Brake options and pads, For DE events Options

[joea9146]

Just got back form 2 days of Watkins Glen had a great time. This was my first DE and first one for the 914. The one problem I had was braking I did not feel my brakes were grabing the way they should. I am running SC brakes on the front an 914 brakes on the rear. I am running on Stock pads. The fluid was flushed prior to the event and replaced with the DOT4 Blue stuff, But the brakes did not feel like they were stopping the car. The instructor also drove the car and said the barkes did not feel right. Thinking of upgrading to Carrear calipers and rotors on the rear with a High performance pad. What do you guys think, what brakes and pads are you running. The car is a 3.0 with 175 hp to the rear wheels.

[Eddie914]

Pads are the biggest change you can make!

Lots of good alternatives: Hawk, PF (performance Friction), Jurid, Porterfield, etc.

Generally, track performance is inversely proportional to street manners (great track pads suck for everyday use ... noisy, dirty and cold blooded).

My personal preference are Porterfield R4 pads. They are good compromise between price and performance for a hard core track pad. Many people prefer PF 97s, Hawk Blue or Jurid Orange, but I don't think the performance gain per $$$$ is worth it.

Porterfield also makes the R4S which is a Street/Track compound and the R4E which a Endurance/Track compund. On my BMW M5 the R4E works great since the M5 is a big heavy fast car with not enough brakes. The R4S is a good pad until you only brake more than 8/10ths.


My $0.02

Eddie

[ss6]

Joe, I've tried Mintex, Pagid (blue) and Performance Friction 97's. The Mintex's were high end street pads, no squeal, grabbed nicely, and wore the quickest. I didn't notice any fade, though I was just starting DE's at the time. The Pagids were the squealiest (cold, street), grabbed well, and were reasonably useful for the street. The PF's are less noisy than the Pagids, seem to grab harder (when warm) than the Pagids (perhaps too hard for my 205's, they locked me up a little too easily @ WGI), and are a little scary for the street when cold.

Your caliper mix is not unusual, any chance the rotors or pads got a little grease on them somewhere along the line? Are you running a "tee" or a proportioning valve? What size tires?

[seanery]

I'm currently using (well, installed, but haven't used yet) Porterfield R4S. The R4 came well recomended. I opted for the "S" for street since my car is 90% a street car.

[J P Stein]

Joe:

With S (same as your As but alloy) front calipers my stock rears were just along for the ride......that's was with the adjustable porportional valve wide open. The rear discs were just warm when the front were HOT......the rear discs (914/6) still had their original machining pattern visable when I took em' off !

In a nutshell, your brake balance is off.....IMO (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I installed M calipers & vented discs in the rear.
At a DE...with stock Pagid pads .....the brakes got to stinkin' some, but never faded. The rears are now doing their job.

[pcar_914_6]

I use Porterfield R-4's as well but with Wilwood differentials on the front and '79 911 rotors and struts. The Carrera rear calipers and 914-6 rotors use the same pads. I alternate between the blue stuff and Motul 600 degree stuff since I can tell when each is completely bled. The dyno tells me that Penelope (my 914)applies about 218 hp to the rear wheels depending on the fuel and exhaust setup.

Good Luck,
Ron
'74 914/993 conv.

[TimT]

I used to use Porterfield pads, that is until I was able to get Hawk blues at cost.

The porterfield is a great pad, as are the others mentioned.

change your pads also like JP mentions check your rotor temps to see how the brakes are working. he rears can just be along for the ride

I had carrera caliupers all around on my car until the middle of this season, they work great

BTW i do have an adjustable bias valve so I can get the rear brakes to help out a bit more. I just recently installed Wilwood Billet Superlites with custom hats, and 11.75x1.25 rotors these brakes are now "hand of god" brakes...


get performance pads, and check your brake lines, if they are suspect replace with either new stainless or rubber ones.

how old is the master cylinder?

[joea9146]

I used to use Porterfield pads, that is until I was able to get Hawk blues at cost.

The porterfield is a great pad, as are the others mentioned.

change your pads also like JP mentions  check  your rotor temps to see  how the brakes are working. he rears can just be along for the ride

I had carrera caliupers all around on my car until the middle of this season, they work great

BTW i do have an adjustable bias valve so I  can get the rear brakes to  help out a bit more. I just recently installed Wilwood Billet Superlites with custom hats, and 11.75x1.25 rotors these brakes are now "hand of god" brakes...


get performance pads, and check your brake lines, if they are suspect replace with either new stainless or rubber ones.

how old is the master cylinder?

Master cylinder (19mm) and brake lines are all new when I did the conversion (about 2 years) . I am not running a porp valve just a "T" I think the problem is the pads and lack of grip from the rear rotors. I think it might be time to toss the rear calipers and go with something else on the rear. Tim u still have the Carrera calipers, since u have upgraded. I would be interested in the rears if u have them ???

[TimT]

Actually still have the rears on the car, I only did the Wilwood upgrade on the front, sorry if I wasnt clear, I already sold the carrera fronts to another club member..

Also try a different pad before you drop coin and replace the rear calipers.

You mentioned this was your first DE, Id advise you to make changes incrementally... just pads for now for example. And see how the car reacts as your skills increase. Then as your skill increase, you will learn which upgrades to the brakes you really need.

I know guys that run SC fonts and stock rears and have great brakes

[ChrisFoley]

I've been using KFP Magnum pads with great results on the track. They also work on the street but are a bit noisy. They work almost as well cold as hot.

[Matt Romanowski]

I'm probably the only crazy one, but I've been running a 2.3 four with ~180 horse with stock calipers front and rear. I really like the Porterfield R-4, but I can toast them really quick. The pad I've been running with GREAT success are Raybestos ST-42. This is a fantastic pad. Not for street use, but it will last over 2 days at NHIS, which is about the toughest track on brakes. I've been successful with this pad in a bunch of 914 and turbo applications. For serious track, I would suggest these.

Matt