Lime Rock Park, June 2001

Jeff Ferraro, 1999 A4 with BIRA System 1

I finally was able to test out my System 1 upgrade on the track - Lime Rock Park, June 6th & 7th.

Well, I certainly don't have anything bad to report, except DON'T use the Kerr Friction "high performance street pads" on the track. These are the ones that are supposed to be comparable to the Porterfield R4S's that are available via Weston Motorsports.

The details:

Set-up: A4 w/stock A8 rotors, Kerr Friction high performance street pads up front (figured LRP didn't justify the Kerr Friction race pads, but I was wrong or I was doing too much braking!), Kerr Friction race pads in the rear, and stainless steel braided lines all around.

Day 1: Brakes felt strong, although I wasn't pushing them as much as I did on day 2. I did, however, notice quite a bit of brake dust accumulation on my front wheels - too much. That should of been my first sign...!

Side note: Although I had soloed at the Glen at two other events, I hadn't yet soloed at LRP so I had an instructor my first day who soloed me off after three sessions. I decided to take Mr. MikeO w/me for my final session on Day 1 to get some feedback from the "scalded cat" - GregA, you really nailed him w/that name! He gave me some advice on passing - basically backing off prior to the passing zone and then really hammering down on that "go-fast" pedal. I made sure to utilize that on Day 2 and it did me good! =)

Day 2: Thought I felt a little fade towards the end of Day1, beginning of Day2 but wasn't sure if that is what it was or not. On my second session while I was still on the warm up lap, I hear a beeping sound and after looking down to my dashboard, notice that my brake light is illuminated. I pit in and inspect the reservoir and the pads (what I can see of them through the wheels) and then decide to drive into the paddock for a closer look. I took off one of the front wheels and notice that there was hardly any pad remaining! Turns out I was almost down to the backing plate w/all four front pads! I later spoke w/Paul Royal's wife, Bonnie, who used these pads at a previous event and who had similar experiences! Since I just installed Sys1 over the winter (prob. February), had no track days on these pads, and was only going to LRP, I didn't even bring a second set (yes, I know, I know...how dumb of me!). It was for these reasons that I wasn't checking up on the pads as much as I should have been, either!

Well, fortunately, I was able to buy a set of Mintex C-Tech race pads from Scott Smith (I think he has Andrew from Camra Motorsports left over supply of rotors, pads, etc.). Actually, if any of you are interested in obtaining Mintex pads - C-Tech or Red Box for the Boxster caliper, contact Scott Smith at Northwind Motorsports (SKS on AW). Last I knew, Adirondack was out of the Red Box pads! Anyway, with Neil Swanson's help and some tools Neil and Mike loaned to me, I successfully changed the pads - I can't believe how easy it is w/those Boxster calipers!! I then decided I should bed the pads a bit prior to my 3rd and 4th session and decided to drive around the Lakeville area a bit.

The pedal immediately felt so much firmer and it wasn't going down as much (probably due to the thickness of these pads vs. the ones I just burned away). Well, my next session and final session were great! I soloed again, on both, and did very well. The brakes felt so reassuring and solid! They just inspired more and more confidence! Although, I don't think you'll ever see me braking as late as MikeO coming down that front straight!! ;-) Speaking of Mike O, I asked if I could be his passenger for one of his sessions and was really impressed w/his driving skills and his progress the past few years. All we did was pass, pass, pass. I can't believe how late he brakes w/Sys 1 on the front straight, coming into Big Bend. This is where I think he really gains on cars most! As many of you know, he is also running System 1 but he has the slotted rotors front and rear, along w/different rear pads. There were actually four of us BIRA members out there, including Doug Remington who already gave his report and Paul [Krumins]...

At my next event I will DEFINITELY bring a second set of front pads, as well as plenty of water/juices/liquids (which I forgot this time!).

Finally, I had painted my Boxster calipers red w/some high temperature brake caliper spray paint. This paint, even w/multiple coats, chips extremely easy! Just trying to push the pistons back into the caliper (granted, I didn't have my brake tool w/me either!) we managed to chip off more paint. I didn't care much, as my goal was to get the replacement pads on before my next session, which I managed to do thanks to that easy access, Boxster, caliper! I did, however, decide to strip and repaint these calipers the right way come spring - w/the FoliaTech brake caliper cleaner/paint kit!

Oh, one more note:

One of the guys who sells the StopTech kit was there, although he wasn't tracking his car (don't know why). He was very quick to do some BIRA bashing when he first met me in the pits and realized my pads were almost gone. His comment was "The problem w/this BIRA kit is that it doesn't use a floating caliper, yaddee, yaddee, and the pads wear down unevenly. He then said "I betcha when you remove the pads you will see that the inside pads still have plenty of life left to them, but the outsides are shot". He further went on to say that another problem w/the BIRA kit is that it uses stock Audi rotors and that they suck". Well, after I pulled my pads and noticed HOW EVEN the wear was, I brought them to him!

He just kinda humbly said "Oh...I'm surprised", or something similar. ;-)

Can't wait for my next event - Mt. Tremblant?, and then the National Glen Event! =)

-Jeff