.....or dudette?

Seriously, staying within your limits is the key to a safe, fun weekend....and DO give your brakes your utmost attention! We must never, ever, ever cross the yellow line!

 

What is it the sign says.."Crossing the Yellow Kills" or something like that...

 

absolutely Sheila

 

When Sheila talks, you better listen. she's no Rookie.

 

 

Thanks ruexp67, I have been looking for that ad for ages!

 

Hey guys thanks for the Tip. I have a 03 with 21K on it. I have not driven the car overly agressive. What do I look for to make sure brakes will be up to the task??

1. Change fluid?
2. New pad and turn rotors?
3. SS brakes lines?
4. Brake fans like Nascar? (just kidding)

Also is there a minimum tread depth you would recommend for the tires??

BTW I have 21K on front S02's and 7K on rear S02's

great post thanks for the advice. As you might guess I am a Nooby

Erich

 

Make sure your pads are fresh. Also, your fluid should be topped off. Some of us use ATE superblue racing brake fluid. You can find them at Hardtopguy.com

One thing that isn't mentioned here is alignment. It could be a good thing.

make sure your tires are mounted correctly though!

Last year, me and SNIESEN03 had to help a guy who's rear wheels were mounted on oneside and the front wheels were mounted on otherside. Couldn't believe he was running the Dragon with that set up.

 

This is not exactly accurate.

(I really need to type this up once, save it, so I can copy and paste it)

Brake Fluid is available in several ratings. For the purposes of this we will be talking about DOT3 and DOT4 fluid. DOT5 fluid, for all practical purposes, is NOT compatible with the S2000s brake system and should NEVER be used.

There are two factors one should closely consider when choosing a brake fluid. One is the heat range the fluid can stand both "dry" and "wet." The other is how "hydroscopic" the fluid is. Brake fluid tends to absorb water over time, the more hydroscopic the fluid is, the more water it will absorb. Dry and wet heat ranges for brake fluid relate to how effective brake fluid is once it has absorbed water.

DOT3 fluid operates at a lower range than DOT4 and is generally less hydroscopic. So DOT3 fluid is great for street applications. It is cheap, readily available, and will generally last in the car for a long time, and in most street driving applications, will never see temps anywhere near it's boiling point.

DOT4 fluid is great stuff for the track as it will be able to take the higher temps generated there. It does however require more "care and feeding" and should be replaced more often. Because it is more hydroscopic it will tend to lose it's ability to hold up to the heat over time, which could give you a false sense of security.

Now the most critical 0.1oz of fluid in the system is the fluid that is RIGHT at the caliper. So if you plan to switch to DOT4 fluid, make sure you bleed the entire system so you flush out ALL the old brake fluid. Simply topping off with ATE SuperBlue fluid will do nothing except turn your master cylindar blue.

The Autobahn CC track in Joliet, IL is only 3.5mi long. I did the math and if it were 11 miles long, it would only have about 80 turns. Gingerman in South Haven MI would have 72 turns if it were 11 mi long. (Or if you drive 11 mi on these tracks you will take the number of turns listed, if that makes more sense to you.) With the Dragon having 318 turns in 11mi I would setup as though you were at the track.

I like ATE Superblue, but Motul600 is also a strong choice. If you have way too much money to spend on brake fluid, I would get some Castrol SRF. All of these are DOT4 fluids.

I plan to flush my brake system completely with ATE Superblue just before I leave for the dragon. I will run the DOT4 through the rest of the year, and when I put the car back into service in Spring of 2007, I will flush the system again. Probably with DOT4 again, and will continue to do so every year. I would not reccomend replacing the fluid before storage as it will get "wet" anyway over the winter and need a flush anyway.

Stainless lines are a nice upgrade. If you daily drive the car I don't reccomend them, especially if you DD in the wintery north with salt on the roads. It can corrode the brake lines and you won't really be able to tell until your brake lines burst.

 

1. Absolutly. It's cheap and easy to do.
2. Probably. Do an inspection. Keep in mind you will go through the brakes faster than you would think. If they are even remotely close to needing to be done, do them. You can keep your old pads as spares if there is some life left in them. Look at the OEM brake pads from the '04+. It is supposed to be a little better.
3. Not neccessiary. See above.
4.

I suspect your tires are starting to reach their minimum tread depth for normal highway driving. I don't see many people get more than 10k out of a set of rears, and 20k out of a set of fronts. (Stock S02s) if you have aftermarket tires, well, then it will be different for you. A loose rear end on the Dragon in an S2000 is dangerous (Dangerous OFF the Dragon if WSB is around too. )