When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
they look like amolds but i didnt think amolds had that deep of a dish?
They are OE Wheels CV01 A Mold replicas in 17x11" ET 50mm offset, all four corners with 315/35R17. The compliments I get on the thickness never end, so thanks to Matt and other forum members for suggesting the setup.
I actually don't like the dish very much, but that is just me. Tomorrow I'm flying to Las Vegas where I'm meeting another forum member who is selling a set of 4 wheels and tires, A mold replicas without the deep dish, and NT05 (not the NT05R) tires on all four corners, 17x11" and 315/35R17
My plan is to daily the NT555 G2s and use the NT05 mounted set for racing. I'm also buying wheel bearings from him, front and rear.
Originally Posted by Tom400CFI
I like the rims too. That is a LOT of rear camber.
Yeah I think I need to pull it in, I need another alignment, and this time one that isn't rushed and where I talk to the tech more. There are some actual race shops in Albuquerque. This previous alignment was done day before the race at a Firestone. Glad you like the wheels!
Originally Posted by MatthewMiller
In another thread, Yak's alignment sheet says they put in -3 degrees in each side of the rear (something like that - going from memory). Then there is basically no camber up front, and they took caster out so it only has around 4 deg. There is a question as to whether his rear wheel bearings and/or halfshaft U-joints are shot, which may be contributing...because I was actually surprised that a stock C4 could get -3 deg rear camber with the stupid stock eccentric adjuster. So he is looking at doing the bearings (still another thread), and I strongly suggested he take the car back for a proper alignment. He needs all the negative camber a stock C4 can get up front, and then maybe -1.5 (if possible once bearings and U-joints are good) in back. Finally, those of us in the thread on the wheel/swaybar interference now know, the steering wheel on Yak's car isn't oriented on the shaft properly, so his steering geometry is all kinds of screwed up. So he's got work to do. It's all part of the game, though.
The pics are great! I have paid for a package like that more than once at big events. I'm still mulling over buying a set from my last track day since it has my son riding shotgun in all the pics (I can't believe they allow passengers either!).
I bet your son wouldn't mind having the pictures for his own social media haha
Yeah needs a proper alignment from a real shop. I need to do what you said and actually confirm if it is wheel bearing slop or slop elsewhere. I still gotta center the steering wheel too!
Glad yall are enjoying the pictures. I hope yall caught the bit about revising my affinity towards TPI, at least when it comes to the track.
I set a new personal best but only by a little bit. Personal best last race was 1:41.6 and yesterday I set a 140.9
I really want to get into the 1:39.xx before the season ends and we still have 3 more races in the series.
Yesterday I only got one real heat in unfortunately. The second heat a buddy wanted a ride along, and then we lost a lot of time after a pretty gnarly crash. A Nissan 370z understeered out past the runoff, through the 4 deep 4 high tire wall, and then through the chain link fence. Driver was totally fine and car was okay to keep racing even, minus its bumpers, but that took a lot of time out of the day and took the wind out of everyone's sails.
I also came relatively close to REALLY messing my car up. There is ONE concrete wall to contend with on the entire course and for lack of good judgment, I chose to really try to push it on that one turn. Won't be doing that again. Turned in way too early and so started pushing out with too much speed, could tell I was in over my head. Let off throttle and brakes and just went neutral pedal input. Focused on steering and made it through without crashing but I was screeching the entire way through the turn.
Lesson learned, that turn is NOT the place to really push it.
The car did well, no big issues. Gave it a fresh oil change the day before.
By the end of the second heat my brake pedal was basically dead. I am pretty sure my fluid was toasted? I believe I am running old Dot 3 factory stuff that is rather old now at this point. 3 track days and who knows what before I bought the car.
What would yall suggest doing to the brake system? Pads, fluid, bleed, SS lines?
Just pads and fluid and bleed?
Engine temps did better this time thanks to less ambient heat. Coolant didn't get above 235 F and oil didn't get above 245 F so that is good!
I am excited for the next race. No more ride alongs for friends, I have time to make! And no more pushing hard on corners with high failure conditions haha
Last edited by yakmastermax; Jul 3, 2022 at 12:45 PM.
The car did well, no big issues. Gave it a fresh oil change the day before.
By the end of the second heat my brake pedal was basically dead. I am pretty sure my fluid was toasted? I believe I am running old Dot 3 factory stuff that is rather old now at this point. 3 track days and who knows what before I bought the car.
What would yall suggest doing to the brake system? Pads, fluid, bleed, SS lines?
Just pads and fluid and bleed?
I agree, if you felt the pedal getting soft you probably boiled the fluid. You have bad fluid in there for this use. You definitely need to not just bleed the system but flush it and get a good DOT 4 track-worthy fluid in there. I would say that Motul 600 is the minimum. I'm using Castrol SRF, which is expensive ($60 on Amazon but that's for a full liter) but has the highest wet boiling point I've seen. I think the wet boiling point is more important that dry unless you plan to flush the system right before every track (which most of us won't be doing).
