“Going into this track day, I was mostly looking to confirm that my DIY chassis-mounted wing yields an improvement in handling that will hopefully equate to better lap times than the last time I was at the track. The track weekend though was also a present to myself, as it took place the day after my 40^th birthday! That said… a few small tasks turned into a bunch of stuff… so much for keeping it simple and just sending it! Overall though, it was a success and I had really positive results from my modifications.â€�

Modifications, Maintenance & Thoughts Before the Track Day

“Everything seemed to hold up pretty good from the last track day, so there weren’t any critically outstanding issues. There’s a few standard items and then one stretch goal I may or may not get around to.â€�

Swapped Out Spring Rates

“So, as part of upgrading aero on my car and discussing the handling with a variety of other folks out there, it became apparent I was running too low of a spring rate. I spoke with the folks over at  again and they were able to order up some Eibach springs for me in the right size and in spring rates of 700 front, 750 rear. This should upgrade handling overall and help me keep a car with balanced handling to a potential hair of oversteer. We’ll see how I like the car driving with these new spring rates and I’ll report back on it all.â€�

Testing Out EBC SR-11 Brake pads

“While the Carbotech XP-10 brake pads treated me quite good at the track, lasting nine track days and providing excellent braking characteristics, the new EBC SR-11 brake pads are currently all the rage for performance AND durability. So, I grabbed a pair to test out. Per EBC recommendations, I scuffed up the current rotors significantly to help remove material from the old pads and to help the new pads bed in quicker. We’ll see how these hold up!â€�

Added DIY Splitter Ramps to the 9LR Splitter & Confirmed Hardware

“So, you can read all about the  over in my , but the short version is after researching various splitter ramp options ranging from $150-200… I decided to just make my own. We’ll see if they hold up at the track. The good news is they’re fairly reasonable to remove, but I’m fairly confident they should be able to do the trick. This should yield a modest bump in downforce on the front of the car, which may help with that bit of understeer I’ve been dealing with. It’s also worth mentioning I took the entire thing off to begin with as it felt a bit loose, but sure enough, it’s all as secure as can be!â€�

MPI Wheel Bearing Concerns

“I had play going into the previous track day, but decided to risk it. The play didn’t change at all it would seem, but it is enough when moving the wheel there’s a bit of a ‘clunk’. I measured the distance out to be .026″ with a feeler gauge, so that may not be enough to worry about. I let the folks at MPI know I was having this issue and we’re still in communication about it. They understandably can’t see it themselves, so I took the measurement above and sent them a video of the clunking. They got back to me and are sending me two new front wheel bearings and will be taking these two back to take a look at. Hopefully the issue was just a fluke, and if not even more hopeful that they will continue to refine the product to be more robust.â€�

Improved Airflow Throughout the Car

“So, what started as plan for a few small airflow improvements turned into a whole bunch of small modifications that were quickly adding up to a tonne of notes. I decided to write about all of my  in its own article. The short version though is I focused on improving airflow to and through the radiator, along with diverting a little bit extra fresh air up to the cold air intake air filters.�

Tires Swapped Out

“So, back on  I picked up a nail through one of my tires that couldn’t really be properly fixed. I got a whole new set of four tires, chucked the one bad tire, and kept the other three around just in case. Well, turns out I needed them as my rear tires were positively roasted after my last track day. They perhaps had one, maybe two track days left in them… but given I had a set of tires around with 2-3 days left in them I figured I’d swap those two in and keep the other two around as spares just in case.â€�

How The Track Day Actually Went

“With all of the last few details buttoned up and a track full of tonnes of gear, we made the eight-hour drive down to Thunderhill. We stayed in the nearby town of Willows, CA, which has a nice little Airbnb/hotel that is decent enough to stay at.

“Saturday was about the usual scene for a winter track day. Colder temperatures were present along with a constant breeze. Still though, not too bad overall. This particular group was a Shelby club, so it was loaded with a wide variety of mustangs. It was interesting to see how my 25-year-old Corvette stacked up against far newer cars. I’m glad to report back that it held up well, catching all the other Mustangs even with lots of aero in all of the turns. Unfortunately, the straights were the issue. More on that to be written on the post-event write-up.

