. I've only used them at autox and lil talladega (1.35mi course), but I went there last year and had 3 back to back sessions with no fade.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry I might have mixed them up with the NA-S. It was too long ago and I don't rememer which one they were....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Black R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Lesson learned. Next time I will flush the brake system and make sure I have plenty of pad material + extra pads when I go to the track. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yikes... I spend about 30 minutes going over the whole car before it leaves for the weekend. Then spot checks during the weekend to make sure the car is ok.....

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thk &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Only decent street/track combo pad from Endless is probably the CC-Xs.</TD></TR></TABLE>

JDM *****!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yikes... I spend about 30 minutes going over the whole car before it leaves for the weekend. Then spot checks during the weekend to make sure the car is ok.....
</TD></TR></TABLE>


.....that's the thing. I thought I had checked everything. It turns out that the brake pads I thought I was looking at were just the thick assed ENDLESS backing plates. I did skimp on the flushing of the fluid though - so that's a damn on me.

 

whoa thats crazy, i hope the calipers are ok, goodluck on the rebuilding

 

Had fun out there too.

My brake delima: pads were worn down to the backing plates after the last session and I had to drive home that way since I didn't bring the OEM set. DOH!

STi Porterfield R4S pads:

on the track

for life expectancy.

Hope the front rotors aren't too bad, they're $300+ each.

 

I think everybody left with bad brakes. Started with everything working great. I now have no pedal pressure. Since the beginning of the weekend I've replace rear wheel cylinders, rear pads, new front rotors, new front calipers, and flushed the fluid many times now. Hopefully I can get everything working again by next weekend. Had a great time out there this weekend though.

I love civics too. Rotors were $11, calipers are $23, and rear wheel cylinders are $9.

 

didn't realize that there were so many brake issues...I, too, left with a mushy brake pedal...of course, its nothing that bleeding the brakes won't resolve.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Trey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
STi Porterfield R4S pads:

on the track
</TD></TR></TABLE>


Yeah the grip, acceleration, and brakes on that sti are ******* amazing. I have some good footy of the 4 of us in your car - I felt like I was gonna be sick! I learned some of your secret lines though..... I cant' imagine what that sti would be like with more boost + bolt ons + r compounds.....!

 

Oh boy, You are scaring me Ken, I'm bout to head to lil Talledega tomorrow morning. Figures I didnt bleed my brakes like I wanted to. Hopefully my broke-*** stock brakes will hold up. Good luck with the rebuild.

 

LOL, great explanation Ken.

Good to see you again, but sorry to hear about j00 kaa. j00 missed all the offroad excitement on Sunday and the redneck frame puller.

 

Good seeing you in paddock Chris.

I don't want to be anywhere near you on track. Mugen intake didn't get broken, did it?

What was your buddy's name with the white eg?

I got to meet thinkbrianthink too! LOL