I don't think you need stainless lines unless there's actually something wrong with your stock ones. You could definitely benefit from more track-oriented pads, but that's a tradeoff: the higher heat range a pad is made for, the less effective it is when cold (street driving) and the more it will eat up your rotors. A pad that works well for street and track is going to be compromised for both, but most search for a pad that works in this dual-role. Honestly, for stock pads and rotors it would not be a bad idea to consider a set of pads and rotors for the street and a separate set of track-day pads and rotors and just swap them out for a track weekend. I don't have good pad suggestions for you since I haven't had to shop for any yet (my car came with trackable pads).
yes yak, im out in the oilfields or would write more, but dude u need to get some track worthy fluid in there. i wouldnt even bother taking a car if it didnt have track fluid and pads. i use motul 660 but will try some of what matt said next season.
for our cars j55 the dynamic friction pads ive now found to be better than powerstop track day pads but id use either. both cheap.
I put the prestone dot 4 in my 92 6 speed and it helped my brake drag. I noticed since it is a manual a little bit of brake grab when rolling (or not rolling) while at a stop. The dot 4 cured this. It is readily available at auto parts stores for about the same price as dot 3. If it's not enough then spend 60.00 on race fluid.
I put the prestone dot 4 in my 92 6 speed and it helped my brake drag. I noticed since it is a manual a little bit of brake grab when rolling (or not rolling) while at a stop. The dot 4 cured this. It is readily available at auto parts stores for about the same price as dot 3. If it's not enough then spend 60.00 on race fluid.
Sorry, but poor advice if for a car being used on track.
The rule of thumb for brakes on track is "they work until they don't". Don't be "that" guy who couldn't spend an extra $30 and at a minimum buy Motul or another track worthy fluid only to be barreling down the straight at high speed, hits the brakes for a 40mph turn and instead goes straight into the tire wall due to boiled fluid.
I have never understood why people will spend $200+ for a track day or maybe $500 for a weekend and then want to pinch pennies on the one fluid that stands between you and a wall (or another car!)
I have just about 13 days to get the car ready for the next race. Need to address the brakes.
Castrol SRF vs Motul 600?
Two more races left in the season. I probably need to flush the entire brake system, then bleed it. I was leaning towards the Motul 600 because two liters is $68 vs one liter being $60 for the Castrol so it leaves more for flushing and future bleeding/flushes.
Pads also? I think? HAWK HPS? Any other recommendations?
Either of those fluids will be a massive upgrade over old, crappy fluid. SRF has a big advantage over any other fluid I know when it comes to wet boiling point. when you first flush everything, it will have a little bit higher BP than the Motul. But as this fluid ages in your system and naturally soaks up moisture (brake fluid is hygroscopic), the SRF will retain a lot more of its high boiling point. This isn't a big deal for a race that flushes its fluid before every race, for the rest of us who do a few track events in a year on the same fluid, it can make a difference. I'm using SRF, but I get it: it's expensive.
There are a million ideas on best brands and best compound selections for pads. There are probably some good threads in the "Autocrossing and Roadracing" forum on this site. Start with: do you want a track-only pad that you will swap back out for street pads after the track day (minimal compromise, best track performance), or do you want a pad that is still realistic to use on the street (will overheat way easier on track)? I don't have enough experience with different brakes to give tons of answers. Hell, I'm still running the stock Ferodos on my 1LE.
Awesome thanks for the input as always Matt!
SRF or Motul, doesn't seem like I can go wrong with either, but the SRF is better and I understand how/why
There are two more races this season. One on Sept 11, and one October 17th. Then nothing until next season.
I am hoping by next season to either have a different race car, or a big brake kit. Point is I don't think this current setup is going to stay. Does that help influence anything?
For example a super aggressive street pad might be good enough for these two more races? I say this because I am pretty confident it was the fluid boiling that held me back last race, not the pad material. But perhaps with better fluid, now pad material will come into play?
Also any little bits make this a better job? Vacuum bleeder tool? Upgraded bleed nipples?
1. get the motul (i use 660 but im sure 600 is a major improvement for you).
2. get dynamic friction active performance pads, they are cheap, and i use them on my zr-1 in half hour long HARD track sessions. no fade. thnx to 1 eyed ******* grattan vids for that suggestion. note, i was using powerstop track day kit pads. they are as good as dynamic friction but they absolutely destroy rotors. whereas the dynamic friction do not.
