Having had a go at Silverstone over the weekend, I have to say I was really disappointed with how the car felt through the tighter corners. It was also pretty dire in the braking department.

Now, I know the brake fluid needs changing and it needs braided hoses putting on. I have some Motul fluid ready to go and a set of hoses so that's covered. I also have a brake stopper to fit.

Beyond that though I am thinking about upgrading to something like K-Sport 8 pots up front and also upgrading the anti roll bars. The problem with those is that I have no idea what size bars to go for. I see a lot of people go 24mm rear and 22mm front. I was thinking maybe I'd go 24/24 and set the rear to a stiffer setting than the front. Any reason not to do this? I originally thought 24mm would be too big but it is primarily a track/hillclimb car.

Interested in hearing people's opinions and experiences. We're going to hillclimb in the roadgoing class initially, so what you can strip out of the car is quite limited.

The mods it already has are:
Brake stopper - not yet fitted
Do Luck underbrace - not yet fitted
HSD MonoPro coilovers
SuperPro roll centre/bump steer kit
JDM quick steering rack
SuperPro ARB bushes
Braided brake hoses - not yet fitted

That's it in the handling dept so far. I think next time I need to set the MonoPros to a stiffer setting, definitely, but I really felt the brakes were the major weakness. It's a heavy car to stop quickly!

 

If you make it handle round a corner, then you don`t need to brake as much,
So I always look at the suspension, then bush, maybe arb`s and a full alignment is a must.

 

The alignment was done the day before at Richard Henry. I've got the SuperPro polybush and anti lift kit for the front arms also actually, but not fitted these yet. Guess I should polybush the rear arms but would I be better off buying adjustable arms than polybushing what I have now?

 

what alignment settings did you get ? normal road or something decent ?

 

Do you know, I'm not actually sure as you don't get a printout there. I've mentioned before it's a track car so I trust them to see me right.

 

Unless your brakes actually boil i would look at what pads you are using, unless you have pads designed for the track the braking will be abysmal. Regarding the ARB i was always under the impression unless you go a size up on the rear it will under-steer like a pig.

22 front / 24 rear will be a good setup for road and track

24 front / 27 rear will be more suited to track and semi slick tyres.

I could be wrong but i am sure someone will come along who knows more.

 

I thought perhaps same size front and rear but with rear set stiffer than front would suffice.

The car does get occasional road use so 24/27 might be too extreme but if it turns out that's what it needs then so be it.

The discs and pads currently on are the worst. Definitely boggo. Has to be addressed urgently, but I do feel bigger brakes would still be very much worthwhile, as opposed to spending the money to put decent kit on the Brembos. The brakes were very much boiled. It was a nightmare. The car had two 30 minute sessions and on the 2nd session the pedal was spongy before it even went out!

 

If you feel you need/want bigger brakes and have the money then go ahead its definitely the best option. If money is tighter you will be surprised how well the brembo will work with a proper pad/fresh fluid.

Regarding the handling unfortunately anything that is purely for a track will make it horrid on the road and vice versa, same with brake pads, track pads are outright dangerous on the road due to no cold bite. getting a nice mix of the two is what a lot aim for. My plan after lots of google searching and talking to people will be a 22/24 front to rear set up, any stiffer and you wont benefit unless your running some seriously sticky tyres on a track.

 

Before splashing out on a BBK try Carbotech XP10s along with your fluid and hoses. You'll be amazed at the difference on standard Brembos compared with boggo pads. The Carbotechs offer excellent cold bite and are perfectly usable on the road as well as being outstanding on track.

 

RE: the brakes boiling, are you using DOT 5.1 brake fluid?
Also should have stainless brake lines,HEL or something similar.

 

also what pressure's, were these altered or checked after a run ?

 

No the pressures weren't checked actually. And they were close to standard, 2.3bar front and 2.0bar rear.

I guess my main logic with the brakes is that I could upgrade and get some with some discs and pads with life left in them for a few hundred quid factoring in the sale of the Brembos but I do have concerns about whether the master cylinder can actually cope well enough with 6 or 8 pot brakes. If it can't generate the same clamping force as the Brembos then it is pointless. But it will cost the same or more to get decent discs and pads so I don't want to make the wrong decision.

Fluid I've got some Motul Dot 5.1 fluid ready to go in and as said, braided hoses ready too

The tyres we ran this time were just Dunlop Sport Maxx SP road tyres as it was only two 30 minute sessions. I do have a set of wheels with some pretty much brand new NS2-Rs on.

 

I did track days with a classic wrx and the 4 pots were fine, 1155s and cheap discs, braided hoses and dot 4 fluid, all **** on.

 

I wish.

What should I be looking for regarding pressures?

 

I have:

24mm rear and 22mm front ARBs (dont forget to do the uprated mounts too, or the stock ones will just shear off)
Tein Monoflex coilovers
Track Geometry (1.5 degrees on the front, 0 tow if I recall correctly)
Camber bolts
Alk
Uprated drop links
Think I may have done the roll centers too.

And the handling seems spot on neutral. I can used the adjustable settings on the coilovers to tweak each corner if needed.


As for tyre pressures, I set them all at 2.2 bar. then go out and do a couple of laps at 75% to get them warm. Come in and check where the tyres are wearing. You will be able to see a line - how much of each tyre is being used over the surface. If there is evidence on wear on to the sidewall, then you need to add pressure. If the "wear line" is not visible on the lip where the tread is, then you can release some pressure. Maybe go in .1 or .2 bar increments until you get a nice even wear across the surface of the tyre and just over the lip. Build up speed with confidence and adjust as needed.

 

For brakes, either go for the Performance Friction set up (disks and pads) with better lines and fluid or opt for a larger set up. I have not tried KSports but went straight to AP 356mm which sorted out my braking. I tried every other disk and pad I could get my hands to try get to a cost effective set up on the standard brakes and just wasted my money. PF, or bigger is my advice.