Rotors can get warped even even the street - I warped mine with just a hard stop at a signal located at the bottom of a freeway offramp and then sitting there for 2min with my foot on the brake waiting for the light to change - should have put in in park and let the rotors cool w/out any pressure from the pads on them - MOST rotor warpage is from improper cool down - not necessarilly over heating

I've had the Porterfield R4Es on the road for a week now. They dust, about as much as the Hawk HP Plusses did.

Cold braking is amazing conidering the R4E is a race pad that doesn't begin to come into its own until 650 F!

From my track experience, once the R4Es get warm, they bite the rotors hard, with very little pedal effort. I have to adjust my braking style to keep from flat-spotting my Hoosiers (yes I have ABS on my FD!).

Off to Mid Ohio next week...

Note that Porterfield pads are carbon kevlar based friction compounds. Porterfield pad transfer films are not compatible with non carbon kevlar films. If you plan to switch from Ferrocarbon (Hawk) or Carbon Metallic (Performance Friction) to Porterfield, you'll need to use steel wool or medium grit sand paper and burnish the brake rotors slightly to remove the old pad film. If you don't burnish the rotors, braking bite will take some time until the old film gets worn off with the new carbon kevlar pads.

I started with brand new rotors. My road pads were EBC Green Stuffs, which are also a carbon kevlar based friction compound, so pad film transfer was NOT an issue when switching to Porterfield R4Es.

As I keep mentioning, the R4Es bite even when cold, which is not the case with Hawk Black compounds.

Just finished Mid Ohio Region PCA Drivers Ed and Club race May 9/10 at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course. Signed off first morning session on day 1. Rained off/on day 1. Day 2 was dry, morning session 2 was cool, and had brand new Hoosiers. Chased a Porsche 993 Carrera S racer practicing for the weekend Club Race 11/12-May-2002. Turned 1:49s chasing the 993 C2S before breaking my sway front sway bar connection on the RF drop end link. Car was undriveable (too much oversteer even with big 275/40-17s in back)!

Brakes were phenomenal, with NO FADE whatsoever. Actually was overbraking according two DIFFERENT instructors (racers). I need to squeeze rather than stab the brake pedal.

LR suspension bushing loose after just being replaced last season. Still have an oil leak some place near the front end of the car...

Despite the minor technical issues with the FD R1, she drove magnificently on Sunoco GT Plus 104 Octane (unleaded), 96,000 miles on original motor and turbos.

The only other fast Non Porsche was a trick yellow Z06 Corvette (2002 405-hp!) turning 1:47

SleepR1,
Thats excellent.
It must be nice to experience overbraking (as opposed to fade induced underbraking).
What mods did that Z06 have?
Was it running stock or aftermarket brakes?
Just curious since stock Vette brakes are 12.6", which is comparable to the 12.4" RS brakes.

Lunar7,

Yeah...I need to reteach myself how to drive with bigger, more powerful brakes:)

I didn't get a good look. The word from the paddock was the Z06 is completely stock except for the driver harnesses and FAT Hoosiers on FAT CCW wheels! I believe that...SERIOUSLY. He was easily running with full-on race-only 993 and 996 Porsches!

Hey Manny,

Can I order the RS brakes thru my dealer or do I have to go through MazdaComp? I'm not a racer so not qualified to register.

If not dealer and Mazdacomp then where else?

Thanks.

Your dealer parts counter won't have the parts number for the Type RS brakes. You'll need to go through Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development for the '99 Type RS brake parts.

I have just modified my brakes and i believe they are way better than the 99 fd brakes. Compare the specs and the prices.

Originally I had the Ferrari F40 front kit with stock rear. Too much front bias. And outragious cost to replace rotors ($275 US each) . I replaced those rotors with 94+ supra turbo rotors, 12.7 x1.2. All i had to do is machine inner circle a bit. Rotor was $60 at the dealer! Machining was $7.00 . The offset is out wards quite a bit so you need a rim with a fair ammount of clearance. i had a new adapter made to mount the caliper to the rotor. You can even use the old adapter.

For the rear I used the same supra tt front rotor 12.7x1.2 but machine it down to about 1.05 inch and enlarge the center hole. ($15) . I then had an adapter made to mount the rear caliper of a C5 corvette in place of a stock caliper. You do have to cut off a piece of the caliper and drill a hole in it to mount it.Piston size is 44mm VS. 30 mm of the rx7. They are also lighter than stock . If you want a parking brake you could fit a device called a line lock which locks the pressure while you are on the brakes. This is frequently used in trucks and is way better than any cable p. brake as all 4 wheels are locked solid. I bought the corvette caliper for about $150 us. I will have pics in about 2 weeks and will see how much fluid displacement i have. At the moment i have modified the pedal ratio to 2.85 :1 and use a 929 m/c.and have a rock hard pedal.

