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This is for the road racers - autocrossing really doesn't need brake cooling.
After going through a set of Hawk HP+'s and Brembo rotors in 6 months :eek: , I decided that maybe with a bit of cooling the fronts would last longer. Open tracking on sticky street tires (Falken Azenis and Kumho MX, 245/45-17), the rotors were turning blue from the heat on them.
I ordered the brake cooling kit from Severn Motorsports and some tubing and intakes from Pegasus Auto Racing. I used 2.5" hose and the smallest air inlet, #3623, to sit in my air dam.
Installation of the Severn brackets was just as the web page and instructions show. While I had everything off to do my front brakes and rotors, I bolted their vents to the front spindle bolts.
I cut two rectangles out of the air dam to mount the intakes. With the top and bottom flanges cut off the intakes, they're the height of the dam, so they're bolted on with two bolts on each side.
I chose 2.5" hose since I didn't need all the cooling a V8 on race tires needs, and I wanted a little more ground and suspension clearance. The hose fits inside the vents and intake instead of sitting over it - I drilled 1/8" holes on each side of the vents and intakes, and used a wire threaded through the middle and tied off on the outside to keep the hose in place. I used a couple tie wraps on each side to hold the hose to the sway bar and lower radiator hose, making sure when turning the wheels lock to lock that the hose tucked out of the way to avoid getting rubbed by the inside front edge of the tire.
Total install time for doing this (not counting taking off the wheels and such, since I was already doing the brakes) was a little over an hour.
Results - thumbs up! Brakes were much cooler on Friday's event at Firebird East. In normal street driving, they keep the front rotors cooler than the back. That's even with aggressive Carbotech Panther+ pads on front doing most of the work compared to Hawk HPS in the rear.
Pros:
- Cooler brakes = no fade, can drive more aggressively
- Hopefully brakes will last longer = will pay for itself
- 4th gen F-Body specific design = great fit and easy installation.
Cons:
- Hose will likely wear out every year or two and need replacing. I get three lengths of hose out of a 12' section from Pegasus.
- If you have problems with engine temps at the track, the air dam mount will be stealing air from your radiator. I'm fine running with a 180* stat and Red Line water wetter with 20% dexcool, 80% water. (Severn makes a fog light mount kit too)
- The kit is no replacement for trackworthy pads and brake fluid. I'm okay running an aggressive pad like the Hawk HP+ or Carbotech Panther+, and ATE Super Blue fluid. Softer pads or regular fluid will probably still experience some fade.
- Severn just got these approved for SCCA T2 racing. I got mine before the approval, but I know the surge in business has them a little behind on production. Backlogs should be clear by the end of spring.
After going through a set of Hawk HP+'s and Brembo rotors in 6 months :eek: , I decided that maybe with a bit of cooling the fronts would last longer. Open tracking on sticky street tires (Falken Azenis and Kumho MX, 245/45-17), the rotors were turning blue from the heat on them.
I ordered the brake cooling kit from Severn Motorsports and some tubing and intakes from Pegasus Auto Racing. I used 2.5" hose and the smallest air inlet, #3623, to sit in my air dam.
Installation of the Severn brackets was just as the web page and instructions show. While I had everything off to do my front brakes and rotors, I bolted their vents to the front spindle bolts.
I cut two rectangles out of the air dam to mount the intakes. With the top and bottom flanges cut off the intakes, they're the height of the dam, so they're bolted on with two bolts on each side.
I chose 2.5" hose since I didn't need all the cooling a V8 on race tires needs, and I wanted a little more ground and suspension clearance. The hose fits inside the vents and intake instead of sitting over it - I drilled 1/8" holes on each side of the vents and intakes, and used a wire threaded through the middle and tied off on the outside to keep the hose in place. I used a couple tie wraps on each side to hold the hose to the sway bar and lower radiator hose, making sure when turning the wheels lock to lock that the hose tucked out of the way to avoid getting rubbed by the inside front edge of the tire.
Total install time for doing this (not counting taking off the wheels and such, since I was already doing the brakes) was a little over an hour.
Results - thumbs up! Brakes were much cooler on Friday's event at Firebird East. In normal street driving, they keep the front rotors cooler than the back. That's even with aggressive Carbotech Panther+ pads on front doing most of the work compared to Hawk HPS in the rear.
Pros:
- Cooler brakes = no fade, can drive more aggressively
- Hopefully brakes will last longer = will pay for itself
- 4th gen F-Body specific design = great fit and easy installation.
Cons:
- Hose will likely wear out every year or two and need replacing. I get three lengths of hose out of a 12' section from Pegasus.
- If you have problems with engine temps at the track, the air dam mount will be stealing air from your radiator. I'm fine running with a 180* stat and Red Line water wetter with 20% dexcool, 80% water. (Severn makes a fog light mount kit too)
- The kit is no replacement for trackworthy pads and brake fluid. I'm okay running an aggressive pad like the Hawk HP+ or Carbotech Panther+, and ATE Super Blue fluid. Softer pads or regular fluid will probably still experience some fade.
- Severn just got these approved for SCCA T2 racing. I got mine before the approval, but I know the surge in business has them a little behind on production. Backlogs should be clear by the end of spring.
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