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Who\'s running what (tires & brakes) at VIR? Help?
Just trying to decide what would be the best to run on a road course. Since I've never been on one.
Tires: I see three options for me right now.
(1) My street tires - Kumho Ecsta 711 in 215/55-15 mounted on wagon wheels. I definately like these tires. They have much better grip than the Firestones. They are great in the rain. But the tall sidewalls make the steering input feel more sloppy and the larger OD robs torque. But on the other hand, the larger OD should give me a higher top end.
(2) My auto-x tires - Kumho Victoracers in 205/50-15 mounted on stock 15" wheels. I have 6 tires all with about 5 auto-x events on them.
(3) Buy a dedicated tire for the event. (not very likley)
I'm leaning towards just running the 711's. Since its my first time on track, I'll hopefully not be pushing it very hard.
Brakes: I really don't know what to do here but have some ideas. Right now I'm running the dreaded EBC/Mintex combo that was a deal from BAT. I have the standard EBC rotors and the Mintex A/F pads. I don't know how scientific or practical it was but I did a test the other day. I wanted to see how the pads would hold up to continuous hard braking. I set my alarm and got up at 3:30 in the morning and went out on the highway. I took the car up to 75-80mph and with nobody behind me for miles, I stood on the brakes and brought it down to about 10mph. I did this five times with approximately a 1 mile cool down in-between. On the third test, I could feel them start to fade. I had to push harder on the pedal. On the fourth test, it got even worse. On the fifth test, I couldn't even get the tires to lock up. Keep in mind that the brakes were bled and flushed very thoroughly recently with Valvoline Synpower fluid. So this leads me to believe that I might want to do something before VIR.
I have a few ideas but haven't done much research yet. Let me know what you think:
(1) New OEM pads on the EBC rotors.
(2) New OEM pads on new OEM rotors.
(3) Hawk HP+ pads on the EBC rotors.
(4) Hawk HP+ pads on new OEM rotors.
(5) Hawk HP+ pads on new Brembo rotors.(tirerack)
Keep in mind that the pads/rotors only have about 8k miles on them and the rotors show almost no wear. And, budjet is definately an issue. But, I don't want to be sitting on the sidelines because of brake failure. Please point me in the right direction.
Also, should I change to the ford HD brake fluid?
Car specs are as follows. '01 ZX3, Aerocharger turbo @7psi, SVT springs and rear swaybar, Koni Yellows, Poly bushings, camber plates at ~1.75 front.
Just trying to decide what would be the best to run on a road course. Since I've never been on one.
Tires: I see three options for me right now.
(1) My street tires - Kumho Ecsta 711 in 215/55-15 mounted on wagon wheels. I definately like these tires. They have much better grip than the Firestones. They are great in the rain. But the tall sidewalls make the steering input feel more sloppy and the larger OD robs torque. But on the other hand, the larger OD should give me a higher top end.
(2) My auto-x tires - Kumho Victoracers in 205/50-15 mounted on stock 15" wheels. I have 6 tires all with about 5 auto-x events on them.
(3) Buy a dedicated tire for the event. (not very likley)
I'm leaning towards just running the 711's. Since its my first time on track, I'll hopefully not be pushing it very hard.
Brakes: I really don't know what to do here but have some ideas. Right now I'm running the dreaded EBC/Mintex combo that was a deal from BAT. I have the standard EBC rotors and the Mintex A/F pads. I don't know how scientific or practical it was but I did a test the other day. I wanted to see how the pads would hold up to continuous hard braking. I set my alarm and got up at 3:30 in the morning and went out on the highway. I took the car up to 75-80mph and with nobody behind me for miles, I stood on the brakes and brought it down to about 10mph. I did this five times with approximately a 1 mile cool down in-between. On the third test, I could feel them start to fade. I had to push harder on the pedal. On the fourth test, it got even worse. On the fifth test, I couldn't even get the tires to lock up. Keep in mind that the brakes were bled and flushed very thoroughly recently with Valvoline Synpower fluid. So this leads me to believe that I might want to do something before VIR.
I have a few ideas but haven't done much research yet. Let me know what you think:
(1) New OEM pads on the EBC rotors.
(2) New OEM pads on new OEM rotors.
(3) Hawk HP+ pads on the EBC rotors.
(4) Hawk HP+ pads on new OEM rotors.
(5) Hawk HP+ pads on new Brembo rotors.(tirerack)
Keep in mind that the pads/rotors only have about 8k miles on them and the rotors show almost no wear. And, budjet is definately an issue. But, I don't want to be sitting on the sidelines because of brake failure. Please point me in the right direction.
Also, should I change to the ford HD brake fluid?
Car specs are as follows. '01 ZX3, Aerocharger turbo @7psi, SVT springs and rear swaybar, Koni Yellows, Poly bushings, camber plates at ~1.75 front.