I was at a race track this weekend for the first time with my ’97 Camaro
Z28 (completely stock) and realized that my brakes need upgrading. In
short, trying to pass a Porsche 911 at the end of a long straight before
a tight 180-turn, going about 110 – 120 mph I lost almost all braking
power and went off the track almost taking the 911 with me. Anyway, it
appeared, looking at the brakes, that the pads melted. I’ve always heard
that boiling brake fluid is the thing to worry about, but since my DOT
5.1 fluid isn’t more than one or two years old I figured I was alright.
Fortunately, both me and my Camaro survived the excursion into the leca
pellets without a scratch, but it was embarrassing that they had to
red-flag the session to get me out so I have no plans of doing it again.
Riding as a passenger in both a BMW M6 and a Mini Cooper S, driven by
professional drivers, it is clear that my brakes are one step behind
both, even the Mini’s.
So, what are my options? Is replacing the pads enough to get the brakes
to survive hard track driving?
Ulf