Good Enough For Track Days ?

[Guest smckeown]

Right, ive bought 1.9 Hubs and driveshafts for me 1.6, so now I have to decide between:

1. Willwood kit at around £500

2. Hi Spec kit at around £750

3. GTI-6 at around £350 (price new)

 

Now from the list above I would have though the Wilwood's win hands down. I understand spacers are needed for the kit though, and i'm not sure if thats a good thing ?

 

Any comments ?

 

Sean

[Wurzel 16]

For a quick and simple conversion that is (imo), perfectly adequate, go for the GTi-6 setup. Fits under standard 15" wheels and probably more available second hand than the other setups you mention.

 

Money saved can be spent on better tyres or something like that.

 

Have to admit I've not tested the GTi-6 stuff on track but it is pretty good around the twisty lanes and b roads. Not managed to get any fade yet and the bite is pretty good even using standard ferrodo pads.

 

Looking forward to trying out some uprated pads soon when mine are shagged.

[Guest sicknote]

I have the GTI-6 setup, and have been on the track too!

 

These brakes had no problem stopping my tuned 1.9, (130bhp at the wheels), from about 110mph at the end of each straight.

 

I am using 2nd hand calipers, ATE power discs, mintex 1144 pads, and a 23.8mm master cylinder.

 

Total cost was about £300 all in.

 

These brakes are perfectly adequate for the track, unless you are running BIG power, and are a bargain if you can get them 2nd hand!

 

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

[Guest smckeown]

Simon,

 

Many thanks..very interesting, how does that setup compare with the standard 1.6/1.9 ?

Its just the original setup scared me s*itless

[Guest sicknote]

I agree, the original setup is hopeless, this is much better, with a very positive pedal, and less pedal travel, but you MUST get the matching 23.8mm master cylinder.

 

Note that you will also need to get a couple of brass pipes and splitters to plumb in the master cylinder, as all the 23.8mm m/cs are two outlet (AFAIK).

 

This is not as hard as it sounds!

 

You will never get fade on the road unless you are a complete loony, whereas you will with the standard 1'9 setup.

 

These are 283mm discs, as opposed to 247mm for the 1.9, not sure about the 1.6.

 

Also, you have a bigger pad area and caliper piston.

 

I am sure that the Hi-Spec/Willwoods are better, but I don't think it's necessary for a car running less than 160bhp on the track.

 

Cheers,

Simon

[Wurzel 16]

Using standard discs and pads the difference was immediate and quite shocking.

 

I currently have the standard 1.9 mc (which is fine for me as I've got used to the feel of it now). Nearly put myself through the window when testing them out round the estate. Quickly put seatbelt on!

 

For a relatively light motor, I think they are probably the best anc cheapest solution.

 

Braking distance has been significantly reduced over the standard stuff.

[Guest smckeown]

ahh! see im running 160 nice with the Mi16, and expect to have more in the future, plus i'm a s*ite track day driver hence needing the brakes to save me skin....

 

So are we saying the GTI-6 setup is more than adequate for the road, and poss for under 160 HP for the track, or a good efficient driver

 

Hence i need 4 POTS

[Guest sicknote]

4 pots would be the best if you can afford it, mate.

Another advantage of the 4 pot is that they are much lighter than the the GTI-6 caliper, therefore less unsprung weight=better handling.

 

I think that the GTI-6 is great value, though, and will PROBABLY be enough for you.

 

Don't hold me to that!

Simon

[NickR 10]

Considered std size brakes, with uprated pads is good enough for most track days, you will find gti6 setup perfect. Remember, they are good on the gti6, on the lighter 205 gti they are awesome.

 

4 pot etc are better, you get what you pay for, but I think they are overkill and you will never need better than gti6 setup.

[Deadliest Pug 0]

If you want a 23.8 mm Master Cylinder then the non ABS 306 Estate has one.

 

It's a 4 output master cylinder with 2 brass plugs for the outlets you don't need.

 

Works a treat.

 

Dave!

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

You can also get the 23.8 mc from a pre 98 406 without ABS and 4 outlets, I got one like this from my local breakers for £20.

 

It's best if you can go and see the mc before you commit to buying it because the later ones have a different hole pattern and won't fit the 205 servo AFAIK.

 

The GTi6 set up is probably the best you can get for the 205 for the money and if you ever need to rebuild any of the system then getting parts won't be difficult (although the pug prices might sting!)

 

Graham.

[Guest smckeown]

gone and blown the credit card with the following:

 

HiSpec 'Racing 4' 4 Pot Calipers

280 x 26mm Grooved Rotors

Mintex 1155 Pads

Steel pipes with Banjo's

 

The reason i went for this is that its a future proof solution. I believe the GTI-6 may not cope with the likes of 220+ BHP etc on track etc

 

Sean

[Guest awesome205]

I use the GTI 6 discs with AP 2 pot calipers, with the car running 170 BHP and managed to warp the discs on the track last saturday and so agree that the choice that you went for is probably the better option.

[Guest awesome205]

NickR

 

I was using EBC Greenstuff pads, I would have thought that the discs would have been up to the job, bearing in mind that the car is stripped out and therefore, considerably lighter.

The only thing I can think of is that, because the discs fill the wheel up, there isn't enough air flowing to them to keep them cool.

 

I'm going to get another standard set and groove them and put some form of ducting to the discs to see whether that will help in keeping them a bit cooler to stop them warping.

[NickR 10]

Theres a number of reports of Green stuffs being poor and depositing themselves on discs, giving the efffect of warped discs:

 

http://forum.205gtidrivers.com/index.php?a...=green+stuff&s=

[Guest smckeown]

the width of the disc is also an important factor to the heat dispertion. Thats why i ordered the 28mm rather than 22mm as standard for the hi spec kit. Also green stuff are not track spec, they are fast road, so they have lower heat operating ranges. I'd go for some read stuff or mintex 1155

Sean

[Guest awesome205]

Thanks nick and sean, I'll check the discs when I get a chance and try some different pads for when I next take the car on the circuit.

[perfecto pug 0]

sean how much did that hispec bill come to??? - if you dont mind me asking

[Guest smckeown]

i meant EBC Red not Read stuff! The problem is that these are purely tracfk day spec pads, not for road use! They take a full lap to heat up to 'gripping' temp.

 

In my experience 1144's are the best comprimise for road and track, but i'm sure there are others

 

The base hispec kit is ~£500, i spent £750 for a better track day setup. It was a shame the Willwood's didnt fit, at £500 they are a good deal.

 

But i always want the best, i spent £1700 on my subaru brakes!

 

Sean

[Guest cookiemonster]

mmm... i have standard 1.6 calipers and disks with mintex pads (1166), braided hoses and a dual master cylinder setup (one for the front and one for the back) on my 1.6. The car weighs 760kg and makes 165bhp - and this set up is good enough to race with.

 

So, IMO, any of the above will be "good enough" for track days

 

(but i'm thinking about the wilwood midilites anyway.... )