LISTEN. . . I Mean Really Listen To Your Car !

[George3]

My last Riesentoter Driver’s Ed for the season was at Thunderbolt.  For me, that weekend was cut short and ended early, because of brake issues on my Mitsubishi Evo.  Although the stock Brembo brakes on the Evo are very good and very highly rated, there may come a point in time when you can out-drive the brakes on your car.  “Listen To Your Car.�?

For the previous several DE events, I had on-again/off-again pedal fade issues, pedal to the floor issues and other brake related issues.  To compensate, I made pad upgrade changes, performance slotted rotor upgrades, switched to SRF fluid, installed a brake duct cooling kit, etc.  But, the brakes were still overheating by the end of a hard 20-minute driving session.  They were at their limit and the problems were not fully resolved.  “Listen To Your Car.�? 

As I was going out on my 2[suP]nd[/suP] session on day two at the Thunderbolt weekend, I had slightly more brake pedal travel than normal.  Not very much more pedal travel at all, maybe ½�? more than usual.  I kept an eye on it for the entire session, until finally I had a problem with the pedal to the floor and had to run off in T7.  Since I was aware of something not right with the brakes, I was anticipating something like this happening in any corner, and I always had an exit strategy.  “Listen To Your Car.�?

When I came into the pits, I noticed the front left brake rotor was cracked.  Look at these pictures.  That’s a serious rotor crack. 






 

But the funny thing was, the rotor did not give me any warning or thumping or other signs when I applied pedal pressure.  That’s odd.  So why did my brake pedal go to the floor?

After examining the front brakes on the “other�? side of the car, I noticed brake fluid oozing on the floor each time the pedal was pressed…. There was the problem !!  My stainless steel braided brake line was cut and the brake line was punctured.  No doubt this happened from running over a stone or very sharp object on the track during the prior run session. Traveling at-speed and kicking up a sharp stone against the brake line would have cut it.

Of all the spares I carried in my trailer, I did not have a spare brake line set for the Evo.  Who woulda’ thunk !   …And now, my weekend was cut short. 

 
[suB]Moral, And Here’s The REAL Story To This Thread
[/suB]Guys and Gals…. We are involved in a very satisfying, thrilling and exhilarating, but no doubt dangerous sport.  If you ever hear anything strange or feel anything different while driving on the track that does not sound right, look right, feel right, or smell right… please do yourself a favor… either dial it down or come in to check your car.  It can save your life.  “ Listen To Your Car ! �?

Fortunately for me,  I lost the brakes in an area that had sufficient run-off room to safely slow the car down without hitting a tire wall, or worse.  And, I had that “feeling�? during that run session and was prepared for anything to happen (remember, Listen To Your Car).  Also, judging from the size of the crack in the rotor, it would not have been more than a few turns later before the rotor would have exploded and I would have had NO brakes at all… say, in T1 ??  If the rotor exploded at the end of a high speed straight, the results would be catastrophic.

I’ve explained my little story here because, the irony is that the pierced brake line potentially saved my life resulting from an imminent rotor failure.

I wanted you to understand the real message of this thread.  
You really do need to listen to your car.

Have a safe and Happy Holiday.
Thank you.

 

 

[KennyB]

G-

Very good advice, indeed. Glad for you that it just cut short your weekend if you know what I mean.

Also, I would agree, "That's a serious rotor crack"

Have a great Holiday

KB

[catchacab]

G-

Very well stated!!!

[emayer]

Great lesson and advice....  Thanks!

[betegh9]

Moral of the story............... buy GERMAN and use less brakes.hock: just kidding, DO LISTEN TO YOUR CAR, and TIRES.

[bobt993]

George,

Were the calipers on your EVO originally "red"?  Larry always called them "brownbos" on the Japanese cars and now I see why.   You may want to do an upgrade kit to the brakes as the stock low end Brembos on the EVO and WRX are just not up to Rcomp tires on a race track.  Glad you avoided a wall!

[George3]

Of all the corrections and improvements I tried to do on the brake system of the Evo, nothing seemed to completely cure the problem.   Although the pierced brake line is not really a brake related issue, the cracked rotor is.

Even though I've heard on the different boards that a lot of guys successfully track their Evo's with the highly rated stock Brembo's, every track and every driver is different, so I really can't go by that.

In the final analysis, I just decided to bite the bullet and put on a big brake kit on the fronts of my Evo.  I just recently installed the Stoptech 355mm rotors and 6 piston caliper BBK for my Evo.  Can't wait to try it out on the track next season.  Hopefully, this will solve the brake issues.

Bob- Yes the front calipers were originally red, but now they are almost black.  The rears are not used as hard and are still red.

[betegh9]

Yep! When the rotors glow RED, you know they're HOT. And if the calipers turn color, you are definitely boiling the fluid, and OUCH!, the pedal goes to the floor. I had that happen with a 911 turbo I drove. I asked the owner, "when was the last time the brake fluids were changed?"....... answer: "I don't know". Well, The owner wound up paying Charlie, from Entropy Racing, $320.00 for the brake flush at the track. No wonder that it is recommended to replace the brake fluids at least 2 times per year if you do track events. Brake fluid is like a magnet for attracting moisture in the air and condensing it, Water moisture is heavier than brake fluid, so it works its way to the lowest point in the system, the brake calipers, where they get all the heat and boil.
George, good luck with the new brakes and may the brake force be with you.

[stentech1]

All of your senses need to be used on the track. Even noticing the smell of antifreeze can save a disaster for you and the people on the track with you.

[ninjabones]

I guess you should start a new post: "SMELL... I mean really smell your car".