Did my first track day with the coupe!

[byl]

Well, It happens in mondello park, south west of dublin. Small track, 1.2miles I think.
What a great buzz(?) ! went there thinking :"I'll take it easy, first time on the track, cold day..., at the of the second lap I was flat out (as fast as I could drive anyway!) with a smile from one ear to the other !
It was a BMW day, 22 cars, 7 E36 M3, 3 E46 M3, 4 E30 M3, one Mcoupe, and various 3 series.
The Mcoupe was the fastest but mostly because he was the best driver out there. He really put on a show with huge drifts.
I now undertsand a bit better the modding disease. after 10 laps got back to the puits with rear brake pads fuming ! so my list of mod will go as follow:
1) dampers to go with the H&R springs, it will be bilstein, koni or the underdogs: spax. I only read good things about spax and they come way cheaper than the 2 others.
2)brake discs and pads, zimmerman cross drilled or brembo max and axxis ultimate, if I can source them in europe!

then on to the engine, probably next year now!

@+
ludo

[Kaizu]

Glad you had fun!

The Mcoupe was the fastest but mostly because he was the best driver out there.

Hmm.. sounds familiar! I've been in similar track days also.

[Hugo]

Get some quality brake fluid. My brakes are dead, pretty sure I smoked my Axxis to death too.

[byl]

Get some quality brake fluid. My brakes are dead, pretty sure I smoked my Axxis to death too.

What do you call quality brake flui? DOT5? if saw, the DOT5 seems to be very hydroscopic which in a country as ireland can be a bit of a problem!

Kaizu, have you been to the nurburgring? Few here are thinking to go for a track day next year on the long track (around 16 miles).
My car was owned by a finnish then bought by a french dude!

[Hugo]

Yeah, Superblue DOT5

[byl]

Yeah, Superblue DOT5

merde, just bought DOT4 last wednesday! it will be for the GF car then!

[Hugo]

merde, just bought DOT4 last wednesday! it will be for the GF car then!

Yes. Dot4 is OE stuff. You need better stuff, obviously.

[fpa1974]

Yeah, Superblue DOT5

Superblue is DOT4 from what I remember. No manufacturer recommends DOT5 fluids because they are silicone based, do not absorb water but have other issues. Mushy feel and water can form pockets in the the brake lines which can cause corrosion in the lines.

Florian

[Hugo]

Superblue is DOT4 from what I remember. byl is right DOT5 is highly hygroscopic.

Florian

What does hygroscopic mean?

[byl]

Superblue is DOT4 from what I remember. byl is right DOT5 is highly hygroscopic.

Florian

well, not that that I don't trust Master Hugo, but I went for a look around, the superblue is neither 4 or 5, it's better than 4 (higher boiling point), but it is not silicone based like the 5 and doesn't seems to be hydroscopic.

[Hugo]

So it's like DOT-higher-than-4-but-not-5-per-se. Interesting.

[fpa1974]

Hygroscopic means that it attracts water. I changed my post above . And Superblue is DOT4 (better than it but is not DOT5).

Florian

[byl]

well, not that that I don't trust Master Hugo, but I went for a look around, the superblue is neither 4 or 5, it's better than 4 (higher boiling point), but it is not silicone based like the 5 and doesn't seems to be hydroscopic.

An hydroscopic product is a product that absorb water/moisture. So if a brake fluid is highly hydroscopic, just the fact of opening the container is enough for the product to absorb some water, therefore reducing is boiling point. I think as well that it tend to get acetic when dissolved so can damage the line quicker.

en francais:
un compose hydroscopic est un produit qui a une forte capacite a absorber de l'eau ou meme l'humidite presente dans l'air. Dans le cas du liquide de frein, lors du remplissage ou bien a chaque fois que l'on ouvre le reservoir, le liquide va capter un peu d'eau et cela va reduire d'autant son point d'ebullition.

[Hugo]

Why does everybody (or almost) swear by dot5 if it attracts water? Don,t you want to avoid that?

[fpa1974]

An hydroscopic product is a product that absorb water/moisture. So if a brake fluid is highly hydroscopic, just the fact of opening the container is enough for the product to absorb some water, therefore reducing is boiling point. I think as well that it tend to get acetic when dissolved so can damage the line quicker.

en francais:
un compose hydroscopic est un produit qui a une forte capacite a absorber de l'eau ou meme l'humidite presente dans l'air. Dans le cas du liquide de frein, lors du remplissage ou bien a chaque fois que l'on ouvre le reservoir, le liquide va capter un peu d'eau et cela va reduire d'autant son point d'ebullition.

BTW is hygroscopic not hydroscopic. And you are right about what it means

Florian

[fpa1974]

Why does everybody (or almost) swear by dot5 if it attracts water? Don,t you want to avoid that?

DOT5 does not attract water. See my edited post above. It is silicone based and cannot do that. But it is not recommended for reasons above either.

Florian

[byl]

BTW is hygroscopic not hydroscopic. And you are right about what it means

Florian

well after more resarchs hygroscopic is the right way of saying it and hydroscopic is a accepted but not an existing word (although hydro=water! ).
That said, DOT 5 not good, DOT 4 standart and not great when working hard, superblue some kind of a DOT5 properties but not silicone based!
do we agree florian?

[shopkins]

DOT5 is Silicone based and basically absorbs no water. The problem with this is that instead of abosrbing water it will just build up water between the fluid and the cailper - making your braking worse. DOT5 is only for true race cars that have their brakes blead constantly. So unless you are willing to bleed your brakes just about every day, stay away from DOT5. Superblue (or type 200) is DOT4 but it is better than stock. Just to confuse the matter more, there is DOT5.1 which is not silicone and okay from street cars.

Also, no one has yet to show me any real data for cross drilled performing any better than stock rotors. Usually the rotors are not the issue - get better pads with higher heat resistance and put in the superblue and you are good to go for the next track day.

[count_schemula]

went there thinking :"I'll take it easy, first time on the track, cold day...

Anytime I've ever "tried to take it easy" it just never works...

[fpa1974]

That said, DOT 5 not good, DOT 4 standart and not great when working hard, superblue some kind of a DOT5 properties but not silicone based!
do we agree florian?

Of course!

Florian

[Kaizu]

Kaizu, have you been to the nurburgring? Few here are thinking to go for a track day next year on the long track (around 16 miles).
My car was owned by a finnish then bought by a french dude!

Not with my coupe! I've owned it only a couple of months. Next year I'll definately go there, maybe spring or summer..or both!
When waiting for the trip, check out this 'Ring videos we've done at carfreaks.net: http://www.carfreaks.net/cf-films

About braking issues: normally it's enough to change just fluids and pads!

[Hugo]

I'm completely lost.

Shopkins, I guess drilled/slotted rotors dissipate heat better. They may not make the braking better, but they won't warp.

[clintjg]

They also prevent the buildup of gases between the the pad and rotor.

[StouffvilleZ3]

Drilled rotors car crack easier with hard use, that's why soo many racing teams use slotted rotors or just normal vented rotors. For performance the best rasonable cost rotors are floating slotted. Although the floating does a lot more for the heat dissapation than any other type of rotor unless you're running on the track you probably don't need them.

The Dot 4 Superblue stuff is fine, although it will absorb water faster than stock fluid.

[IslandS62]

The assupmtion with ATE Superblue and Typ200 (same only gold in color) is that the fluid willl be flushed and bled more often. Thus the fact taht it is slightly more hygroscopic is moot. I tend to flush and bleed before every track day, which is two to three times per year.