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I used cheap brake fluid at my first track day which boiled after the first session, but I wasn't smart enough to realise this and kept doing laps until my brake pedal sunk to the floor. Its taken around 8mths to have the problem fixed and around $3,000 worth of fixing/upgrades.

Its all good though, I learnt heaps, I did some major upgrades which -should- prevent this from every happening again whilst improving my car dramatically (on the track).

read benm's post

here's mine

never drive hard when tired!

I didn't know much about brakes.

3 months after got my car - well the pads I had the compliance shop put in sounded like a freight train and were making my ears ring while I slept at night - so went to UAS and they said the quiet ones to get were Bendix ultimates, so got new bendix ultimate front pads spent $130, my rotors were smooth and almost new. Wore them in for 3 weeks in gentle driving,

ok so they are ready for testing I thought so I went and drove along a likely street (10:00pm) to check it first - street has entrance at ends only. So all ok turn around and wait for last car to go away..

Wound up the boost and went to 190kph and upon hitting the brakes problem started.

Well I thought I would drive safely and brake as soon as I hit 190kph.

started braking and shit there was a right turn corner coming up. I was tired and it was dark and I had forgot to turn on high beam.

After the first 10 seconds hadn't even got down to 140kph and was going into the corner. The brakes felt like they were 2/3 missing! Because I was tired I didn't think to use engine braking. The balance was out because I had only upgraded the front pads. Under brakes - front did oversteer. I corrected. The 4 wheel steering corrected. I corrected again, and the 4 wheel steering corrected again and I corrected again once more and then it went to correct me again and I thought well there is a brick building on the outside left and a open field on the inside right, and I noted I was at 80kph and at this point I should have let the brakes off but and rode it out but being tired didn't because I thought the standard suspension was swaying too much and I could go into the building if I lose traction. So I let it oversteer hoping it would stop. Spun the car and the left front tyre hit the right side curb right where a telegraph pole was (lucky didn't touch the pole), car started rolling backwards! And now the abs kept letting off the brakes! 6 metres then each second was 5 4 3 come on should have stopped by now at least and then it ran off the road at 2 kph and rolled into a 8 foot mesh wire fence between two poles backwards and came to a stop with the rear tyres halfway up a knocked over fence.

Black smoke was pouring out of the front wheels from the brakes in plumes 2 metres high making it hard to see through the windscreen!!!

Managed to drive off fence and onto road and gunned it with all this noise coming from front left wheel but kept going had to split the scene and went down and turned the corner before stopping to get out and check the damage.

In the dark in the lights of the car saw I had popped the front left guard out and it was rubbing the tyre so I quickly puched that back in. Went around the back and scratches on both side quarter panels and minor scratches on the rear bumper were visible. Thought gee I'm lucky to have survived with so little damage. Went back to the house where my wife was waiting parked in a dark spot and hoped she wouldn't see. Luckily she got in and I drove home and we went inside without her noticing.

Next morning I get up real real early and go out to take a closer look. slightly cracked light bent both rear quarter panels, scratches all over rear bumper. busted front guard, front left wheel saved by rim protector on tyre. The tabs under the number plate had been pulled out of shape by the fence as they caught on it when I drove off.

Hop in drive it to a panel beater and tell my wife, "I'm getting the car detailed". Leave it there a couple of days and its all good. Cost me $2800

Then a few days later notice there is a bubble in tyre - so into Jax, the tyre is damaged beyond repair. Not that you could see. Bought new tyre cost $365. Damn expensive considering I bought all 4 only 2 months earlier for $230 each.

Pirelli PZero Nero 225/55/R16

Very expensive test of brakes.

And to top it off, the brakes were squealing even worse after that too!

Also recently had to machine the disks - they had worn from almost new to 30% gone in 6 months of using bendix ultimates. And 3/4 of pads worn.

Moral of the story

- don't get Ultimates they wear your rotors very very fast!

- don't get ultimates they are very very noisy

- don't get ultimates they make way too much brake dust and leave your wheels black after just one day.

