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crack in brake pad

Joined
15 September 2000
Messages
157
Location
Hillsburito, OR
At the track I had a shudder under hard braking left front. Another NSX'r sugested it was a hairline fracture in the brake pad. Sure as shit I wip out the pads and hairline fractures on both the inner and outer pads.

1. Are the pads hosed? The crack depth I would estimate at 1/32 to 1/16.

2. If I burn the pads down farthter will it improve, at least enough for street? I hope it will not warp the rotor??

3. For all the track types, when you guys change pads from street to track you just slap new pads on rotors that have not been turned. Does this cause any problems?

For now I will probably order a more agressive RM street/track combo pad and have the rotors turned.

While I am at it I might look into having some custom anodized aluminum hats machined to accept some cheap and replacable racing rotors rotors. Anyone been down this path?
 
I doubt that the shudder was caused by the brake pad cracking. There has been speculation regarding numerous causes suspected for the shudder, and it's possible that there is more than one cause, or different causes for different cars. That being said, I believe that it is caused by "hot spots", irregularities in the thickness of the rotors as spots expand and contract at different rates. I have had problems with shudder in the past and have never noticed brake pad cracking.

However, brake pads shouldn't crack. If they appear to be minor surface cracks, I wouldn't worry about it. But if they look deep enough, it's possible that the pad may get hot enough at the track to disintegrate; if so, you'll want to keep an eye on them. Yours sound minor.

If I burn the pads down farthter will it improve, at least enough for street? I hope it will not warp the rotor??

My experience with shudder is that it doesn't show up on the street, unless you're doing a hard 70-0 type stop - not normal street driving.

If it DOES show up on the street, I would suggest replacing pads and rotors as well.

For all the track types, when you guys change pads from street to track you just slap new pads on rotors that have not been turned. Does this cause any problems?

I use the same pads (RM Racing's street/track pads) on the street and on the track. When I change pads, I do not turn the rotors, and they bed in very quickly. The reason I do not do so is that turning rotors makes them more susceptible to warping (and, I suspect, to "hot spots").

While I am at it I might look into having some custom anodized aluminum hats machined to accept some cheap and replacable racing rotors rotors. Anyone been down this path?

No... but rotors aren't all that expensive, and I consider them "consumables" with heavy track use. For example, PowerSlot slotted rotors for the NSX run around $90 each. You can get them from Dali Racing. I guess what I'm saying is that these are cheap and replaceable rotors suitable for the track as well as the street.
 
Regarding replacing rotors... I really like Powerslots. You can order them off of carparts.com for cheap (go to dealcatcher.com and look up the coupon for carparts). I currently run the 6-pot Tarox kit in the front and powerslot/Porterfield R4s in the rear.

-- C

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Chris Willson
www.ScienceofSpeed.com
www.NSXClassifieds.com
 
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