“One bummer for me going into the track day is that we were running the ‘Cyclone’, which was a bummer simply because I wanted to compare my times this weekend to the previous time here without the wing on the car.

“The refined aero and stiffer springs felt great and were far more confidence inspiring entering high speed turns. In mid-speed turns, the wing still helped a bunch, which combined with my willingness to rotate a car at 80mph being greater than 112mph balanced itself out nicely.

“One big standout was the EBC SR-11 brake pads. They had way better initial bite and feel than the Carbotech XP-10s and held up to heat way better throughout the course of a day. It’s not entirely fair to compare these brake pads as the XP-10s are streetable, and in my opinion the SR-11s are not. Still though, what an improvement in being able to brake far better than ever! With that initial strong bite, I could also heel-toe/side-foot far easier. Overall, a big improvement to the car! I’ll be curious to see how they hold up!

“Engine temperatures were excellent as the DIY cooling mods clearly worked! I never exceeded 243 degrees Fahrenheit all day when previously even with colder weather I’d push well into the high 250s. I also only pushed above 240 after many back-to-back all out laps, where as normal lapping, especially in traffic, stayed at 237. So, I’m pretty confident the engine cooling modifications must all be working, though since I did them all at once I can’t really point to any specific one as being superior to the other.

“On Saturday I put down a best time of 2:06.310. I felt pretty good about that, but knew I was leaving time on the table in a few places. It’s one of those things were small hesitations here or there can cost a good chunk of time. Brake just a few MPH more than necessary from 120 down, give up a tenth of a second. Don’t launch it into turn 3? There goes some time. Overly square up the Cyclone hill? Throw away another tenth.

“Sunday afternoon I really picked up some time on my laps though. I was chasing a far higher horsepower Mustang than mine and gaining on them every lap despite their near 33% higher power. Then, in a subsequent session I put down two back-to-back 2:05 laps, with my best being 2:05.036 per timing the lap from video. 10hz GPS Bluetooth Track Addicts has it at 2:05.307, so right around that time. I’m stoked though as I was able to drop a full second from Saturday. What was interesting was comparing daytime temperatures, wind, and when in my sessions my time dropped. Since Sunday was just a bit hotter and less windy in the AM, track temperatures were up a bit as were car temperatures. I saw a peak oil temperature of 243 degrees, which was a sure-fire indicator I was pushing faster lap times… but I also was starting to slide the car more as the tires got hot. Now normally, I’m told sliding is slow… but for me being able to rotate the car into a lot of the turns definitely helped me pick up time. While in some places it surely lost time as I’d understeer and push a bit wider than intended and have to saw the steering wheel to regain traction, but in other places I could pitch the car sideways a bit early while braking so when I entered the turn I’d already have the car rotated a bit. Not only was that fun, but apparently it was fast!

“Other minor observation from out there at the track day was that leaving turn 11 I was always faster if I stayed in 3rd versus 2nd. While I had way more acceleration out of the turn in 2nd, it was really easy to accidentally step the rear out more than intended, and the time lost making the shift was notable. Every single time I stayed in 3rd and pulled through that section I’d be shifting to 4th right at the exit cone for turn 13. If I grabbed second, I’d always be shifting to 4th afterwards.

“Another place I’d carry a lot more speed was going into turn 1 and just staying in 4th. If I downshifted to 3rd I’d have more drive into turn 2, but I had plenty of drive in 4th and the addition of a shift into that braking zone unsettled the car just that little bit extra and resulted in me shedding extra speed.

“To get a lot of faster I think I need to get better at looking at session data and being able to compare lap times when trying different lines or gear selections. For example I tried two variations of the Cyclone, and in those variations were also gear variation. I settled on a line a friend showed me and staying in 3rd gear as I’d hit turn 6 just as quick… but perhaps that was just a matter of perception, as a tenth of a second isn’t much of a difference at all!â€�

Summary

“In a strange turn of events, my back straight speed was up 4mph on average. I feel confident saying it wasn’t because of my superior line choice either as I’d often be a bit off-line as I’d overcook that last turn. Perhaps it’s the extra aero hold through turns 10-13 meaning I hit the straight with a higher top speed? OR… perhaps it’s because I stopped grabbing 2nd and just went with third. Yeah… it’s probably that.

