NYSpeed Track Day #1 - Friday June 15th, 2007

[quote=“JayS,post:457,topic:26320"”]

I’m not quite sure how I would be over using them. Isn’t the whole point to try to use 100% of your traction at all times? If I was braking late in the front or back straights, after 4 laps my brakes were toast. My options would have been:

  1. Go slower down the straight
  2. Brake earlier
  3. Go faster around turn 1.

Options 1 and 2 was what I went with, and then I could stay out for the full 20 minute session, but it certainly wasn’t the fast way around the track. Most of the people I waved by caught me entering turns, because I was on the brakes early to conserve the brakes.

Option 3 wasn’t really an option, since I was using the entire track and taking the proper line in 1, same for what ever turn was at the end of the back straight.

I think most of the brake problems come from the fact that my car has a lot HP to get the speed up in the straight, a LOT of weight (3750lbs), and it was 100% stock (stock pads, stock fluid, stock rotors). It’s hard to get good brake advice over on the GTO forums, because most of them are only about going fast in a straight line. You tell them you overheated the stock brakes and they look at you like you’re crazy. :slight_smile:

[/quote]

I wasn’t there, so just guessing, but this may be the reason your brakes didn’t last. Over using the brakes, aka overslowing the car, is typical for a novice. I was guilty my first few events of overslowing the car.

I’m not familiar with the brakes on your car, so they may not be up to the task. But seeing some older track cars with drum brakes leads me to believe that you can learn to deal with almost any brake setup. Having said that, most C5 vette drivers hate their stock brakes because there is just not enough mass there to deal with the amount of heat being generated so quickly.