[CrookedRacer]

So after ten 20-minute sessions on the Main Circuit at Summit Point, WV, my brakes were pulsing pretty badly. I know they had been toasted a bit.

The ones on the right were a little worse than the left. This makes sense when you figure the torque vectoring function is going to clamp the inside wheel on acceleration. (Summit Point Main goes clockwise)

I just received 2 rotors from Amazon Amazon.com: Motorcraft BRRF206 Brake Rotor Assembly: Automotive

and a set of brake pads Amazon.com: Motorcraft BRF1442 Brake Lining Kit: Automotive

And they were the real FOMOCO deal, arriving in 2 days.

Here are a few pics of the old ones... they had some crazing on the surface of the rotors, and the pads were pretty much gone. I'm glad I changed them before this week's autocross.

I am disappointed in the lifespan, though. Yeah, I drove the living s out of them. But I did my best to let them cool down while moving, and the rotors warped anyway. Does anyone think these can be turned/saved for spares?

The bottom line is, I can't wait until Hawk or some other vendor starts making pads for the FiST. Something less likely to become so roasty. <-- that's a technical term.

 

[Colin1337]

Ha, wow, those pads are gross looking.

 

[jhgray2]

1, your rotors didn't warp, the pads likely left uneven deposits

And

2, you did 200 minutes of freaking track time! On a set of factory STREET pads! That's pretty Damn impressive if you ask me

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[CrookedRacer]

1, that sounds promising.
2, you betcha!

 

[jhgray2]

Turn the rotors and use them on the street with the new pads, save the new ones for aftermarket pads.

The crackling on the rotors is pad deposit, I would check the rears as well

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[Chicane]

I had much the same experience and my pads and rotors looked a lot like yours. There is a thread here that I made last fall after my first trip to Summit Point.

I would say our experiences are parallel. I haven't done as many sessions, but I feel I experienced much the same as you.

I left bit on the table (speed-wise) knowing I didn't want to obliterate my brakes, but overall the car performed great.

Did you record your laps or get any lap times? What group were you there with ?

 

[CrookedRacer]

http://www.fiestast.org/forum/fiesta-st-photos-videos/914-fiesta-st-summit-point-main-video.html

i was with scca pdx novice. My first track event ever.

I only timed a couple of my clean laps from my video, but with the car in sport mode, I was getting at least 1:41's. You seemed to be doing much better with it all turned off.

how much do you think sport mode was costing you while you had it on?

 

[Chicane]

http://www.fiestast.org/forum/fiesta-st-photos-videos/914-fiesta-st-summit-point-main-video.html

i was with scca pdx novice. My first track event ever.

I only timed a couple of my clean laps from my video, but with the car in sport mode, I was getting at least 1:41's. You seemed to be doing much better with it all turned off.

how much do you think sport mode was costing you while you had it on?

I felt sport mode cost way too much. Admittedly not much testing, but my time in Sport Mode or with it on fully, were not pleasant. I found the only way to extract speed was to turn it off completely. Yes, that's not an option, nor ideal, for some, but it's what I found.

I got down to a 1:33 lap, but know there is much more in the car. Lifting on the long straight to conserve the brakes and taking 3, 4 and 10 gingerly due to the street tires all combine to leave a lot of time on the table for me. Overall, though, it's such an impressive car right out of the showroom and it has capabilities so far above what most (nearly all) drivers are going to be able to use.

Great stuff. Congrats again for driving it on track. Someone on here has already contacted me about instructing them at a future Summit Point event. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[CrookedRacer]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience!

I kind of wish I had turned it all the way off at some point in the weekend, but the last session was in the snow, so I ultimately didn't get the chance.

My first autocross is this weekend, and you can be sure I'll have it fully off for that. It's what I bought the thing for, after all.



have fun instructing! Let us all know how it goes!

 

[Chicane]

CrookedRacer, I have to apologize. I completely forgot about the earlier thread. I read the forums so rarely, I just forgot that you had the other thread.
Oh well.

I think you'll be fine in turning off the SC on track or Autocross. Just drive with a margin and let the car talk to you.

 

[Socko]

2 days on front pads is pretty solid i would say. thats all c5/c6 fronts last for. Sounds like pad smear. Pretty common with stock pads as they aren't up to the temps. Decent replacements will get you a bit more track time.

The rotors are fine I would imagine. If they aren't cracked, they are good for the track, thats my rule of thumb lol. Once you get a good pad on there it will clean off the smeared transfer layer and they will run fine would be my guess.

 

[RAAMaudio]

I agree completely, rotors might even be heat checked but as long as not cracked they are fine to use.

What feels like warping is nearly always pad deposits, I i have cleaned up a number of rotors just with the change to track pads.