3. all u need for bleeding is a hose over your bleed nipple and 2l coke bottle with a hole drilled innthe cap. chris fix has a 1 man bleed video, watch it, works awesome. MAKE SURE YOU NEVER LET THE MASTER CYL RUN OUT OF FLUID WHILE DOING THIS!!!!!!!!!! or you will have created a pile more work for yourself. A trick i like to do is grab a light, and my phone, and video the fluid while i pump the pedal using a stick or my foot. i do about 3 pumps then check the fluid level. add fluid as needed. eventually the video will see both the grit dirt bubbles leaving the caliper, and then clean fluid being introduced into the hose, and especially with the light properly positioned for recording. its an easy awesome system that doesnt require fancy gizmos and doesnt pull air past the bleeder screw threads like the vacuum pumps are susceptible to doing. been there done that, no more slathering grease around the bleeder screw threads to avoid that.
after you’re done the bleed/flush, and before the race, be sure to find a small gravel patch and activate the abs from a slow speed several times.
Prior to the last race, use the last but of motul 600 and do a quick flush.
questions: how long is your course, how many turns, whats a typical lap time.
Picture related. A single race day is 4 heats, each heat is 5 laps, of which 3 are hot, one is a warm up and one is a cool down. So the three hot laps generally end up being about 5 minutes total?
Like I said I don't think I want this 89 to be a dedicated race car... I like it too much to put it through a tire wall. Long term plan is a 1996 LT4 as a nicer daily to also race sometimes, but a dedicated race C4 down the road.
Yeah, for just two more events I'd probably just do Motul 660 also. That track is pretty small and mostly lower speed, so it probably won't kill the brakes. My local track is sort of like that, too: just one hard-core braking zone. I'd defer to Viking's pad recommendations. If those Dynamic Friction pads endure heat as well as the Power Stop track pads but are nicer to the rotors, that should be a good option. Viking, no problems running these pads on the street, at least to get to and from the track?
Sweet guys thanks a ton for being receptive and open to helping me even given my budgetary constraints and particular time table and goals. Just moved into my first actual house (two car garage woohoo) but I've had to spend thousands on appliances and furniture soo...
2 Liters of Motul 600 ordered and Dynamic Friction Active Performance Low Metallic pads front and rear ordered! Hopefully it all arrives in time!
Yeah, for just two more events I'd probably just do Motul 660 also. That track is pretty small and mostly lower speed, so it probably won't kill the brakes. My local track is sort of like that, too: just one hard-core braking zone. I'd defer to Viking's pad recommendations. If those Dynamic Friction pads endure heat as well as the Power Stop track pads but are nicer to the rotors, that should be a good option. Viking, no problems running these pads on the street, at least to get to and from the track?
tad bit woody driving on street but no big deal. i used the “active performance” model of pads from dynamic friction.
Of note, i just checked RA and i see now that dynamic friction has moved the “active performance” model down a notch and now is offering “track pads”.
interestingly, both pads have the same last 5 digits. I will email dynamic friction and ask what the difference is and report back.
Bought a Maddox bleed kit from harbor freight and used that to flush the brake hydraulics. First I flushed an entire quart of prestone DOT 3 through to get the old stuff out. Then I flushed and vacuum bled around 1.25 Liters of Motul RBF 600. Basically did around 200-300 milliliters worth of fluid flushing per caliper. Both front calipers and the driver rear caliper all vacuum bled well with no bubbles coming out. I couldn't get the passenger rear caliper to bleed without bubbles coming out of the caliper, but I think it was just the loose bleed screw. Braking feels decent, but I need to test it more. The new rear pads haven't arrived yet, but the fronts did, so I threw those on.
Woohoo
Another successful track day in the books. Earlier this week I got the new Dynamic Friction DFC Active Performance pads on, front and rear, plus Motul 600 high temp race fluid flush and bleed. Brand new clutch slave cylinder, master cylinder, and stainless hydraulic line, plus fluid and bleed.
Got a new personal best today, and finally got below 1:40.00
Best time was a 1:39.151, down from a 1:40.944
The brakes did great and felt good, more than enough brake to get the job done. After the first warmup lap with some actual heat in the pads the brake feel changed completely from how they were on the street. Gone was the grabbing bite and near immediate lockup in the first bit of brake pedal travel. With some heat the DFC Active Performance pads felt like pretty good, they didn't really start pulling on the car until you got into the meat of the pedal travel, but they held their characteristics for 5 heats for a total of 25 laps. Fluid did well too.
My buddy's 1970 Chevelle with a 383 and a Holley 750 starting missing on a cylinder, turned out a spark plug just gave out randomly, ceramic broke in half and everything.
During the lunch break we jetted down to the auto parts store and got him a new plug then he was back at it!
I ran the fuel tank sorta low today, and on one of my heats before adding fuel I was getting fuel cutouts during hard cornering. Interesting for sure.
All in all and awesome time, and the vette did great. They really are incredible cars. There is one more race this season, then we're packing it in for the winter.
