ZPounds07GT

Alright. I think I can manage that. Me and my dad can do all the brakes. He built his old 67 Fastback so he can pretty much do everything (as long as he has the tools). I may need new rotors anyway though because I have been having issues with my car jerking back and forth when I brake slightly harder. So they may be seeing an upgrade soon anyway.

Jazzer The Cat

Sounds like it may be a warped rotor, as the car tends to "waggle" a bit in such a case. Don't bother with any special rotors or calipers or ANYTHING else. Just get good pads, OEM rotors and DOT5.1 or better fluid with SS lines at all four corners. I recommend a fluid upgrade, so install SS braided lines at that time and be FAR better than OEM in brakes.

Many see this as overkill, but is minimal work for vastly improved brakes. And like my last paragraph of Brakes Upgrade... you NEVER know when you are gonna need 'em!

Jazzer

ZPounds07GT

Yeah I hear you on that.. I have been in five or six accidents two being minor and none my fault and this being my third vehicle.. darn women drivers. Lol.. (No offense to any woman who reads this). And I've avoided a good bit due to brakes and/or driving skill

But yeah, the rotors is what most people have said, which I kinda thought anyway but wanted another opinion without dealing with shops.

Jazzer The Cat

OEM rotors are just fine

There is pretty much NO advantage to cross-drilled and/or slotted rotors on a street car (assuming someone is trying to talk you into them). Even oversized rotors (13"+) with more than 4 pistons is a complete waste on a street car. I could even make an argument that they are unnecessary on a track car, more often than not. I have incredible brakes on my ride and are 4 piston all around. If I apply the brakes hard, I will travel back in time! This is due to more than just brake upgrade, but some suspension mods I have done.

Once a wheel is capable of locking up or triggering the ABS... you no longer need more pistons or larger rotors. Slots, drilled and larger diameter aid in some cooling, but should NEVER be necessary on the street, but certainly wont hurt. Personally, I think that cross-drilled look totally cool and why I have them.

Jazzer

ZPounds07GT

Haha. You sound like me a little. Lol. But yeah the whole big brake upgrades like the Brembos and all that stuff are pretty much just a waste of extra money. But I guess for some people, the fact that they can say that they have them is what they like. But your car doesn't have much more power than stock does it? Couldn't the need for more powerful brakes just not be needed? Then again, if someone is going fast enough to need to all that stopping power, they shouldn't be driving it on the street.

Jazzer The Cat

My car is pretty much OEM HP/T with a nice tune. I am at about 248 HP, but just fine with it. I could use a bit more on the AX course, but will someday put some better heads on it and pick up a few horses.

As for more powerful brakes..... nope, not needed regardless of HP/T numbers. The ONLY advantage of the bigger brake rotors is some cooling effects. This can come in handy on an open-track, but just about impossible to take advantage via street driving. That is, if one DOES see an advantage on the street with them, he/she is going WAY to fast and no business doing that with you, me and everyone else on the roads

Larger brakes do look cool and they are some mechanical advantages for pedal feel and such, but yes... mostly for esthetics and bragging rights

Jazzer

Hotchkis

ZPounds07GT – Good luck! Keep in mind, you can still have fun with a stock GT. It’s always fun to autocross your car in stock and then make modifications. This gives you the feel of how the car changes as you upgrade it.

Hotchkis

ZPounds07GT - There's a chance you can break anytime...on the street or at an autocross. Don't be to affraid. Try it and see if you enjoy it. Jazzer is right though. Make sure your brakes are in good shape. Have fun and pretty soon you'll want to go faster. This is a sport of driving skills. It's a good place to get better in a legal and safe environment. Most clubs are very safe and have a great safety record. Lots of slaughtered cones though.


Here's a guy who had fun at a recent autocross in his Challenger:

http://youtu.be/khWodOY_kqs

Jazzer The Cat

^ Boy.... that guys oil pan will look like mine pretty soon if he keeps driving that car on the street.... talk about vulnerable He is out there having fun in a safe environment, just as mentioned above

Jazzer

Norm Peterson

The need for bigger brakes mostly does not come from so-called "stopping power". It comes from needing greater fade resistance, which is a function of how hard and how often you're using the brakes.

Autocross is not particularly demanding in this respect, because you're rarely having to shed lots of speed more than once or twice per run, and you normally have plenty of time between runs for things to cool down.

Open tracking, open road racing (a la Silver State Classic), and hard canyon running or hillclimbs would be a different story.


Right now, I'm only running Hawk HPS pads on my '08, with ATE rotors of OE diameter. The hardest I've ever worked them was at a non-SCCA autocross where the runs were coming well under five minutes apart, with a usually-into-the-ABS-hard stop from 50+ mph at the finish. Even that was not working the brakes hard enough to fade Hawk's street performance pads (made them bite harder, actually).

HPS pads aren't enough for a track day with the possible exception of a really cautious newbie who's happy enough just to be able to drive a little harder than normal without getting arrested.


Norm