I have also cleaned it off, not always successful, with brake cleaner and steel wool.

Brake ducts would help a huge amount, I am considering using the fog light locations, really hardly ever use fogs anyway, passenger side is easy, drivers side would take a bit of effort to get around the washer tank.

I just might have to put a tank in the back of the car, not a hard job to do and moves more weight to the rear

.....

 

[adrianST]

Have you checked the pad shape against anything else ford have. This is something I'm curious about as maybe there is a race type pad available that fits our brakes but no one knows it yet? Maybe measure up and trace a pattern of those old pads and then look at the previous gen fiesta st from the UK or even focus stuff. My experience of hawk pads for a track car is a good one but an even more rotor friendly track pad I've used with great result is project mu out of Japan. They make a wide selection even for euro cars so you may be able to find something. Have you looked into a slotted rotor?

 

[jhgray2]

Have you checked the pad shape against anything else ford have. This is something I'm curious about as maybe there is a race type pad available that fits our brakes but no one knows it yet? Maybe measure up and trace a pattern of those old pads and then look at the previous gen fiesta st from the UK or even focus stuff. My experience of hawk pads for a track car is a good one but an even more rotor friendly track pad I've used with great result is project mu out of Japan. They make a wide selection even for euro cars so you may be able to find something. Have you looked into a slotted rotor?

These pads are off a eudm ford transit hd model, think lwb Mercedes sprinter

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[carramrod]

Have you looked into a slotted rotor?

Slotted rotors won't get you much, if at all, IMO.

 

[carramrod]

These pads are off a eudm ford transit hd model, think lwb Mercedes sprinter

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Is the pad material the same? Size/shape I can see (like Legos!) but the material might be "custom"

 

[adrianST]

Slotted rotors won't get you much, if at all, IMO.

I'm sorry but I disagree with this comment. For a road car they won't do alot but on the track I have noticed the slotted rotors reduce the amount of glazing and less prone to the issues experienced by the op just an opinion but speaking from what I've experienced. I don't even know.if slotted rotors are available anyway?

 

[Chicane]

I'm sorry but I disagree with this comment. For a road car they won't do alot but on the track I have noticed the slotted rotors reduce the amount of glazing and less prone to the issues experienced by the op just an opinion but speaking from what I've experienced. I don't even know.if slotted rotors are available anyway?

The problems experienced by the thread starter (and me, I have the same problem) are because we subjected those pads to use well outside their design parameter. Those are pads engineered for street use and are not working optimally when subjected to the rigors of track driving. Pads when working outside of their design limits start to degrade in a number of ways. Material can chip and flake off the pad causing noise and vibration, pad material can transfer and deposit itself onto the rotor face causing a myriad of issues including vibration and decreased brake efficiency. These types of issues are almost always caused by asking too much of a pad or by not providing enough cooling to a pad that would have otherwise performed well.

A slotted rotor "might" seem to assist with these issues, but it doesn't.

Slotted rotor faces were originally used for a few different reasons in racing, but the most influential reason they were used was to break the surface tension of any water that chose to deposit on the rotor or pad (in a wet session/race) so as to preserve the immediate grab and pedal feel that the driver was expecting. Slots can also immediately "face" and bed in new pads in a competition/race situation thereby giving immediate braking efficiency. In short, all the uses of a slotted rotor are in racing.

On the street, a slotted rotor is jewelry. Everything good you hear about slotted rotors on the street is just marketing speak from people trying to sell you those, more expensive, rotors.
The slots remove mass from the rotor thereby reducing its thermal efficiency.
The slots dramatically increase the wear of the pads. This isn't an issue in racing where you change pads every race, but on the street where you want them to last thousands of miles, it's an issue (and you gain nothing).
The slots CAN increase noise and a slotted or drilled or otherwise decorated rotor will, by nature of it being machined/altered, will absolutely have a higher incident of cracking/failure over an unmolested rotor of identical quality and construction.

Save your money and buy the heaviest original equipment rotors you can find. Brake jewelry is ridiculous.

 

[Socko]

Save your money and buy the heaviest original equipment rotors you can find. Brake jewelry is ridiculous.

I always thought you only wanted a heavier rotor if you had inadequate ducting or cracking issues? Lighter rotors feel significantly faster, My assumption was that going as light as you can without cracking rotors at an unexceptable rate was the best way to go about it?

 

[jhgray2]

I always thought you only wanted a heavier rotor if you had inadequate ducting or cracking issues? Lighter rotors feel significantly faster, My assumption was that going as light as you can without cracking rotors at an unexceptable rate was the best way to go about it?

Light is good, Light at the expense of thermal mass is bad. This is why you see "lightweight" rotors that have all of their weight reduction benefits from removing weight from the hat and mounting points and not from the actual heatsink/rotor portion.