…or how to break a normal rotor in two, that is:

This picture was actually taken last year at a NHIS track day with my Stealth. Because brakes are so important at the track and 3000GT/Stealth cars have an easy time overworking their brakes, I was using some fairly high-temp pads (Carbotech Panther Plus, which I highly recommend) and ramping up my braking throughout the day. Having no problems with fade, I pushed the car harder and harder. In the last session of the day, I was braking down the front straight for turn 1 when I heard a pop that gave me a scare. Immediately the car pulled right and just wouldn’t slow down quickly at all. I was prepared to run off onto the oval, but I hauled it down just in time and continued around the track slowly until I could pit. The pedal was firm, my tires seemed fine, and the car steered true, so I just had no idea what the problem was. Everything looked fine in the left front wheel, but after removing the wheel I discovered the problem shown above. I snapped the friction ring right off the hat! Those pieces started life as a single iron casting! Another angle, just for fun. A lot of this issue has to do with the general design of 2nd-generation 3000GT/Stealth rotors, but admittedly the specific parts on my car were cheap-ass eBay rotors. The Carbotech rotors I replaced them with are quite a bit beefier. Lesson learned.

Technorati : brake rotor, brakes