A Serious Track Brakes Setup... That works!

[jamesb18cjdm]

So the way I understand it the 06' TSX calipers & rotors are a direct replacement and everything just mounts up to Civic spindles?

[jrickerm]

Yes, just a minor bit of trimming with tin snips to the dust shield around the larger TSX caliper.

[jamesb18cjdm]

That's awesome.

[Guerra]

Originally Posted by ff juice

i was having the same problems with my car. i ran throgh the stock set up in two track days and then went to HP+'s with rbf600. i ran through those in three track days. i tried some taiwan made brake kit, they didn't even last a whole track day. so i went to tsx calibers, rotors,rbf600 motul, cobalt xr2 pads and new line. its been working grate 5 track days and counting. the whole set up cost me about 350 and the pads were the bigest cost.

Where did you get your calipers and rotors that cheap?


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

[mikeJstein]

I got mine used off ebay for pretty cheap. I dont think its worth going new. If you need to do a rebuild, so be it, but you'll still save money.

Also, I just went ahead and chopped off the front dust shields completely. They get in the way of a lot of work, and adds needed ventilation.

[jrickerm]

I kept my dust shields on so i have a mounting surface for the brake ducts - which are still a work in progress.

[cambodianricer]

I had to cut my dust shields to fit the caliper

[mikeJstein]

I dont think the ducts are worth the effort. The TSX rotors/calipers + good track pads + no dust shields seems to be coping very well with intense track use. I personally think a duct like that will cause some serious thermal expansion stress on the rotor because one side will be significantly cooler than the other side. I don't know if that's what racing teams typically do, but ideally you would feed the inner rotor section where the air is drawn through the center vented part of the rotor. That allows for even cooling.

[jrickerm]

That's a good thought, I've wondered about that too but was guessing the outer face was getting better cooling already than the inner from the spinning rims so the inner face needed the help. Seemed OK last year on the track - rotors held up fine, but I'm also on track pads, etc.

I was looking at some of the race setups and its hard to tell exactly where they send the air - some just use a bigger duct and blast the whole face (see the "bodies in white" for the new 2012 Civic). Mine is angled a bit towards the center, but its not perfect for sure.

You're also right about the extra effort - but that's half the fun of mods to me!

[gliberios]

I have read through the thread. What is the best street/track (HPDE 1) pad? I am already running TSX rotors and calipers with stainless lines and Motul 600 fluid. I am also currently running Axxis Ultimates. Also, are the Brembo blanks better with heat dissipation than stock TSX rotors?

[cambodianricer]

Originally Posted by mikeJstein

I dont think the ducts are worth the effort. The TSX rotors/calipers + good track pads + no dust shields seems to be coping very well with intense track use. I personally think a duct like that will cause some serious thermal expansion stress on the rotor because one side will be significantly cooler than the other side. I don't know if that's what racing teams typically do, but ideally you would feed the inner rotor section where the air is drawn through the center vented part of the rotor. That allows for even cooling.

I'm at the point where my brakes are generating enough heat to crack rotors, so brake ducting is a must. I installed some ghetto drier ducts and during the last track day, I didn't crack my rotor at all. PLUS, I drove even harder.

[cambodianricer]

Originally Posted by gliberios

I have read through the thread. What is the best street/track (HPDE 1) pad? I am already running TSX rotors and calipers with stainless lines and Motul 600 fluid. I am also currently running Axxis Ultimates. Also, are the Brembo blanks better with heat dissipation than stock TSX rotors?

The best pad is subjective.

I always swap out my pads.

Stoptechs for DD (same as your Axxis Ultimates) then Carbotech XP-12 for track use.

Stay with the TSX rotors if you're not having problems with it cracking. Save the money for a dedicated set of track pads even if its just HP+

[jrickerm]

The Brembo's I'm using are just the replacement blanks for the TSX - nothing special (not drilled or slotted). I suspect they weigh about the same as stock TSX rotors, so the heat capacity would be comparable. But they seem to be holding up extremely well for me!

Nothing wrong with "ghetto" if it works well, is thought out, and holds up. I'm amused by the guys that call "rice" or "ghetto" on DIY solutions because it wasn't made of carbon fiber and purchased from some JDM shop for $500+. I call "race" instead - one of the best splitters I've seen started as a sheet of plywood, and there's a guy on the NSX forum that is doing wind tunnel testing on a custom plastic undertray to improve his top speed (autobahn, trying to hit 200 mph). Performance doesn't always come in a box IMO.

[cambodianricer]

Originally Posted by jrickerm

The Brembo's I'm using are just the replacement blanks for the TSX - nothing special (not drilled or slotted). I suspect they weigh about the same as stock TSX rotors, so the heat capacity would be comparable. But they seem to be holding up extremely well for me!

Nothing wrong with "ghetto" if it works well, is thought out, and holds up. I'm amused by the guys that call "rice" or "ghetto" on DIY solutions because it wasn't made of carbon fiber and purchased from some JDM shop for $500+. I call "race" instead - one of the best splitters I've seen started as a sheet of plywood, and there's a guy on the NSX forum that is doing wind tunnel testing on a custom plastic undertray to improve his top speed (autobahn, trying to hit 200 mph). Performance doesn't always come in a box IMO.

Maybe look into the material that the rotors are made from.

LOL, this is my friend's car; he holds a the record for Street class FF at buttonwillow (Super battle 2011)

[jrickerm]

Sweet!!! I can't get away with those kinds of upgrades and stay under the po-po's radar in my town - its still my DD. But I like it!

[cambodianricer]

lol, he just removes the wing on the roof and drives around. but now he has another car to dd

[MIKE_civic]

Good to read I'm not the only one having brake heat issues at the track :P

I had to change 3 OEM calipers this summer lol
running HP+ in the front & rear

Finally decided to change for Wilwood big brakes (the dynalite 4 piston version) to get rid of that problem
Put some DTC-60 in the front, initial bite was perfect, but I boiled my RBF600 twice in the day, after 12 minutes of track pedal was to the floor

I still have the heat shields, I'll try taking them off

Do you guys keep your ABS at the track? wondering if part of the problem could come from there also, ABS still working when I turn in

[cambodianricer]

Yeah, I fried my stock calipers after a few track days. Swapped them out for the TL-S brembos. Turned the calipers to a dark brown color from high heat.

How do you like the DTC-60? and are you using the HP+ in the rears?

Try doing some brake ducting, it works!

Yes, I leave ABS on since I'm not on that level to drive without it yet

[MIKE_civic]

I tried these setups

HPS at the four corners, no more pad after 3 lapping days :P
HP+ front - HPS rear
HP+ front - HP+ rear
quite good for my second track summer, but at the end I was becoming too rough for that compound

So switched to DTC-60, initial bite is way better than HP+ and my braking distance was shorter, but ended out in boiling my RBF600 :P

And yes HP+ in the rear, got 3 different sets of pads in the front in the summer, only one in the rear

[cambodianricer]

I tried:

Stock caliper (with RBF600)
Project Mu Club Racer (F) , HP+ (R)

went through a set of front pads every two or three track days, and finally the stock caliper was toast

Then swapped to TL-S Brembo (RBF600)
Project Mu CR (F) , HP+ (R)
I kept overheating the MU's so I finally switched to Carbotech XP-12

MUCH BETTER than the Mu's.

and I'm still on the same set of rear pads for like 10 track days LOL


I only boil the RBF 600 after 8 or 9 hot laps. But the pads are still within temp