jrz1

Posted something similar in someone else's thread in different forum but this may get better traction here.

Put Stoptechs on my C6Z a little while ago after 8 track days the front rotors are close to being toast. Lots of little cracks developing. I run Hawk 70/60 front/rear and have the LG spindle duct cooling set up in front. Don't think I abuse brakes other than bleeding off a ton of speed. Try for short, hard braking zones. Pads still have 50% +/- left.

In any event, what is expected life of these rotors? Am I unusual in only getting 8-9 track days out of them? Just ordered Racingbrake replacement rotor rings as they were considerably less expensive and I want to see how they wear in comparison. Anyone have similar experience yet? Thks.

bobmoore2

I don't know much about the Hawk 70 pads. Are they hard on rotors or rotor-friendly? I get about 15 to 20 days out of my rotors, but I'm using PFC Z-rated pads (very rotor friendly) and I'm probably braking a little less than you are. I use the cheap Napa rotors.

The little cracks are no big deal. We all get those. We call that "heat-checking". Just keep an eye on them and be prepared to replace them if a crack reaches the outer edge of the rotor.

Bottom Line: With those pads and your driving style, I think your rotor life is about normal. Remember they're not worn out yet.

Most of the veteran HPDE'ers use the cheap OEM-style rotors. They provide about 95% of the performance, usually last longer, and cost significantly less. If you have a sponsor paying for your parts, let him pay for super quality rotors. If you're paying for them, get the OEM ones.

You might try braking a little softer, a little longer. I used to do the short, hard braking thing, but I had trouble controlling it. I found that I was slowing the car much more than I needed to, and it was harder to do the transition from braking to turn-in. Since I started braking a little softer, a little longer my lap times have decreased several seconds and my brakes are happier also.

AU N EGL

That pad may be too hard for your braking style.

a good set of stop tech or any other good two piece rotor should last 1/2 race season or a year of DEs.

If you replace them may want to look at Colman rotors.

jrz1

Got any suggestions for other pads? That is what the stoptech guys recommended. They work great and pad life seems to be pretty good but I'm open to suggestions. I'll try to take some close up pics of my rotors. Maybe they have more life left in them than I think but the cracks that are developing are more than the typical spider webs that don't really penetrate the rotor walls.

wtknght1

CARBOTECH!!!!

JDIllon

I ran RacingBrake rotors with 70/60 pads in the OEM stock calipers and the heat checking is normal, some rotors do it and some don't. Also, did you check with RB before you ordered the rings??? because I don't think that a RB ring will fit a Stoptech hat sec. the design is totally different and the rotors are a different size, I think. I meassured the rotor before I started and have run 10 days of HPDEs and the rotor wear is less than .50MM that is with 8 days of 70/60s and 2 days of the new RacinBrake calipers and their #900 pads. I have been very pleased with all of the RacingBrake stuff. One of the reasons I went with RB was that replacment rings were less costly than almost anyone else. JD

John Shiels

I have some Stoptechs 13" with 600 miles and they have some good heat checks. They are looking like the point where NAPA would split soon so I will be interested to see what happens when I run them on 7-22 on the Pocono Long Course. So if you got 9 days and are hammering them I would say it is normal. Hard use to some is easy to others so it is hard to compare. If you want to stop fast and hard the energy has to go somewhere I guess. The Wilwood H I run does not dig into the rotors but it does stop and create heat. PFC 99 compound seemed to work well but would take material from the rotor.

jrz1

I didn't check but I will in the AM before they ship. Their web site makes it seem like it's a direct replacement for the Stoptech ring but you could be right. Thks for pointing that out. I'll let you know what I find out.

kentz06

The photo shows the heat checking that occured on my new Stoptech rotors after one track day of approximately 220 miles. I have the Hawk DTC/70 and DTC/60 pads in the stock calipers.



I have no idea how deep these cracks are, but I would guess they are surface only. As you would expect the center of the swept area appears to have gotten hottest and has the largest cracks.

The design of our local track is tough on brakes. Turn 2 is a left hand sweeper. Brake application starts at 135-145 mph, mid corner speed is 65-75 mph and track-out is 90-95 mph. It is then full 3rd gear exceleration to 120 +/- mph down a short 300 foot straight with a 250 foot elevation drop and into a pair of 180 degree hairpins. You really have to stand on the brakes before downshifting into 2nd to make the right hander.

Once up to temperature the pad/rotor combination supplied a high level of stopping power with good modulation and very little fade. I did notice that after a few easier laps to allow the engine to cool down both the tires (MPSC) and brakes needed to be warmed back up.

Time will tell about the longevity of these rotors.

Dean

davidfarmer

Unless STOPTECH has changed their supply chain, they used to have the best rotor forgings in the market. I usually got half a season out of a set of rotors using the hottest Hawk pads on the market (HT14 back then, 1400deg rotor temps).

This all comes back to heat control...hotter pads create more heat, which needs to be controlled by ventilation. Ultimately however, if you want to drive a car at 165mph lap after lap after lap (I sure do) you are going to burn through some rotors.

Even running HP+ pads at VIR last week (but running them HARD) I developed small cracks in my RB rotors in 1 day. Anxious to see how quickly they turn into large cracks!

J Ritt

Seeing heat checks on a rotor after 9 HPDE's is completely normal. Sometimes you'll see them after 1 event as kentz06 said. The life of your rotors will depend entirely on usage...how far between heavy braking zones, how fast into those zones, how many brake events per lap, how much airflow to the rotors, pad compound...there's a long list of variables.

Think about what you're doing when you heat these rotors...they are growing over 1mm in diameter under most track conditions. During a lap, they are constantly expanding and contracting. When you take a piece of iron and expand it 1mm, then contract it again...over and over, it will crack. All of the variables above impact those contractions, and will affect the life of the rotor.

Also, you can be confident that we spec the metallurgy in our rotors. That means our engineers determine the rotor mixture, and crack resistance is one of the priorities.

That said, don't panic because you see spiderwebs on your rotors! The rotor in that picture has a ton of life left in it. You really don't have to worry about cracks until they are on the outer or inner edge of the rotor, and large enough that you can easily hang your finger nail on them. Don't be too eager to give up on a set of our rotors. They'll usually hang in there a lot longer than you think they will. We've had sets in the past go a full 25 race.

Once your rotors are looking a little questionable, just have some spares on hand. If at any time you want us to take a look at your rotors, or you're unsure if they are safe or advisable to use...please email us a pic and we'll have give our recommendation on replacement.

As for the RB rotors fitting our hats...I don't know. I can't recommend doing that though, because I know their attachment hardware system is completely different than ours. All I can say is be careful.

JDIllon

I stand corrected, RB does make replacment rotor rings for both Stoptech and Brembo!!!!! And the price is pretty good. JD

Dr Chill

Jim, I think you just got a new nickname. Brambo Dillon!

I'd stick with Stoptech replacement rotors at $250 including hardware. No need to go elsewhere.

0RacingBrake

We have just posted a thread for replacement rotor rings here:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1755125