Well, after talking to owners coming from VIR and the Texas Mile, most of the conversations evolve around adding HP, but increasingly, there is more discussion about brake solutions for the GT. It appears that more than one owner has noticed hairline cracking of the OEM cross-drilled rotors after multiple mile events and a few people have asked us what is a good set-up for the GT.
When I spoke to Apollo (Terry) about braking alternatives, he referenced a very enlightening discussion he had with our own rocketman who, as everyone knows, is a very fast and very experienced track driver. Ron (rocketman) and I had a chance to catch up last week and he was kind enough to share his experience as well as a solution that he believes is a VERY good solution for the track - without breaking the bank.
It seems that rocketman experienced the limitations of the OEM GT brakes when on a particular roadcourse, he could only get 5-6 hot laps in before the front brakes would overheat and force him to come into the pits until the brakes cooled. Now the good news is that the rear calipers and rotors held up just fine which stands to reason as the majority of the braking is going to be done by the front of the car (despite a *static* slight rear weigth bias). Indeed, the same Brembo 4-piston caliper at the front of the car is also used in the rear. (Hardware complements of the Aston Martin parts bin, by the way.)
At the front of the car, those large 4-piston Brembo calipers are also up to the task but the Achillies' heel is, in fact, the front rotor. Luckily, there is a good solution... and it is comprised of upgrading 3 "components" of the braking system namely; 1) the front rotors; 2) brake pads; 3) high-grade brake fluid.
It seems that brake fluid is a little bit like motor oil with everyone having their own experiences and preferences. All will agree that what is needed is a high quality, high boiling point, Dot4 fluid. To help with the rotors and pads, we've assembled a kit comprised of (2) Brembo slotted, 2-piece, aluminum hat rotors as well as Pagid pads for both the front and rear of the car.
I'll let rocketman chime in if he wants but this is the set-up that he is personally using and having very good results with. Unfortunately, buying and installing this kit will not make you as fast on the track as rocketman, but it will help to insure that you can spend more time on the track practicing to increase the intervals at which rocketman laps you. :eek
Those of you thinking about more mile events - and certainly those of you thinking to put your car on the track in Utah in August, might want to give this or one of the other brake upgrade alternatives some consideration.
Track Brake Kit
When I spoke to Apollo (Terry) about braking alternatives, he referenced a very enlightening discussion he had with our own rocketman who, as everyone knows, is a very fast and very experienced track driver. Ron (rocketman) and I had a chance to catch up last week and he was kind enough to share his experience as well as a solution that he believes is a VERY good solution for the track - without breaking the bank.
It seems that rocketman experienced the limitations of the OEM GT brakes when on a particular roadcourse, he could only get 5-6 hot laps in before the front brakes would overheat and force him to come into the pits until the brakes cooled. Now the good news is that the rear calipers and rotors held up just fine which stands to reason as the majority of the braking is going to be done by the front of the car (despite a *static* slight rear weigth bias). Indeed, the same Brembo 4-piston caliper at the front of the car is also used in the rear. (Hardware complements of the Aston Martin parts bin, by the way.)
At the front of the car, those large 4-piston Brembo calipers are also up to the task but the Achillies' heel is, in fact, the front rotor. Luckily, there is a good solution... and it is comprised of upgrading 3 "components" of the braking system namely; 1) the front rotors; 2) brake pads; 3) high-grade brake fluid.
It seems that brake fluid is a little bit like motor oil with everyone having their own experiences and preferences. All will agree that what is needed is a high quality, high boiling point, Dot4 fluid. To help with the rotors and pads, we've assembled a kit comprised of (2) Brembo slotted, 2-piece, aluminum hat rotors as well as Pagid pads for both the front and rear of the car.
I'll let rocketman chime in if he wants but this is the set-up that he is personally using and having very good results with. Unfortunately, buying and installing this kit will not make you as fast on the track as rocketman, but it will help to insure that you can spend more time on the track practicing to increase the intervals at which rocketman laps you. :eek
Those of you thinking about more mile events - and certainly those of you thinking to put your car on the track in Utah in August, might want to give this or one of the other brake upgrade alternatives some consideration.
Track Brake Kit
