dbgeek Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 (edited) So far, I'm running the stock brake ducts, which pretty much just put some air into the interior of the wheel well. I go through a set of front pads in 2-3 weekends. Who has real ducts? What is the performance benefit? Pad life? I recall Anders was in on a group buy somewhere for the backing plates... I'll go further: I'm a cheap bastard, so is there an economical method for brake cooling? Edited to make more coherent... Edited November 18, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I bought ours from pegasus. 3 feet per side is the perfect length. I used zipties to attach the hose to the bumper struts and swaybar. You can spend a lot more on backing plates but I'm not sure its with it. Brake ducting in theory will increase pad and rotor life and reduce brake fade. This is the stuff I used, it was the cheapest source I found. https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productselection1.asp?Product=3620 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1slowspec3 Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 anyone have pics of the installed on their car? def on my winter to do list. what diameter of tubing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I can snap some pictures of my car later. I used 3" tubing, much bigger than that and you will have interference issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jon M. Posted November 18, 2011 Members Share Posted November 18, 2011 I have ducting and view it as a race-saver vs. a pad-saver. My front pads are still in the 3-4 weekend range, or less if I feel that they have lost enough to cause me to question them. I duct from the bottom radiator opening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scany Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I bought mine from Bimmerworld. Also got ssteel adapters to go from the square bumper opening to 3" hose. Forget the vendor. Installing it all was a bit tricky, but I made it work. The backingplates wasn't quite a 100% fit, but I filed them slightly and they worked fine. I also broke of a bolt in the knuckle and then just tacked the plate instead of dealing with extracting the bolt. It's also a bit tricky getting the hoses to flow well and also keeping them out of the way, especially at full lock (which doesn't happen at the track, but in the paddock). Gorilla tape protects it well enough. But eventually the hoses needs to be replaced. I also needed mesh in front of the ducts as pieces of rubber would make their way all the way into my rotors now if not. What is strange however, which would make me think real hard about this upgrade today, is that I don't really wear my brakes less. I'm fairly certain of this is the case, but there are many variables, so I also say I might be wrong. Another thing is that Mike supposedly ran without even the stock ducts at VIR and I and others ran 3" cooling ducts directly to rotors. Temps did not seem to be different! That being said, it's hard to imagine the cooling ducts not doing a better job, though there are pressures in the wheel well I imagine can be hard to understand completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDizzle Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Yea I also ran 3-4 really hard laps before coming in blazing into the pits for a temp reading. I wasn't taking it easy because I really was curious what my temps were and if brake ducts were worth it. I do have my backing plates removed...and obviously amazing braking technique Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1slowspec3 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 interesting findings, and thanks for pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinO Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I had cracked rotors before I put on the ducting, but they had several DE's and TT's on them. Sean's rotors were badly cracked after Friday's comp school and he had the ducting in place for that. I have to assume they help, but for us it still needs to be proven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaTechM3 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Anders, How do you have your brake ducting attached near the swaybar? Is it attached directly to it via zip tie? How do you make up for slack necessary for wheel travel when turning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaTechM3 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 And to add to my question, any idea how much hosing you needed to duct yours? I wouldn't think it would need much, but obviously don't want to buy too little. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whaden Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 And to add to my question, any idea how much hosing you needed to duct yours? I wouldn't think it would need much, but obviously don't want to buy too little. Thanks! I purchased 7 ft...and had just a little left over. My intakes are more centrally located, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaTechM3 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Do you have any pictures of your routing Will? I think I have my intakes mounted where the stock ducting mounts to the bumper, or somewhere near the fog lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whaden Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I'll see what I can snap this evening, depending on the weather. I'm not sure you'd want to use mine as a model, though. My backing plate is the Turner (blue) one (blaspheme, I know ) that I had when it was a DE car. I just don't think that it gives me the right angle out of the wheel, as I get a fair amount of crush against the sway bar. These things are really strong and stiff and I rushed it before the last event Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaTechM3 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Sounds like how mine is going to be routed haha. I feel like most of the backing plates all have the same/similiar design. I guess I'll just have to see where it puts the hose when I get around to routing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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