Hey Everyone!
I was finally able to take my FiST out to Laguna Seca last weekend. It was a total Blast! For those that don't know I went out to Thunderhill on Dec 2 and had catastrophic brake failure. I completely ate through one whole set of brake pads (Wilwood's BP-20's) and lost my brakes going into Turn 1 at Thunderhill (100 mph turn). I toasted my rotors (backplates ate up the rotor surface) and melted some of the pistons in the calipers. After that event I rebuilt the calipers and got new Spec 37 GT rotors in preparation for Laguna. Instead of going with the weak BP20 compound, I went with the Polymatrix B compound that Todd over at TCE recommended. The pads worked GREAT, for about 2 sessions. After the end of the 2nd session my brake pedal was starting to get really soft and I started to get smearing again on the rotors. I sat the 3rd session out to let the brake system cool down, and I went out for my last 2 sessions (20 minute sessions).
The performance of the ST is superb! I had 3 guys a track that were genuinely surprised at the car's spunk. They each drove a e36 M3, e92 M3, and a 2014 Camaro SS 1LE package. My car would get lost at the straights between Turns 11-1 and 4-5, but in the corners in between I would catch right on up. There is some talk on here about the performance of the lowering springs, whether to go with them vs coilovers. With the Eibach springs, swaybars, and the Pierce Motorsport upper and 6 point lower braces, I have absolutely zero complaints. I have them mated up to my stock tires which are holding up greatly. I have about 6 autocross days, 2 full track days, and 6000 miles on the car and I have about 50% life left in the tires. I am really impressed with the stock tires.
Other than the brake pad issue, the day was amazing. I found out once I got back that I installed my calipers backwards. The bigger piston should be on the trailing end of the rotor, not on the front. This is what most likely caused a very accelerated tapered wear to the brake pads. I also have 2 leaky seals around the pistons. I ordered new seals and some more super blue brake fluid (not blue anymore), all in for preparation of my next track event. I also have a full set of OZ Formula HLT wheels coming in![[wink]](/images/smilies/wink.gif "Wink [wink]")
I spoke with Joe from 2JR and he recommended I use the Hawk DTC60 compound. I'll post a review of their performance after my next event.
For video I used a GoPro3 Black edition on a suction mount inside the car.
Obligatory Photos
Trackday Preview
[video=youtube;4lnL7C1Y6-g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lnL7C1Y6-g[/video]
More Youtube Footage
[video=youtube_share;lkTv06cRzGM]http://youtu.be/lkTv06cRzGM[/video]
I was finally able to take my FiST out to Laguna Seca last weekend. It was a total Blast! For those that don't know I went out to Thunderhill on Dec 2 and had catastrophic brake failure. I completely ate through one whole set of brake pads (Wilwood's BP-20's) and lost my brakes going into Turn 1 at Thunderhill (100 mph turn). I toasted my rotors (backplates ate up the rotor surface) and melted some of the pistons in the calipers. After that event I rebuilt the calipers and got new Spec 37 GT rotors in preparation for Laguna. Instead of going with the weak BP20 compound, I went with the Polymatrix B compound that Todd over at TCE recommended. The pads worked GREAT, for about 2 sessions. After the end of the 2nd session my brake pedal was starting to get really soft and I started to get smearing again on the rotors. I sat the 3rd session out to let the brake system cool down, and I went out for my last 2 sessions (20 minute sessions).
The performance of the ST is superb! I had 3 guys a track that were genuinely surprised at the car's spunk. They each drove a e36 M3, e92 M3, and a 2014 Camaro SS 1LE package. My car would get lost at the straights between Turns 11-1 and 4-5, but in the corners in between I would catch right on up. There is some talk on here about the performance of the lowering springs, whether to go with them vs coilovers. With the Eibach springs, swaybars, and the Pierce Motorsport upper and 6 point lower braces, I have absolutely zero complaints. I have them mated up to my stock tires which are holding up greatly. I have about 6 autocross days, 2 full track days, and 6000 miles on the car and I have about 50% life left in the tires. I am really impressed with the stock tires.
Other than the brake pad issue, the day was amazing. I found out once I got back that I installed my calipers backwards. The bigger piston should be on the trailing end of the rotor, not on the front. This is what most likely caused a very accelerated tapered wear to the brake pads. I also have 2 leaky seals around the pistons. I ordered new seals and some more super blue brake fluid (not blue anymore), all in for preparation of my next track event. I also have a full set of OZ Formula HLT wheels coming in
I spoke with Joe from 2JR and he recommended I use the Hawk DTC60 compound. I'll post a review of their performance after my next event.For video I used a GoPro3 Black edition on a suction mount inside the car.
Obligatory Photos
Trackday Preview
[video=youtube;4lnL7C1Y6-g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lnL7C1Y6-g[/video]
More Youtube Footage
[video=youtube_share;lkTv06cRzGM]http://youtu.be/lkTv06cRzGM[/video]
