Hey there - I've done some searching, but wanted to run a few upcoming mods past everyone. I'm starting to push my car harder and harder at DE's - now in the blue group and I'm seeing oil and brake temps rising! Actually think I glazed my pads a bit last time. Considering the following:

* Switch to Motul 8100 XCess oil - I know the oil debate is endless, so I'll just accept that some will say "Great!" and some will say "Ridiculous" here. But the LN Engineering guys recommend their Joe Gibbs oil first, or the Motul if you want to stick with Porsche approved. They claim it will handle the high temps better than Mobil One or Castrol Syntec.

* GT3 brake ducts. Anyone have any real before / after experience with this mod? It's cheap and easy to do (snaps in) and should help keep the brakes cool. Again, can't hurt.

* Motul RBF600 brake fluid. People seem to be mostly happy with this.

* CG lock - anyone have opinions on this? Worth it or a waste of time? Not ready for seats, roll bar, etc. yet!

* Brake pads? I think I'll stick with OEM for now, unless someone thinks strongly that I should swap pads. I heard Pagid RS 421 "black" is a good tradeoff for street and track...

Thoughts? I'm mostly looking to protect my machine here more than anything else. I still have plenty to learn, and I know I can go faster with my current setup. I just want to keep the car happy.

 

Here's what I've had good experience with:

Brakes: Castrol SRF brake fluid, GT3 brake ducts, Pagid Yellow pads.

The tracks I drive are very fast and hard on brakes (RA and BIR).
I don't want any issue with the brakes.

There are cheaper brake fluids. Why bother?
The GT3 ducts direct more air to the brakes. Cooler brakes are generally better.
The Pagid pads are great on the track. They can squeal like mad on the street.

I bet you'd be just fine with OEM pads + Castrol + GT3 ducts.
I never experienced any brake fade while using OEM pads in my first few DE events.
I go faster now and I don't want to take any chances.

I actually have new rotors and new Pagid pads on my car now and they aren't squealing. But I just returned from the track and will swap back to street pads. I imagine the Pagids will start to squeal on the street.

Good luck.

 

I have used the CG lock in the past and it's worth it as it really locks your hips in. Certainly no 5 point but it's easy to install and easy to come off

 

Thanks guys... it's a slippery slope, but I think I'm headed in the right direction. Thanks for the confirmation on the GT3 ducts - so cheap it's a no-brainer. SOunds like the CG lock is a nice addition as well, at least until the harness bar and seats! Ugh...

 

do you have power seats? the other trick is to move seat all the way back, snug the belt across waist and yank hard on shoulder portion to lock the belt, then move seat fwd while holding the shoulder locked in. this will (somewhat) lock waist AND shoulder, whereas CG is only waist. i used to do this before getting seats/bar/harnesses and it worked great.

and welcome to the slippery slope. i look fwd to your future posts about suspension upgrades, software tunes and other mods. guaranteed.

 

I've heard about that approach too... I'll play around with those things and see what works. I hear you about mods! Ugh. What I should do is buy a cheaper car that's already setup well. But I love this car too much - when I'm not at the track, I've got a car seat in the back for my 2 year old! Love the idea of having a car that does it all... but that never works in the end

 

off topic but can you post pics of your custom sub box?

 

This method works well. Do the same with the back of the seat too. Tilt it back and then tighten the belt across your chest and then tilt the seat forward. With this approach you can get your lap and your torso strapped in quite tightly. Even too tightly.

You still don't get the car feel of race type seats but at least you're not sliding around as much.