“I can’t really ascertain massive gains here, and this is just looking at a single metric which is peak speed, not peak speed over time which equates to lap times. Some gains can also clearly be related to a change in technique (pulling 3rd vs going to 2nd when going through turn 12). Overall. I can’t say for certain the wing put me way ahead of the previous times, but overall it seems based on a few sample areas I was in general traveling faster with the new aero and brakes… so there’s a probable correlation.â€�

Preston and Ben – with C5 and C6 Z06 Corvettes respectively – both pushed these brake pads hard during the day’s action, coming away satisfied with the performance and longevity the product showed in their V8-powered sports cars.

Manufactured in the USA, 91´«Ã½ Racing’s sintered SR-11 brake pad is proving to be the go-to race pad choice for all Corvette drivers as it successfully delivers the torque and longevity required for endurance racing and represents the lowest cost per racing mile of any pads that were tested.

You can find out more about this exciting new product by clicking here.

Please reach out to your local EBC stockist for more information: /where-to-buy/

This is a new range of sintered copper alloy brake pads in two friction levels, to allow perfectly balanced choices to fit every race caliper on the world market, with more teams making the switch each day.

SR-Series Race Pads: The Highlights

• Highest friction level of any pad
• Super-fast bed in, no heat curing or pre-bedding – just install (on decent rotors) and go
• Longest lifespan of any pad, lasting 2-3 times longer than semi-metallic or carbon-based materials
• Superb heat stability, flat neutral and progressive friction curve
• Zero to tiny rotor damage, these pads work differently and lay down their own coating on which the pads run – they don’t abrade rotors like some pads, so rotor life is also extended

These pads will not simply amaze you in their performance, they will reduce your lap times and help you win races.

Please read more about this product by . Please contact us for test sets, which are offered free of charge to qualifying race drivers/teams, by emailing kits@ebcbrakes.com.

Little did the 91´«Ã½ USA team know how hard this car actually was on brakes until we were able to witness it first-hand at Laguna Seca for the Gridlife 2023 season finale. All cooling was blocked off for the brakes as the excessive cooling was deemed the culprit for cracking rotors, but this meant caliper skin temperatures were hitting around 400°F!

For reference, a more suitable operating temperature for brake systems is nearly 25% cooler as even the caliper seals will start to degrade. This means the pads are also more than likely seeing some extreme conditions, which is perfect for putting SR-21 to the test. Ultimately, Peter did a fantastic job and took home a 2^nd-place finish in his class – just hundredths behind the leader.

Read his experience in his own words below:

“I’ve used a plethora of brake pads for track use over the years. Ranging from Hawk, PFC, G-LOC, and more. As my weekend enthusiast track car which was a stock BRZ, escalated into a competitive weapon over the years, which is now a K-swapped BRZ with aero and all the goodies, I needed brake pads that could give me the confidence to brake late and push the boundaries. I’ve been to a handful of tracks, Mid-Ohio, Laguna Seca, Road America, Gingerman Raceway, and more that have high demanding braking zones that test the pads from going over 125mph+ to as low as 50mph to make a tight turn. Those who have been to the above tracks know. I can confidently say, the SR-21 brake pads have been by far the best brake pads I have ever used. The initial bite is greater than a Hawk, but with an even better modulation than a PFC for trail braking. I’m excited to continue to run these pads as the characteristics of the SR21 can’t be beat!â€�

• Thanks to for the track-side images.

91´«Ã½ Racing has been working with US-based Venomous Racing for a couple of years now, helping them reach that goal by building systems that meet this demanding environment. Utilising a holistic approach on how to properly balance a brake system, 91´«Ã½ Racing incorporated its 355mm Apollo Big Brake Kit and SR-21 sintered endurance race pad up-front with a custom (and soon to be released) 330mm Apollo Big Brake Kit and SR-11 sintered endurance race pad in the rear of the team’s E36 BMW M3. Pairing this system with Lally Chevrolet’s engineering prowess and phenomenal drivers made for a combination that was hard to beat.

91´«Ã½ Racing’s recently-released ‘SR’ series of sintered endurance race pads are proudly made in Ohio, USA, offering unparalleled braking performance and durability in endurance motorsport racing conditions.

