Can you post a pic of the body end?

This is as far as I could turn the upright by hand with the line bolted up. There's another ~10mm of travel in the steering rack here. To be clear, after looking at everything installed, I don't think this will be an issue, but I do think that Stoptech could do this better,


Attachment 235098

looks like a manufacturing problem. I would contact the manufacturer, you might have the wrong part number, or the wrong part was put into the box. I strongly recommend to not run those, being that tight.

This. Do not run those. Not safe.

OK, here's a weird (non-Miata) question. Are there companies that'll cut pads to a different shape? Class rules means I get one of two calipers at each end of the car - on each end, one caliper has no off the shelf pads more modern than a Hawk Blue, the other caliper option is pretty much NLA and would mean trying to find some cores, rebuilding them myself, and hoping nothing goes wrong.

Porterfield Brakes can cut custom pad shapes in lots of different compounds-- not just Porterfield. Call and talk to Wendy.

https://www.porterfield-brakes.com/

Thanks, I had forgotten about them. Actually seeing as how they do them off the shelf... how do the Raybestos (ST43 for example, maybe ST41) stack up against other stuff - worth running vs having custom PF11 pads cut? I have most experience with DTC60/30 but looking to branch out on the next car.

I started using the ST42 compound on my 140hp GP2 car last year after suggestions from a couple other WRL guys. I've been really happy with it so far. Modulation is great and pad life is about double what we were seeing with carbotechs. I've heard lots of good things about the ST43 too but I think it's more aggressive than needed for my car.

I'm specifically looking at the 1st gen RX-7 in EProd... you know, 2200 pound car, 220+hp at the rear wheels, 9.5" wide slicks (on a 7" wide wheel, oh well) and... 10" diameter brake rotors.

Pretty much all of the glowing reviews I've seen for the ST43 have been from SCCA guys running way too much power on tiny stock brakes. ST43 sounds like a good fit for you, but I'd still call and talk to Wendy.

Yeah, I'm now at the point of wondering if it's even worth bothering with PF11 pads cut to size vs the good Raybestos compounds.

Having the ability to get pads cuts to custom shapes completely eliminates the time sensitive part of this, which is basically getting to whether to try to hunt down the last few sets of rebuilt calipers for the other caliper option. ;)

They're really not that bad in person. The tension is entirely in the strain relief, and Stoptech knows exactly what is going on here, and doesn't think it's a liability for them. I think they could definitely do this better, but I'm not worried about it.

I need some Raybestos dyno numbers. Raybestus was huge in NASCAR back in the mid 90's. Alcon and Raybestus were bought out by Federal Mogul (moog) in the early 2000's. After that, they stopped innovating and haven't produced any pads that have been competitive in top-level motorsports. A few years ago some lemons teams found them and the pads started popping back up in very low-level club racing. I can only guess because the lemons teams where running 90's sports cars and Raybestos might have been the only place with parts on the shelves. I want to see the Tq curve on them to see what we are working with. the uber low-level club racing is a cesspool of false braking knowledge. I spend half my time shooting those rumors down.

NEW PFC compounds coming out soon for 1.8L

Not sure if you are following the MR-S hub discussion, but a question regarding an approximate 1mm offset of the brake disc, basically would there be any serious issues if the brake disc was 1mm offset in the caliper? I assume that for most everyday driving the caliper would self center and there would be no real issue, but what about on a track with more extreme heat and braking loads?

Looking for a recommendation on Gloc pads for my HPDE car - 150whp on RS4s that does 7-10 events per year and ~5k street miles. Last year I ran Hawk street/race (slightly improved HP+) on my standard 1.8 brakes and was fairly happy with their performance (good bite and no fade at my pace) and streetability but wear wasn't great - finished two sets in 8 days on track.
I'd like to maximize wear for my usage. I don't have bias adjustment but balance is pretty good with the current setup. R10/R10 seems like the logical choice, although a lot of people mixed 10/8 with the old Carbotech compounds. What does experience say? Any other brands worth using?

Go with 10 / 8. If you don't have bias adjustment, you want a lesser compound in the rear to ensure the rears don't lock up before the fronts. The rears keep the car straight under front lock-up. I have been using 10 / 8 in my RX-8 and Miata for years with good results.

as someone who is currently running r8/r8 (f/r) i second this opinion... 10/8 (f/r)

We have covered bite before. the bite is the characteristic of the pad first interacting with the rotor. it's a momentary quality as it quickly gives way to Torque. Torque is the actual working force of the pad. High bite Quickly jolts the tire and sends a reaction through the chassis. Beginners really like high bite pads as it gives what I call the "parachute placebo". It lets nervous drivers know the pads are there and they are working. The bad thing about high bite pads, they like to lock tires and cause the vehicle to become unstable during initial braking. (also lots of ABS issues come from high bite pads) To tame the chassis down it's critical to stagger the pads. like above mentioned. Stagger is bad for lap times because you're using a lower Tq pad in the rear in an attempt to tune the bite out. Tq is the actual workforce of the pad. Having a Tq balance to the chassis is critical to achieving threshold braking with proper declaration rates. it's best to run a pad with lower bite and so you can properly tune the chassis.

In CliffsNotes I'm saying Drivers love high bite, Stopwatches do not.

this seems like a high level brake talk thread but i'll ask anyways. sry.

For a high hp street car what's a great pad?
i have some autozone raybestos in it and they smoke and stink
then the rotor shakes like crazy i'm assuming it starts to warp.
1 time it actually left me with no brakes doing 0-100-0 on the street.

i've heard good things about hawk and mintex or whatever but obviously reading this thread i'm looking at pfc and the Z rated look great too.
The racing pads seem like too much this is just a street car.
i appreciate all your opinions.