Well I had a full dynotune with new computer and got Galver 1105 pads last week and something good on back - perfect balance under brakes in corners - just tested going around a corner at 140kph under brakes for a 40kph advisory. All four wheels skidded evenly with complete control. Went past a police car in the corner but they just saw me and kept going! Well I just had to test the new brakes! Yes I had had plenty of sleep! (daytime 10.00am this time)

I don't need to test most of the time so I like to put put around thinking of the next upgrade. Now I'm planning to put aside $10,000 and go for 350rwkw.

I really want to see power over 200kph. Its getting boring going to 190 and the acceleration slows. Dyno currently shows 180rwkw. After the tune the car makes much less power down low but much more everywhere else, with a smooth torque curve about 2.3 times as much torque as standard.

Standard did 170 rwkw peak before tune.

Damn auto gearbox is no good, but that could be beacuse the screw on the back of the speedo was taken out to stop the speed limiter and hasn't yet been put back in now the new computer is in. Also the overdrive switch won't hold it in 3rd gear. I am now considering whether to get a manual conversion or invest in getting the auto repaired temporarily till I get the big upgrade done and get a manual conversion then.

PS. I may have to delete this if my wife ever wants to read my posts :)

190km/h on untested brakes, and now you're going for 350kw... :bahaha:

I took my charade through akuna bay (very bumpy very twisty with some SLOW tight corners) to give my new pads/rotors a thrash after bedding them in, almost outbraked myself around one corner.. (heh) but heavier more powerful cars are a bit different! The charade could be flat out and still only doing 80 clicks, but it would also hold that through tight corners not like larger cars :D

I haven't done anything majorly brutal to my cars, I tend to have a reasonable amount of mechanical sympathy. I have accidentally seen 6000RPM on a coldish engine in the r31, and although the engine wasn't loaded I don't want to repeat it... but in general I just tend to be a bit harsh on the clutch going through the gears. So the drivetrain normally cops a bit...

Well I had a full dynotune with new computer and got Galver 1105 pads last week and something good on back - perfect balance under brakes in corners - just tested going around a corner at 140kph under brakes for a 40kph advisory. All four wheels skidded evenly with complete control. Went past a police car in the corner but they just saw me and kept going! Well I just had to test the new brakes! Yes I had had plenty of sleep! (daytime 10.00am this time)

You test the brakes by jumping straight into a 190km/h stop????

Next time you test the brakes AROUND A CORNER at 140km/h????

Do you realise that you should do all your braking in a straight line and avoid braking whilst turning unless you absolutely have to (or are trail braking for a reason)???? What the hell are you testing them around a corner for??? at 140km/h???

Somehow, I don't think the problem is with the brakes...

doing the Putty Rd cruise with extremely dodgy bald tyres LOL

nah, never done anything too bad...have flogged it a couple of times when the engines still cold, but thats about it!!!

Waffor are yous peoples doing on here at that hour of the morning?

Some pretty good stories.

I'm onto my second set of pistons in 30000km.

I was out tuning my intercooler (stock) waterspray and running 11psi on the rigoli modded turbo which gives me wheelspin in third at 100 in the dry and 180 in fourth in the wet. It was 34 degrees and I had a line of traffic in front on a long straight and a porsche 996 turbo behind.

Naturally we pulled out at the same time so I floored it in third and he was going backwards, pulled fourth and still losing him then a couple of clearly audible detonations....which would have been pistons 1 and 5.

Then a coupla days later I discovered I had forgotten to check the oil, which I lose a fair bit to the catch can with a manual return valve. About 1.5 litres down and ran a big end bearing on #3 which is why I pulled the engine down to discover 2 cracked pistons.

Well at least I beat the porsche and now get to buy GTR pistons (8.5:1) :D

I put this one together in a hurry, in fact I even modded an RB30 head gasket as i couldn't get one in time to drive to Vic, and parts weren't as easy to come by then. So this build was a bit 'loose' and i left the old bearings in (80000km) but I feel the ring sent were not 0.5mm OS so had a lot of blowby. This meant that on track i could only do a 15min session and really needed to drop catch can and check oil and top up. I have exceeded that with a second session and had filled the 800ml can enough to blow oil out into the engine bay...lots and smoke everywhere. There was too much blowby to leave the drain open but I hope the engine is a bit tighter this time.

