So what track brakes do all the cool kids use?

[M-Sport fan]

When you can get it. I ran SRF in my car from 2017 until the start of this year, when it wasn't available. Apparently they only make a couple batches a year, and of it sells out, it's sold out until they make more.

That said, SRF is the best fluid for a daily/track combo car IMO because the wet boiling point is about 100° higher than anything else available. It's a little more than twice what it costs for me to get Motul RBF 660, but the bottles are twice as big (SRF comes in 1L bottles). In the end, it was cheaper for me because I didn't have to flush the system every two events. I'll buy it again.

Sent from my H8314 using Tapatalk

Yeah, totally forgot about the scarcity of this 'liquid gold'.

 

[kevinatfms]

Something that occurred to me after thinking about this a bit. The Fiesta uses a front air dam that goes all the way across the front of the car. There is no smooth path for air flow to go under the car to the deflectors. Unlike a Boxster, 991, Vette, Mustang, etc, there is no way for cooling air to get to those deflectors. All of those cars have a smooth underbody setup that could use a deflector duct to catch some of that air. Or they use a designated duct from the front of the car through the fender liner that dumps air into the wheel wheel that could then be deflected into the center of the wheel, likle the GT350, E36, etc.

Air still flows through the wheel well, up from that front skirt/dam. It’s not a sealed piece to the leading edge of the engine compartment like an undertray so all it does is push the air downward before the airflow becomes unstable. The low pressure area of that skirt helps draw air down from the engine bay like wickers for hood vents it’s only to a certain point until they air dives back and up. A full under tray would need to have air flow paths added but since the fiesta has no undertray this isn’t as big of an issue.

It’s also not about ducted airflow to the deflectors. It’s about the available airflow already present and deflecting/re-directing that through the wheel well. You’re not taking anything from anywhere that already doesn’t have some sort of flow path. Wheel wells are known pressure spots and usually exhausting that through the top or back half of the fender can increase flow in that area. Just use what you already have within that area and direct it through the wheel instead of around the inner fender area.

Boomba has a great video showing the air flow path through the stock front w/ air dam and out through the wheel with a smoke test.

Also guessing from the amount of brake dust before and after on my car, it’s pulling as much air as possible. I have not tested with temp strips yet but can on my next track outing. It’s 1 bolt to remove the deflectors so it shouldn’t be too hard to show a before/after comparison. I do know that i havent boiled fluid or overheated a set of pads since installation.

Both the Focus RS and Porsche 993 use these same style air deflectors without dedicated ducting(they do have undertrays but they do not have dedicated path for flow to them) and they work perfectly for those applications.

Focus RS


The Performance Pack 1 Mustangs now have deflectors also with its air dam which has a dedicated flow path since the undertray seals from the front bumper PAST the area of the deflectors. Vorshlag has a set of plates which use the stock flow path to direct airflow. So the air flow stays the same they just direct more of the available air through the wheel.

The Corvette, M3 and certain others use dedicated ducting. That is understandable as a better solution but much more involved, more maintenance and more cost associated. For someone who isn’t tracking their car every single weekend or doesn’t feel like removing the dedicated ducting for daily/weekend use then the air deflectors is a great choice.

Here is the Vorshlag plates. The undertray on a Mustang makes it a requirement to add in those "tunnel" parts to make some path for airflow from the front of the car. I think with our car, airflow is still there just not as much as there could be with a full undertray and directed flow paths.
https://vorshlag-store.com/products/vorshlag-s550-brake-cooling-deflector-kit

 

[FiST to death]

When you can get it. I ran SRF in my car from 2017 until the start of this year, when it wasn't available. Apparently they only make a couple batches a year, and of it sells out, it's sold out until they make more.

SRF, the Pappy Van Winkle of brake fluids. lol

 

[lowda9]

BRAKE DUCTING. Get the temps down no matter what you do. If you melted the center caps, imagine what you did to the brake caliper seals and dust boots? Brake caliper seals are not happy when they start getting over 400deg. What do the boots for your ball joints look like?

The DTC60 is a good combination, but as with all race pads, DO NOT drive them on the street for any period of time. Race pads are extremely abrasive before they get to operating temps. Carbotech makes a nice race pad for the stock calipers. If you move away from the stock calipers you get a whole bunch of pad options.

The parts I used to build my BBK allows me to use a super common pad shape so tons of companies offer different compounds.

I think you got it the other way around. Racing compound pads don't reach their maximum coefficient of friction until above 500 degrees F. They would be terrible to run on the streets especially in the winter because you wouldn't get any bite.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I think you got it the other way around. Racing compound pads don't reach their maximum coefficient of friction until above 500 degrees F. They would be terrible to run on the streets especially in the winter because you wouldn't get any bite.

Yes, that first stop sign/stop light out of your development/neighborhood could be DEADLY on full race pads, especially in the winter in cold climes.

But I think that Fusion Works was trying to say that full race pads are abrasive to rotors when cold (or hot, for that matter, but much less so) and was not commenting on their coefficient of friction mu factor (I cannot type the actual Greek letter for this on this keyboard/system), at all.

 

[Fusion Works]

Correct, the elements of the pad (resins, binders, metallic elements, etc)behave differently at low temperatures than they do at operating temps. I have seen cars that tried to use "race pads" and drive to the track or something like One Lap and the pads never get to operating temps, the pads wear the rotors out extremely fast, like a few hundred miles. Those same pads work fine and don't hurt rotors when under racing conditions.

 

[WutApex]

Yes, that first stop sign/stop light out of your development/neighborhood could be DEADLY on full race pads, especially in the winter in cold climes...

I've actually done that with the CMC once...I ended up almost a full car length into the intersection. It was a 4-way stop so I just had a couple ppl looking at me like WTF? Because racecar, Lady.

 

[burks10]

so im not a 'true' track go-er, just getting into it so I dont know how these stack up to other pads out there to be honest... but I've got these (PowerStop Track Day) on my car and i like them. Ive only taken my car to the track 2x but they didn't exhibit brake fade, never any smoke/smells or anything. When I had stock pads, they definitely weren't as good as these after driving spiritedly for 20 mins+

They make 2 types of track day pads. Track Day and Track Day Spec. TD is for road use and weekend track use (ones Ive got) and the Spec are meant for the track only . Can't speculate on the Spec versions

TD Pad Link

https://v2.powerstop.com/product/power-stop-track-day-brake-kit/#y=2018&mk=FORD&mo=FIESTA&ss=ST Models


TD SPEC Pad link

https://v2.powerstop.com/product/power-stop-track-day-spec-brake-pads/#y=2018&mk=FORD&mo=FIESTA&ss=ST Models

Does anyone here have experience with these pads as well? Id love to hear your thoughts as well!

How does the Powerstop TrackDay compare to the OEM brake pads? I love the initial bite of the OEM's. How is the noise level? Also, how are they holding up in terms of lifespan? Rockauto has an entire kit for under $300

 

[Fusion Works]

If you like the OEM pads why bother changing?