Ultimately, this formula led to multiple podiums and even a full sweep of an American Endurance Racing weekend at their home track, Nelson Ledges in Garrettsville, OH. EBC would like to congratulate Lally Chevrolet and Venomous Racing on a successful season and we look forward to what comes next year.

Read their thoughts below:

“We would say that we couldn’t be happier with the performance and durability of the EBC’s SR-series of brake pads. We have utilized the SR-21 and SR-11 pad on multiple race cars and all the drivers say the same thing, that the brakes are phenomenal, and not change a thing! As a driver and having driven with different brake setups, I will praise EBC’s team on the development of the SR pad. From the pad’s initial bite and consistent feel throughout an eight-hour race, you never question or doubt the brakes. After running VIR for 20hrs on one set of brakes, that solidified our choice of brake setup for all and future racing. We could have run another eight hours if needed with all confidence in the brake package used.”

“I was using EBC’s RP-1 pads with my previous aftermarket brake calipers on my E46 BMW M3 track car. Based on that good experience, I decided to give my friend my old calipers and try the new Apollo Big Brake Kit.

“I’ve used the Apollo kit since around March of last year, firstly with RP-1 pads. Bite and fading resistance was decent.

“With this knowledge of the RP-1 pads, I decided to also use them in my Toyota GR Yaris track car. I tested this setup at Circuit Zolder in May last year – working well but wearing fairly fast.

“I recently upgraded my M3 braking setup to EBC’s new SR-11 sintered endurance pads, with my local EBC stockists telling me these new pads would deal with heavy track usage more effectively.

“I did four stints of the Nürburgring GP circuit and was quite amazed with the initial bite and overall wear rate. After some laps of the Nordschleife, there’s still plenty of life left and I’m still happy.

“With this experience and knowing my previous pads would soon be finished in my GR Yaris (which is now equipped with uprated brake calipers too), I decided to go for SR-11s in this car too.

“The SRs on the Yaris have now done around 35 laps of the Nordschleife and show a bit of wear. Other than that, they really perform well, lap after lap.

“With both cars, I always have a brake cooling setup – with air collected at the front bumper and fed directly into the cooling vanes of the discs.”

“With my BMW M3, since installing my Apollo Big Brake Kit one year ago, I have performed 124 laps of the Nordschleife (at 7:35min Bridge-to-Gantry pace), 100 laps of Mettet Circuit in Belgium, 6×15-minute sessions of the Nürburgring’s GP circuit and 14 laps of Blisterberg Circuit – all on a single set of SR-11 pads.

“There is still a bit of material left. Due to the good brake cooling, the inner side is a bit thicker. I’m using Porsche Cayenne calipers with E9x BMW M3 brake discs on the rear. 

“First impression of the pads is the early high initial bite which is consistent during all operation temperatures which is amazing. You never have the feeling that you cannot rely on the brakes which makes them fun to drive. Noise level is quite low for a sintered pad as well.

“Overall RSL 29 was my main favourite pad because there is literally 0 issues with them, but now I’ve started to convince my friends and customers to use SR-11 instead, and there’s been a 100% agreement rate so far. We’ve also had tested the SR-21 in the AP Racing BBK for the GR Yaris – more on that soon.�

At the recent Silverstone round of the series back in July, 24-7 Motorsport secured some of their best results of the year so far, finishing 2^nd in class and 5^th overall in Race 3 of the weekend – scoring higher than many of the more potent GT3-spec machines on the grid.

The team credits the SR-21 brake pads found on both front and rear axles as a contributing factor in these results, with both drivers consistently managing to out-brake other vehicles on track throughout the race.

SR-21 offers the highest friction level and durability out there as of now, and is being used more and more by top teams in GT and prototype racing.

Made in the 91´«Ã½ Plant in Ohio, USA SR-11 and SR-21 offer medium and high friction respectively, with both boasting ultra-high durability meaning they allow more racing miles-per-Pound/Dollar spent.