BTW the RB30 gasket is so narrow between the reinforcing ring on each pot and the water jacket that after 15000 it pushed out and let combustion gas into the water, causing overheating of the engine.

Those catch cans sound dangerous,

how often you recommend need to check them and the oil level?

They're not dangerous at all, and in fact high boosting engines should always have a catch can to remove oil blowby from the engine.

Usually you would only get about 30ml of oil blowby a YEAR on a healthy engine, unless your engine was built shoddily to inexact tolerances around the piston area, like it sounds to be the case with geoff's engine.

To fill an 800ml catch can in two track sessions is eek3.gif, and something is definitely not right with his engine (as he knows).

Hope that helps, catch cans are NOT dangerous :D

Agree with you there Merli. I had the pistons from japan and took them to the reco's for boring to the correct size. I honestly think the rings were just wrong and letting a lot of blowby through.

Definitely recommend a catchcan though.

Worse/funniest thing ive done in car............

Run up the back of my brother in his brand new Excel which had all the coles shopping trolley bolt ons in my old car at about 60km/h. Put 6 scratches on his bumper(god knows what happened behind all that plastic though). ended up with:-

1 smashed headlight

Smashed grill

Buckled bonnet

Buckled right side guard

Bent bumper

Bent radiator support at top

Lost bottom spoiler front.

And to this day, he even admits fault and laughs!!!! Tis a long story how it happened!

Worse/funniest thing ive done on bike.........

Screaming through the bush on my old RMX 250, decided to try overtake my brother off the track, figured id fit between these two trees on the side , going about 90km/h. Didnt fit!!!!!!!!! Bike got lodged and I learnt how to fly without wings for about 5 odd meters till i landed like a Saudi Arabian airliner.

Bent the handle bars and bark busters in badly, then had to ride home about 30km with about 3inches of movement in the handle bars.........was very exciting to say the least!

I used to own a Auto sr20de silvia. I got sick of the auto and went and got myself a manual box for the car so i thought i may as well see how strong the auto box is. After most of the night continually dummping the thing from N to D at 7500rpm it finally went bang, spilled alot of oil and wouldnt drive any more. Also got airborn in it and broke the front bumber on landing and one of the headlights fell out.

I have been very good to my skyline. I dont want to hurt it just yet.

My pulsar I used to drive hard, it was auto and I would drop it from N to D at the lights all the time. I would be driving all over sydney responding to service calls so often time was importnat. Once on my way to a school in kellyville I had to take a shortcut that took us through a dirt track, well needless to say we had some serious fun getting air on this dirt track. That car never stopped, it was awesome. Worst I did was nail a brake caliper which had to be overhauled.

The celica also got driven quite hard, not as abusive but hard. I once aqua plained off the road in the wet on a corner. The drain was not working right and I smacked the front left wheel into the gutter. Toyota wanted 1000 bucks for a new wheel, but I found a 2nd hand one luckily..

Earlier this year I went to the USA for 8 months. While I was gone I thought it would be smart to get my cousin to look after my car. Now it has a smashed front bar, 1 bald rear tyre (wtf?!) and there is a leak somewhere in my intake piping.

Thanks for that story mic33r -

I was considering leaving my car with family when I go overseas next time but after reading that - not going to.

Everytime I've gone in the past I took all the keys with me, just made me realise what a good decision it was.

Bored on a friday nite at the local BP servo hangin with the boys and my 1st car (Torana). Jumped the fence into a trailer rental yard and took a set of rims and tyres from a trailer and bolted them up onto the old school beast. Drove out to the local burnout strip which was a fresh suburb with only a handful of occupants living there. Ended up blowing both donated tyres and my diff. Was changing my mags back on and calling the towie whilst copping abuse from the new inhabitants of the area who were all taking my number plates down but one of them was sticking up for me. The guy was a true champion untill he found out that the wheels were off one of HIS rental trailers. I ended paying for new tyres to go onto the trailer and the towie drove over my letterbox and the old lady's garden bed on the way in the driveway.

Bordem leads to f*$ked up situations.

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