tsjoel

I have a full 1/4 inch of brake pad left. Is that enough for a DE?

Thanks in advance for your help

38D

Depends on the track, how may days the event is, the fluid you run, and how fast you are.

tsjoel

The track is mid ohio, 2 day event, super blue, I think fast is an indivdual thing. I drive 7/10th.

andy sanborn

To answer your question, most Porsche brake pads come 17MM thick. I think 1/4 inch is 6.35mm, so you are running pretty thin. The real issue comes down to wear and heat transfer. As Colin rightly said, this has a bunch to do with how hard your drive and how hard the track is on brakes..... If you use PFC pads, there is a wear line that runs down the middle of the pad, and when that dissapears, time to chnage.

On the heat thing, the thinner the pad is, the more it will transfer heat from the hotter rotor to the caliper. On my car the rotor easily reaches 650 degrees in the pits (god only knows at full brake) and the calipers around 350-450, if the best fluids boil at 500, then you can see just how a thin pad could allow more heat to transfer from the rotor to the caliper and you can smoke the brakes.

My thougtht? run the pads, but check them every run session and bring a spare set....

just my .02

andy

kary993

Bring a spare set and change them after checking each session when they are low. There should be a wear bar slot though, if not you might need to change them now cause it ain't there anymore

David 23

Is the type of pad material also a factor?

APKhaos

Definitely replace 'em. You'll need your brakes at MO. Using thin pads is false economy. They won't provide much heat sink, which will boil you fluid, which will soften the pedal, and all of which will reduce braking effectiveness.

Do yourself a favor and fit new pads, either now or when you arrive at the track - before your first run group.

Bob Rouleau

I would never go to a DE with pads worn more than 50 percent.

Dan in Florida

No. You may be OK for a day. But I'd suggest you don't push it. Pads are cheap compared to the alternatives: overheated and worn/warped rotors; or the possibility of brake failure. Why risk it?

Eli K

If for no other reason, change them to avoid a possiblity of sitting out a session because they wouldn't pass you at grid tech...

Dave in Chicago

Pull 'em and pack 'em as emergency spares. I've done the "I think I can get one more day out of these pads" thing twice. Both times it was the rear pads and both times I had the same result...

I drove home listening to the rivets grind away at my rotors while the white cinder of a backing plate was turned into a warped little jagged knife edge.

I'm of the mind to ditch pads that are past the 1/2 way point nowadays.

If you can get pads before you leave, change them. Takes about 20 minutes + another 20 to get them smoking (bedded in). You'll have a lot more fun focusing on the driving and friends at the track than you will trying to view the dissappearing pads from evey conceivable angle between sessions.

Hmm... here comes turn one. I'm thinking of:

A) Braking point, pressure, good shift, crisp and perfect turn-in
B) Do I really still have any brake pad left?

If you answer B, you're not having any fun.

Okay, off my soapbox now. Just my 2 cents.

Driver8

I agree with Dave. Replace the pads and save old ones as spares. They will come in handy someday, if not for you maybe someone else at the track.

A

Alan Herod

Concur with all else said. I would change them and bed them in, either before you leave or on the way out (if driving). Many different methods to do that, you just don't want to give up a session to do it. You don't want to bed them during a run session.
A rule of thumb, is to replace before the pad thickness = the thickness of the backing plate.

Capt. Carrera

If you have to ask, you already know the answer...

Z-man

My region, NNJR offers a free tech inspection for all DE participants about 10 days prior to the event. Anyone who has pads that are even near 50% are advised to either bring new pads to the track, or replace them prior to the event. If the brake pads are street pads, and/or the car is a dual driver for the event, then they are strongly advised, even failed for low brake pads. Last night, we held our tech for Watkins Glen in October - and we did fail one person for low brake pads - dual driver 996 with street pads.

-Z-man,
NNJR Track tech co-chair