Project Update for Nov 30th, 2012: We had a track event in the Mustang since our last update and Amy set her new personal best lap at ECR. We've also finally modified the 2013 GT with real suspension bits, but that will be covered in that car's own thread. And after a considerable wait we finally have AST 4150s in stock for the S197 Mustang (and Vorshlag bought the entire order)!
Five Star Ford HPDE, ECR, Nov 17th
In our last project thread installment, we were preparing the 2011 GT for a Ford-centric track day at Eagles Canyon, our local 2.5 mile road course that is bumpy, but fun. This is where we do a majority of our testing and where Five Star Ford (a local Ford dealership - and where we bought our 2013 GT) had their first HPDE event back in June. This track is a brake intensive track, as I have mentioned before, and Amy drove the car exclusively all day and took the rear brake pads down to the backing plates. The pads were marginal when we got there and she still managed to get three HARD track sessions in before they started making racket and she brought it in.
Vorshlag Picture/Video gallery: http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/Racing-E...ar-ECR-111712/
Our photo guru Brandon went with us and took some great pictures, and Ed from Pirtek Plano South joined us out there as well. Matt brought his BRZ with our camber plates, some fresh 255/40/17 R-S3 tires and Carbotech brake pads and was tearing it up as well. I came out to watch, ride along and instruct, and to maybe take a few laps in one of our cars. In the picture above, I was riding through with Amy and it looks like I am yelling, but I'm probably saying "Gas! Gas! Gas!", to try to push her to faster lap times.
Ed and I (above right) got Amy's and Matt's cars ready, plus helped a few racers adjust camber or fix some small issues. I rode along with a number of other racers, including Matt in his BRZ, another FR-S driver Stephen F, and Amy in the '11 Mustang. After my ride along with me that day, plus Mike Patterson's in-car instruction from the NASA event in October, and maybe with some help from the new (more effective?) rear wing location, Amy lopped a second off her previous best lap to the tune of a 1:57.7.
Click above for in-car video from Amy's 1:57.7 lap.
This was again a pretty cold day (50s), very similar to the NASA event the month before, and she was pushing her braking zones and using more of the track on both corner entry and exit. She gave ride-alongs to Ed, me, and event organizer and Five Star Ford super dealer Corey White. Everyone had a blast riding along, the spectators loved watching/hearing her car on track, and she had the fastest car on track that day by a good bit. But as one onlooker said,
"It ain't got that whistle!" 
Vorshlag/AST tester Ken O and another Vorshlag/AST customer Jason had their E46 M3s out there in the Advanced group with Amy, both running Continental road race slicks (made by Hoosier). Ken normally runs 1:57s on Hoosier A6s, but could only get a best of 2:01 on these Conti's. I went out in a session in Matt's BRZ and had a BLAST, getting a 2:10.5 best after getting blocked on one of my few laps (AIM Solo showed a 2:09.5 predictive before that). Matt knocked off a 2:11.0, which was still damned quick especially since he hasn't been on track in about two years! That light, little RWD coupe is fun, with tons of grip and lots of brakes, but just very little power.
At the end of the day, the rear brakes were finally used up and it looked like we had a rear axle seal leaking a little (it melted), so we loaded up the Mustang and headed home. Amy had a grin from ear to ear and couldn't wait to get back out on track! I think we've created a monster - if I could convince her to let us build her a W2W car, I would love to get her out there mixing it up with the AI boys. The next day I unloaded the car at the shop and went to buy a (basket case) '97 M3, for parts, then unloaded that, so it turned into an all around busy weekend.
Repairs from ECR
So at this event the Porterfield front and rear brakes got used up, and then some. We already had a compromised pad set-up on the car, as we wanted to get rid of all of the rest of the Porterfield pads we had on hand, and Amy took care of that. The rears were to the backing plates and the fronts weren't much better off at day's end, but they were worn to begin with. On Monday after the event we swapped on some street pads, turned the rotors, and bled the system.
We have mentioned the Porterfields brake pads in the past, and we have had
decent results from them, but when Ryan and the crew have switched from track (R4) to autocross/street (R4S) pads, the pads coming off tend to crumble and fall apart. This has happened to three sets of pads, which each had more than 50% pad life left... we pulled them out of the caliper and the friction material crumbled, fell off the backing plates, and were then junk. This was getting ridiculous and expensive, so we have now switched to another brand. We had even worse luck on Hawk brake pads. Not knocking these brands, just didn't work well on the Mustang.
Carbotech pads going on the '13 BRZ
Before the November 17th ECR event, we ordered some Carbotech pads (XP12 front, XP8 rear compounds) for Matt's BRZ. The pads themselves LOOKED really good - and yes, you can
see quality differences in brake pads. After driving the BRZ myself for a session at that event, beating on the brakes relentlessly, and then seeing the lap times and data I logged on this car under braking (1.4g!),
I am a believer. The Carbotech pads
didn't fall apart or wear the rotors funny either, like the Porterfields have been.
continued below