"Garrett Davis" (GarrettDavis) 09/03/2015 at 11:55 • Filed to: None

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Party-vi > Garrett Davis 09/03/2015 at 11:59

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Porsche 911 wheel, courtesy of BMW blog.

Grab Paddle > Garrett Davis 09/03/2015 at 12:06

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TIRES TIRES TIRES.

RallyWrench > Garrett Davis 09/03/2015 at 12:09

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Excellent work. One tip for brakes: stock brakes are often hampered by a lack of cooling in hard driving. If your car has foglamps or grilles in the lower front bumper, consider removing them and cutting a hole in your fender liners to get some air into the wheelwells inboard of the wheels. Running a short piece of clothes dryer hose from bumper to liner can help channel the air. It can make a world of difference to both their performance and longevity.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Garrett Davis 09/03/2015 at 12:10

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Great work on this article. As a habitual canyon carver, I agree with everything here

Justin Hughes > Garrett Davis 09/03/2015 at 12:10

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Solid advice!

Meatcoma > Garrett Davis 09/03/2015 at 12:15

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Great note at the bottom of your Brake fluid guide link below.

Systems designed for a particular type of fluid (especially prior to the wide distribution and use of DOT 4 fluids) should continue to be filled with that fluid. For example, in a car that was delivered with DOT 3 fluid, the internal components of the system (seals, brake hoses, and fittings for example) were specifically designed and tested for compatibility with the chemical composition of DOT 3 fluid. Because the DOT 4 grade fluid typically contains a different chemical composition, compatibility of system components may be an issue.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > Garrett Davis 09/03/2015 at 12:23

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Throwing out some product names to help get the shopping going in the right direction:

Brake fluids:

ATE Type 200 - my favorite, great for most track cars, street cars, everything

Motul 600 - bit of a step up from ATE, more cost

Castrol RBF - Stupid expensive real race car fluid, for when everything else boils

Brake Pads:

Performance Friction PFC-08 is a fantastic all-rounder, even for endurance racing. Get it if you can.

Carbotech, Hawk, EBC, Stoptech all make a variety of good compounds for street and racing

Raybestos ST-43 (yes, that same Raybestos that makes the crappy Autozone pads) is also a decent track pad.

Tires:

Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec - What I run on the race car, cheap, (relatively) long lasting, decent in rain, insensitive to heat

Hankook Ventus RS-3, BFG Rival, Bridgestone Potenza RE-71 all fall into the same category, generally with more heat sensitivity and peak grip

Michelin Pilot Super Sport - the “go to” OEM high performance tire. Longer lasting and better ride/handling than the star spec, lot more expensive

Brigetone Potenza RE-11, Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar, etc are also good alternatives

Don’t forget to torque your lug nuts!

Garrett Davis > Will with a W8 races an E30 09/03/2015 at 12:34

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That’s great, thank you!

Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders > Garrett Davis 09/03/2015 at 12:37

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Great writeup and thanks for the link to the comparison between summer/no-season/wintertires. It finally gives me some proof for what I’ve been preaching for years: Stop saying you need all-seasons if it rains alot where you live. It’s just wrong. Most summer tires are better at everything except snow and ice than all-seasons. Unless we are talking about those barely roadlegal semislicks like Michelin Cup tires.

Garrett Davis > Will with a W8 races an E30 09/03/2015 at 13:12

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Updated the post with your suggestions and proper credit!

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > Will with a W8 races an E30 09/03/2015 at 13:14

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I also really like Porterfield HP R4S - street & autocross pads, in concert with Motul 600 fluid, stainless lines, and high quality rotors is my personal favorite setup.

Admiral-cb > Garrett Davis 09/04/2015 at 01:51

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About 15 years ago I saw someone tearing ass down a mountain road in a WRX and they decided to pass 5 cars on a two lane road over a double yellow line. Turns out he was going too fast to make the turn and the next time I saw that car was about 30 seconds later on its roof blocking the road. It was pretty jarring to the 18 year old me to see feet sticking out of a body bag on the side of the road as they were cleaning up the mess.

Moral of the story? Double yellow lines are there for a reason, and you don't have to go off the side of a mountain road to die.

Garrett Davis > Admiral-cb 09/04/2015 at 08:45

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Ouch.