I was at the moutain pass last night (METCALF) and was driving my car really hard. There were 11 hairpins coming down the hill. Anyway, as I was driving down the hill, I noticed that my breaks are really weak. I had to slow down because I just couldn't trust my breaks anymore with my driving style. I got really scared last night because I almost went into the cliff but I somehow managed to steer it back to the road. I need a better grip. Can you guys recommend anything that will improve my brake system. TIA.

 

Get better pads. Stainless Steal brake lines, Crossed drilled/slotted rotors/ 4piston caliper GXL, SE upgrade. Or upgrade your brakes $$$$$ with a brembo 13" disc and calipers

 

Don't drill your rotors, it won't do anything for you. But the rest of the suggestions are great. I think you should start with some semi-metallic pads if you don't already have them. Also, keep in mind: after you've been passing for a while(15 or so minutes of hard accelerating/braking) your brakes are gonna get REALLY hot and lose their effectiveness, I think this is what you were noticing. Just pull over, have a soft drink, let 'em cool down, and then get on it and go again! Heat saturation is always a problem for me, so your story sounds familiar. Try out these suggestions, and see how they improve!

Steve

P.S. Do you have ABS?

 

Damn... sounds like a real $$$$ project then. I currently have a GXL so I'm guessing mine came with the 4-piston caliper already. I think I should start with SS brake lines then. Brembo is out of my budget right now.

Steve, I don't have an ABS. I'd rather not have it because it would be not as fun as without an ABS.

 

Get some better brake pads, better brake fluid and some SS lines. Upgrading your rotors to slotted rotors wouldnt be a bad idea. Dont get cross drilled rotors. They like to crack. Rigging up better brake cooling ducts may help too.

 

Couldn't agree more! But that probably means there's room for improvement in your braking technique. Read up on it, and see if you can learn anything.

Wan-
You don't know of a write-up about rigging better cooling ducts, do you? Or anybody? I'd like to do something like that.

Steve

 

I would think of just riggin up some Ducts..from the front grill, 3 inch plumbing pipe that you use for sewers and stuff....Curve it around- Let me check the rex....i'll get back to you

 

The Front brake ducts dont seem to be pretty efficient. Although the dust cover on the inside of the disc may block air flow. Although, if you look under the front mumper you will see for the vents go straight from the front to the back....If you were to cut out a section and make a little ram air.... I'm sure it would work Peachy

 

Brake ducts is a little project I'm going to tackle in the next month.

Here is what I plan on doing:

I took out the fog lights a long time ago, because air has no chance of getting to the brakes with those things in the way. I'm going to take the first part of the stock plastic duct, and on the back mount a basic 6*9 duct with 3" outlet onto the back of it. I measured; this size should fit with no trouble. Take a couple feet of 3" silicone hose which is designed for high-temp applications (other types of hoses may and should work, but if my brakes ever get that hot, I don't want to have melted hose), and mount that onto the back of the duct. Then it's just a matter of running it through the wheel well, back behind the suspension (careful not to rub ANYTHING) and aiming it. Mazdaspeed sells a brake duct kit that attaches to the caliper mounting plate (I think) and is designed to accept a 3" inlet. It does require modification, according to the website. The bad news, those two little pieces cost $150! I was also reading a site on an IT7 car that said they're a necessary evil, you gotta pay to play.

That's my idea, it should provide some fresh air to the brakes. Now, it's just a matter of doing it.

 

I would think maybe better pads.I can't recall ever hearing any of the ITS racers complaining about brake fade with the four piston setup and they are required to run the stock brake setup.Pads are all that can be changed.Of course I think they have some form of ducting to route more air to the rotor.I think pad choice is important also.

 

An RX7 with weak and scarey brakes???
And I thought I drove like like nuts.

Here goes:
what pads are you running? how old? how old rotors and braking system?
brake fluid type? age? color?
hose condition?

brake fluid recommendations:
http://www.apracing.com/car/brakefluid/index.htm
http://www.neosyntheticoil.com/bkfluid.htm
http://www.motorspot.com/motul.html
http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/srf.htm
http://www.ritegear.com/ATE/a_t_e_.htm

pad choices:
http://66.216.67.51/subcatmfgprod.asp?0=205&1=239&2=-1
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/ebc/index.jsp
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/hawk/pads_plus.jsp

bleeding assistance:
http://www.speedbleeder.com/
http://www.k2rd.com/Online_Catalog/FC3S/FC3S-index.htm

And, if all else fails
http://www.victoryracingproducts.com...ccessories.htm

 

So what brand of pads and SS brakelines should I get?

 

Also upgrade your master cylinder. This is ALWAYS overlooked.

 

Check out the DOT approved SS lines at Mazdatrix

 

Check out my ad for the ss brake lines.

 

1. Don't drive like a maniac in that sort of situation. We don't need you killing yourself, brake problems or not!
2. Brake fluid - the harder you use the brakes, the more often you need to change it. I was at a racing school a few weeks back and they recommended the lowest of the low brand. (Canadian Tire) It just happens to have a "Ford spec" 550F BP. That's pretty good.
3. Upgrade your pads. Hawk HPS seem to be what people recommend for street and mild racing and they're affordable.

I don't think you need to go over the top with a massively expensive up, but then again maybe I don't "get" what you're doing. If you go with something too over the top it's not really for "normal" street driving, it wares quickly and is thus expensive to maintain. However, I'm by no means an expert.

 

Hawk pads warp your rotors after a long time, I heard...

Steve

 

Check out this link for SS lines.

http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/weba...rvlet/CPSearch

Chris

 

dont forget weight reduction. If you're flying downhill, on switchbacks, with a heavily optioned/loaded car then your brakes have a hell of a lot of work to do. When you put the ss lines on and flush your fluid make sure you follow the proper bleeding procedure. If you don't your braking could end up much worse until you do it correctly...

Edit ---^ I grew up about 10 minutes out of clarkston...

 

Are these Mazdaspeed brand? Coz it doesn't say on it. Anyway, how are these compared to Mazdatrix, Goodrige and Bonez/RP?

 

bump ^

 

Rotors: Just get a set of brembo stock replacement blanks. Don't bother with slotting or x-drilling, it will only hurt performance and become a liabilty (for street/on road track driving).
Pads: Remeber different compounds effect performance differently. Some dust very badly, some squeek alot, some are very soft and have short lives, while others are very hard, but destroy rotors quickly.
SS Lines: These are more of a reliablity and feel item, they won't accually take feet of stopping distance, but the pedal will have much better feedback and feel.
Master Cyl: The 929 master cyclinder is a very good upgrade if you really need it.

The most over looked part of ANY braking system though, is almost ALWAYS tires. Your car can only brake as well as your front tires can grip the road. If you got skinny *** little bald tires up front, better braking hardware will just put you into a skid. If you really want to stop faster, put better tires up front.