Dear Customers:
Please except my apology for the cart being in front of our horse! However, due to final testing and vendor delays we have a new rule (for two brake components) that precedes the parts availability. Here is the rule:
SRF
1. #9643 (Erik Skirmants) Brakes and Fuel Pump Clean Up
In Spec Racer Ford 9.1.9.C.24.G change as follows:
Brakes: Hawk Blue 9012 pads P/N 801993 or 801994. Solid Rotor; Minimum Rotor Thickness 10.50mm (0.4130 in.) P/N 800060. Vented rotor minimum thickness 13.25mm (0.522 in.); Must be converted as a set of four in all positions in place of the solid rotor. Vented rotors shall be used as delivered no machining of any kind P/N 800065. Vented rotors will be optional for 2013-2014 seasons, and required for 2015. Rubber caliper bushings may be replaced with bronze bushings P/N 1196185. Original caliper pistons may be replaced with vented caliper piston P/N 1196186 P/N 1196184 (ES- this fixes a typo underlines are actually strike throughs)

The SCCA Enterprises leadership (the Board and I), our Technical Manager - Mike Davies and the CSR’s have chosen this path and discussed it for months. Some CSR’s shared it with their racers. The rotors will happen; the alternate brake pad type is a TBD. Having a part approved that is not yet available is rare. But a decision that allows us to finish a launch with absolute confidence we have the best package and can implement smoothly without rule delay. We will ask the drivers that ran on the new vented rotors to comment and share their opinions now please! I will loop back on our collective decision as well…but since FasTrack is posting I needed this out NOW! You will immediately ask..the rotors are custom made, racing material, slotted face and require no modifications to install. They will cost $300 a set retail (the cost of 1.5 tires). Testing shows a 200 degree max temperature drop, and GREATLY improved rotor and pad wear. The feel...lets let the drivers tell you about that!

Also we dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s on the in tank fuel pump:

In Spec Racer Ford add 9.1.9.C.22.gg
P/N 1150002 In Tank Fuel Pump Kit is allowed and recommended with parts as delivered. Installed per SCCA Enterprises ”In Tank Fuel Pump Technical Bulletin.”

Erik,
So will the "alternate" pad be required with the new rotors?
I have heard about the rotors, but not a new pad.
Also, will both be sourced solely through CSR's (meaning they are "spec" parts and labeled as such as the pads are now)?
Thanks,
Denny

TBD and absolutely. I will give a better summary later.

So, Erik, when will we be able to buy this stuff?

I'm not trying to be coy. I need the test drivers comments to round this out. I want you to know, from your buddies, what is guiding the final decisions. I want to launch for COTA. But we will serve no rotors before its time. Because we want no whine.

You realize that you are going to obsolete my new set of 15 buck each rotors if these are available before COTA?

"Having a part that is not yet available is rare."

Rare? It seems to defy the laws of physics! Is it like having your cake and eating it too?

Part approved...fixed. Thanks Greg. Steve, maybe. Maybe not even if available

Erik

other than improved wear, is there any performance advantage in normal running temperatures- say 70-80 ambient?

Here are my thoughts on these rotors. (Forgive the LONG Denny style post, lots of info)

For the short summary:
I tested these and put close to 200 laps on them at two different tracks. After the first several laps were spent dialing them in, I did not want to take them off the car. They lasted longer into a run, provided better stopping power late in a braking zone, and consistently higher overall braking G’s in the hard brake zones.

Details:
I tested these rotors first at AMP (Atlanta Motorsports Park) in north Ga. This is a short track with two hard braking zones. Turn one is the hardest, with the car slowing from ~112 MPH to 38 MPH. Turn 6 is slower with a tricky entry, apex and exit. The car slows from 90ish to low 30’s here. These two brake zones are close together on the 1st third of the track. Since the track is short (1.8 miles) the brakes stay hot. This is a good track for testing because it’s short and has very hard braking zones.
I ran the current solid rotors and pads in the first session to baseline the current brake performance for that day and conditions. These were new over the summer and are less than 20% worn. The rotors had no noticeable lip. I ran a full 30 min session and established a baseline brake profile and lap.
For the 2nd session I swapped over to the vented rotors and pads. These were previously ran by Mike so I did not have to bed these in. The piston had to be pushed all the way into the caliper for these to fit. Once this was done they went on the car with no problem. I went out in the next 30 min session and right off I saw some brake lock up deep in the T1 brake zone. I moved the bias around and was able to get this to stop after a few laps. The next 10+ laps were run with no other adjustments. My impression (from the car, not data) was they felt very good. I knew they were as fast or maybe a tick or two faster just based on lap times. The first few laps were as fast as solid rotors even with adjustments being made. Once I stopped adjusting the bias the lap times were lower than any from solid rotors. I could go as deep into T1 as with the solid pads, but did not try to push that. (Yet) I came in and looked at the data. I took the average max braking G’s over the five fastest laps with solid rotors and compared it to the fastest laps from this session with the vented rotors. With these rotors I saw an increase in linear G’s under braking of just over 5%. The lowest of the five laps was higher than the best with the solid rotors. The average time spent braking was .38 seconds less over these five laps. And finally, the average rotor temperature (yes, I had two infrared eyes on the LF and RR rotor) was about 200 degrees less than with the solid rotors. Conclusion: These are better and have lots of potential to get even better with car and driver adjustments.
Last two sessions: I ran these in two more 30 min sessions at AMP. I ran 20 laps followed by 15 laps and again saw even better results. The fastest lap turned was the last lap before I called it a day. The best braking lap was also the last lap of the last session. I was able to push the braking zone for T1 deeper into the turn, but not sacrifice the entry. (I had tried before to push this entry deeper with the solid rotors, but would lock up and muck up the entry or apex) In the end I was able to see just over 8.5% better linear braking G’s into T1 and T6. (Average over the best 5 laps) I put just over 100 miles on these at AMP and could not measure any amount of wear.
Next I tested these at Savannah. “Savannah, that track is not a braking track!”
You’re right… Unless you run the bus stop configuration. I’ve been going to Savannah since the 80’s and never ran it. Must say I am not a fan but it does put the brakes to the test.
Savannah (Roebling Road) is a 2 mile sweeper type track. It’s fast and in a SRF we only use 4th and 5th gear. However, when you add a bus stop a couple hundred yards past the start finish line it takes on a different feel. The bus stop entry is 112+ MPH and slows down to the 50’s for the right hander down to a slow 2nd gear left hander. (low 30’s MPH) I put roughly 80 to 100 laps on the car here and loved the brakes. I was able to go very deep into this bus stop and stay under control. I tested how deep you could take this brake zone several times to the point of blowing the bus stop!
Overall I feel these will be better in several areas either right off the bat, or once a driver gets use to these. (Some will love them right off and others may have to adjust the normal bias or how they apply brake pressure deep in the brake zone.) With roughly 300 miles put on these at two tracks that were using the brake hard each lap, the wear was less than .5mm.
Benefits:
- Higher potential linear G’s in braking zone (Average increase of 8.5% measured)
- Measurable shorter braking distances
- Lower rotor temperatures (less brake fade, longer rotor life)
- Piston sits deeper in the caliper (less likelihood of brake drag)

I did not want to send them back! Yes, they will be very helpful at COTA in March. Im still holding out hope for Sebring! Otherwise ill have to put new "old" stuff on only to pull it off for March!