Sounds like a lot of work, but I prefer OEM parts.

Mazda parts will fit without question.

Besides, I always hate "stealing" parts off of other cars to make them work for our FD.

Part of the attraction to the '99 FD Type RS brakes is that they're completely stock parts, made by Mazda...NOT Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, or whatever...

But if you have the time to dork around with machining Toyota parts to make them fit properly for our FD Rx7--go right ahead:)

I only dork around with Toyota parts if they improve the car, and since its a race car it can be the difference between 1st and 2nd place.

I see, well you have a very different application as most of us don't use our FD Rx7 as a dedicated race car. Rather we use the car daily, and that's the main attraction for the Type RS brakes...the retention of the factory e-brake.

On a more philosophical note, I admire you having the patience and wherewithall to use the FD Rx7 as a dedicated race car. After 40+ days of high speed drivers education events at various race tracks in the USA, since 1997, I've concluded the FD Rx7 is NOT a good race car with regard to reliability and durability. The FD Rx7 is far too complicated, with too many hose clamps, or hoses that could fail and cripple the car's performance.

A race car has to be much simpler with fewer frail parts that could fail. It's no wonder you don't see Cam Worth running very strongly with the Porsches in Grand Am racing...

FWIW, I wish you the best of luck in campaigning your FD Rx7 as a race car.

BTW, you must run in an interesting class, as few Amercan racing sanctioning bodies have a place for the FD Rx7. SCCA has an ITE class which is basically unlimited, but poorly attended. ITE is apparently the only SCCA class that allows turbocharged race cars.

I have been racing the car since 1997 , and the first two years were frustrating with hoses, fittings, etc coming loose. But after replacing a lot of parts with upgraded pieces the car has been reliable, and quick. I am in Canada and with our rules we can run with non turbo cars. I usually race against mustangs, older corvettes, older porsches 944, 993, 911, z28's and win. The porsches had an advantage under braking but not any more. It is a technically complcated car to race but these days most production based cars are. And when you are winning races in an affordable car its hard to trade it in .

Actually, I think they are made by Sumitomo.


(ducking :boxing: )

Scott

Right, Sumitomo...that's exactly what how it reads right on the side of my calipers:) Well, like any other industry, Sumitomo has a contract to build calipers for Mazda Rx7s...apparently...

Poll:What brand of brake upgrade?
 

I'm thinking about Brembo's or Wildwood.
What's the best for FD's?

Best upgrade is the Mazda RZ front and rears- unless you want to spend some serious money!

You can do this upgrade in stages if you like, e.g., the fronts first. However, the FD brakes should be upgraded front and rear.

Big brakes for the front only such as that offered by Brembo, AP, Wilwoods, etc., only exacerbate the front braking bias inherent in FDs.. Ask me- I went that route and have already spent $3,500. Another $2,500-$3K should fix the problem :P

Gene
www.purplemantis.com

BTW, my AP Racing big brake kit (front only) is for sale for $2,100 shipped... :)

What is a kit that will fit under the stock rim? I think I have seen one for the front anyone know for the back?

Wilwood fit under the stock wheels.

www.m2performance.com

i would suggest getting a setup that lets you use the emergency brake... some dont!

Yeah they have the front brakes... The RZ brakes wont fit under the stock wheels will they?

I have the 1999 Type RS brakes fr/rr, and yes they require 17-inch wheels (including the spare).

FYI, I finally tried the stock '99 Type RS FD brake pads fr/rr at the track last night. I've run them on the street, for a couple of weeks, and they're virtually dust-free, matching or beating the same claim that EBC makes with their Green Stuffs.

At the track the stock '99 FD Type RS pads were phenomenal! I experienced no brake fade at all. My 255/40-17 AVS Intermediates began loosing traction (due to the track temps) BEFORE I had any hint of brake fad with the stock Mazda brake pads. The friction coefficients were just a hair less than the race-only Porterfield R4-Es, but that was easy to adjust for in my driving style.

In short I highly recommend the stock '99 Type RS FD Rx7 pads for anyone interested in a good street/track day pad! They're noise-free and dust-free on the road, and they don't fade at the track, even under heavy use (trust me I'm hard on brakes!).

Now that I don't have to change brake pads anymore, I may go back to running road tires at the track, since I'm getting much too lazy to change wheels/tires at my age:)

Call up Mazdaspeed sports Development and tell Tim and Brian I sent you for the '99 Type RS brakes and pads:)

As i am in the marker fo SS brk lins, where can i get same for the $60.00 you stated?? Thanks, Carter