Edward

Hey all,

For my SC Trackmeister, I'm replacing the front rotors. Any thoughts on OEM vs. Vertex, vs. Ate, vs. whatever? It is a 95% track car with PFC 97pads ...longevity and price is my goal. And any recommendations as to vendor also welcome!

As for R&R, is this a straightforward deal? Anything I need to know here?

I also have the rebuild o-rings/seals for the front calipers (which seem to be dragging a bit). Any thoughts on replacing these? I know about properly locating the pistons ...in lieu of "the tool" I was thinking of simply marking them and replacing with the same orientation. Thoughts on this, and the best way to do this seal replacement. Thanks, all!!

Edward

Edgy01

How many miles did you get on the OEM rotors?

I never had to replace a front rotor on a 911 yet.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Edward:

Use Ate as they are OEM and far better than Zimmermans. Brembo also makes a slotted-drilled replacement but I've never used them. Its easy to replace them and be sure to clean and inspect and repack your wheel bearings at the same time.

Good idea to take careful note of the caliper piston position to prevent taper wear on the pads.

Chris M.

I just rebuilt my calipers a couple of weeks ago. In case you forget or don't accurately mark the piston location, there should be markings on the backs of your brake pads that will have a kind of half circle that you can use as a guide. Also, you'll need an air compressor to get the pistons out. Trying to do it with the caliper still on the car is a pain. Good luck.

Edward

Excellent, thanks guys!

And Steve, always great getting your advice!! ATE it is, thanks a bunch!!

Dan,
The previous rotors (from the PO) were the ATEs with the elliptical groove in it ...no idea as to what the mileage was when he put them in. No complaints though, and seemed to wear well (remember it's a 95% track car). But those cost extra. If I can get away with good rotors at a lower cost and equal performance, then that's what I'm after.

...off to go hunt.

Edward

arbeitm

Ed, I just did the same job as part of my suspension rebuild this summer.

One tip is you can easily make the angle tool out of paper. That's what I did.

Let me know if you get stuck anywhere, but it's a pretty straight foward job.

Alan Herod

SC Rotors are only 20mm wide. They are a normal replacement item on tracked SC. Track miles vary; but the last set lasted 1600 miles.

Caliper rebuilds have about a three event life. Ironically, only the outboard half of the caliper begins leaking. Clean the bore throroughly and polish the piston with scotch brite or imperial 2000 grit paper. It seems the shinier you get the surface the longer the seal survives. Probably don't need to put the dust boot on because that doesn't make it through a day. Two people driving. If you only rebuild one side, you can match the piston orientation to the oposite side.

Edward

Thanks, Matt. I'll keep that in mind bro!

Alan,
Yikes, 3-event life? Either you race, or methinks you are a better/faster driver than I.
I TimeTrial and have gotten pretty good wear so far. No leaking, BTW. Just piston drag. Interesting point on the dust boot. Is there really no need for it? Problem is, I also drive the car on the street when it rains (hence, the "other" 5% of it's non-track usage), so I'd be worried about getting grunge in there w/o the boot. Thoughts??

Edward

David 23

Anyone have experience with Power Slot rotors for track use? Is the cryo treated version worth the extra money?

Sean F

I've used just about every rotor available on the track. I have cracked two set of Power Slot cryo rotors on the first day at the track (right on a slot each time). I have gone full circle having done slotted, drilled, frozen, etc. and I'm back to OEM. So far, so good.

theiceman

Man there are some fast guys that are really on the brakes in the corners.... I think i drive like a wuss.

David 23

Really? Hmmmm, I had been told that was the one to use. So OEM, not drilled or slotted, correct?

Sean F

David, that's my experience. Yours might be different. I am very hard on brakes on the track. I have found the PFC 97's are not very friendly to rotors either (which I run). Your pads, cooling system and driving style will definitely have an impact on rotor life. I've had 4 sets of Power Slots. Two cracked on day one, one lasted about 5 events and one about 10 events. The only reason to get Power Slot is if you have cooling issues. If not, go with OEM.

Peter Zimmermann

ice: Or you don't use the brakes, and you're faster!

Edward: I've had a very different experience regarding calipers/rotors. I used Pagid pads on Ate rotors on my PCA Club Race car ('81 SC), and experienced very little wear (stock "A" calipers required by class). Events included the big track at Willow Springs, which as you know requires extremely high speed braking at a couple of places. I used Ate rotors with Porterfield pads on my SCCA car (only 1880 lbs) - got a full season out of the calipers, wanted full thickness pads so I installed new every two events, and never had a caliper leak. I also always used the dust boots, but I had well thought out venting systems on both cars so I never overheated anything. During a race if I felt a bit of fade I adjusted my brake points until the car was happy again. We ran a three-hour enduro at Willow just for grins, our average lap was about 1.5 seconds slower than what I could do with the car on a good day, and the brakes could have gone another three hours! I've used fresh Ate Blue since I learned about it, and Castrol LMA before that. I would bleed the brakes at least once during a race weekend, and in between events as part of routine maintenance. Rotor life varied greatly depending on the track. Sometimes overheating was unavoidable (like at Carlsbad or Phoenix Firebird - short tracks that put a huge demand on brakes) so rotors could go three events, sometimes double that. When they came off the car they were always throw away, no attempt was made to turn them.

Edward

Wow, the experience keeps pouring in ...thanks, Pete!!

I know the race guys definitely are harder on brakes than this median TimeTrialer. I had R-compounds on my 993, and so was easily harder on those brakes. But the SC is still shod with street rubber, and so those give up far sooner than the brakes do (ATE ellipticals with PFC97s), not to mention she weighs only about 2525lbs. so no probs with fading at Willow big track or ButtonW. We'll see later when the tires go and R-compounds come on
OEMs definitely sounds like the way to go. Thanks for sharing the experience ...next paycheck goes to OE rotors
Happy Thanksgiving, all!!!

Edward