RobC

I had the S4 at Road Atlanta today and used R-compound tires and Pagid Orange pads for the first time. Tires are Kumho Ecsta V700 in stock 225/45-17 size on stock 7.5" AVUS rim. I ordered them shaved and heat cycled.

On the way to the track, these tires had a tremendous amount of stick, (ok, adhesion if you want to be proper) minimizing the effects of understeer with a stiff sidewall.

At the track they were a huge improvement over Michelin Pilot Sports used in the same conditions. I never timed myself previously, but today I was only 5 seconds off the fastest car there, which was a lightweight M3, stripped with Euromotor, rollbar, and Hoosiers on SSR Comps. (This M3 can run 5 seconds faster than he did today with new tires and driving all out).

First half of the day they stuck real well. In the afternoon with the air temperature at 93 degF and track temperatures much higher, the V700's started to get a little greasy and squirm around. In really hard turns when I was on the throttle I was able to drift on all fours, easily controlling the slide with throttle position. Never did it just suddenly let go and I always felt in control.

Tire wear was much better than expected. I know someone else corded their V700 Ecstas on stock rims and camber, but mine didn't have that problem. Perhaps the newer compound V700's are better than the old.

Front left:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/199/fl3.jpg">

Rear left:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/199/rl3.jpg">


Rear right):
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/199/rr3.jpg">



Front right (hope that screw didn't go all the way through:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/199/rf3.jpg">

I know it doesn't look like there's a lot of tread left, but you need to remember that these were ordered shaved.

At the end of the day, I'd definitely recommend these tires to someone doing a track day. They held up nicely and really let the car do its thing.


Now for the brakes. I have the standard 332mm ST40 kit and I used Pagid Orange pads today. Never once did they lose power and fade, but on the way home there were lots of ugly grinding noises when using the brakes. Upon inspection of the rotor when I got home it was obvious that there was pad material on the rotor. I went with Orange pads because that's what all the S4 track-junkies seem to recommend. Do I need a higher temp pad or do I just need to be nicer to the brakes and not brake so late? Or should this be expected?

Now that I have pad material on the rotor, should I sand it before reinstalling my street pads, or should I just let the street pads graduatlly remove the material?

Thanks for any advice.

juliem

other than it seemed like fun!

But I did notice a similar thing with my brakes (Porterfield R4, stoptech calipers) on the track - I figure I must have rested my foot on the brake longer than I thought while the car was stationary? I got some pad material on the rotor and it made a god awful sound for a while - it's just now wearing down, street pads on after the event. I was too lazy to buff it off with that plastic scrubby stuff - I forget the name!

Anyway, it's basically fine now.

seaTTym

I'm just about to order Big Brake Kit and was considering getting track pads.

Can you give me your opinion on the Porterfield R4? Jerry at myroadster.net says that they are pretty good, but are loud and dusty. i don't care about the noise nor the dust for track pads, but how did they perform?

TIA

juliem

I have the stoptechs and run axxis pads on the street - front but Porterfield R4-S on the track , and Porterfield r4 on the rear all the time.

Just yesterday I had the car at NHIS - I actually boiled the brake fluid - had to bleed the brakes to finish the last session.

Today I swapped back the street pads and I noticed some heat fracturing of the pads. Not enough to stop me from taking one more track day But I'm going to add a new post asking for track pad suggestions that might hold up a tad better given my heavy braking use

RobC

R4 is the race compound and R4S is the street compound.

I too will probably look for a higher temp track pad. The Pagid Orange didn't hold up to my hard braking either!

juliem

street pads rear, track pads front

the track pads do tend to leave stuff on the rotor I find, and then the street pads end up scrubbing it off for a couple days

coasTTal

I have had my TT with StopTechs and Pagid Oranges at the track in South Haven, MI this summer. I found on my first session out on lap 12 that I got alot of fade. I had bedded the pads in prior to going to the track as Stoptech had suggested. After letting the car cool without touching the pads to the rotor, all was well the rest of the day with many more laps to come. I think I boiled the stock brake fluid.

The Pagid pads were very noisy and very dusty on the street. The Axxis ultimates are back on the car but still pretty dirty. I will be going to a different street pad.