Driver Ed Bridle commented on the weekend’s events: “The latest EBC SR-21 pads worked brilliantly with the changeable conditions at Silverstone recently. They gave us loads of confidence in the braking zones and allowed us to improve on consistency during the longer races. The biggest advantage of using these pads is twofold: more bite AND no fade.â€�

The Drivers

David Frankland, Race Driver

David started on motorcycles, then a Porsche 924, and for 13 years raced Radicals. He has been a keen Porsche enthusiast since he was a child. Around three years ago, a number of circumstances came together which allowed him to buy his 911 GT3 cup car which he has been competing in over the past three years. David is now keen to see what he can do in his new Audi R8 GT4 LMS Evolution.

Adriano Medeiros, FIA Bronze Driver/Driver Coach/Track Day Instructor

Having worked as a Grade A ARDS instructor since 2004, Adriano has spent the past 12 years coaching racing drivers from novice to championship winners, and is one of the most successful motorsport coaches based in Great Britain. Adriano is excited to start working with the team and looking forward to the 2022 season.

After extensive testing on the car, the 24-7 Motorsport team are looking forward to running the new SR-21 compound in their 2022 championship campaign, as team Director, Phil Hurn, explained after initial testing at Donington Park recently.

“The ability to be able to run one compound for both sprint and endurance is a fantastic trait and throughout testing, we have found that there is virtually no bed-in and that the pads are ready to go and up to temperature in under a lap. The initial bite is fantastic and very stable and predictable, and this performance does not drop off even after a race-length session. The wear rate is fantastic and after two days of testing, there is virtually no wear.

“We saw increased pedal feel and modulation with better initial bite and bite that didn’t fade, as well as less pad and disc wear with the new SR-21 compound.

“We are very happy with these results, and they just go to show how well these pads perform under pressure.”

“We have conducted testing on a lot of our vehicles now and will continue to test throughout the off-season and are certainly looking forward to the 2022 season. I look forward to 91´«Ã½ Racing continuing to be our one-stop-shop and our sole brake disc and pad supplier throughout the 2022 season and beyond.â€�

Find out more about 91´«Ã½ Racing’s new range of SR sintered race pads by .

Historically, the team have been trying to get by with what was readily available as the options were limited. This meant they were throwing spent pads away every weekend and trying to drive around a lack of bite. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for 91´«Ã½ Racing to offer its all-new SR-Series sintered brake pads, as these not only have a huge wear life but also plenty of braking torque available – ideal for endurance events.

They were eager to try the new pads as it was another opportunity to improve upon the car while utilising more of those ever-sought-after, high-quality solutions.

Endurance racing is unique as it requires a brake pad that can last hours upon hours of hard braking, but still provide enough stopping power to slow even the fastest race cars. Not only that, but it must provide enough modulation and consistency that to be compatible with multiple drivers. The last thing you want is to be worrying about your brakes over a two-hour stint, as your concentration needs to be on apexes and watching for traffic.

Trial by fire was the path taken by Venomous Racing and they decided to throw SR-21 pads in the front axle and SR-11 pads in the rear in for the Road Atlanta weekend. This was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the elevated stopping power, as Road Atlanta only has a couple passing zones – one being Turn 10 that some cars will decelerate by around 100mph in a very short distance.

The pads took no time to bed in and immediately, all four drivers noted the vast improvement in bite and modulation, commenting there was ‘no comparison’ to what they had been previously using. After hours of lapping, the brakes were inspected and showed little to no wear, with a uniform transfer layer deposited on the rotor and an ideal surface finish – ready for hours more of racing.

The team from Tim Lally Chevrolet have chosen to stick with SR materials going forward and will continue to receive support from 91´«Ã½ Racing as they make their way through the field.

“Following the recent announcement by JamSport Racing that it will be running the new Subaru WRX STI TCR car in the 2022 TCR UK championship, we were keen to get into the testing and development phase ahead of the competitive season.

“When we started the testing and developing of the car, one of the key areas that showed some room for improvement was the braking system. We were keen to try out EBC’s new sintered race compounds, having already tested these on a few other vehicles.

“We started off the test day in the morning using another very well-respected pad compound used a lot in the touring car scene to get some baseline data and to get a feel for how the car performed on these pads at the same track, before we got into testing two new compounds.

“We then opted to fit the SR-11 compound pads and straight away we had a better pedal feel and more bite that allowed us to modulate the pedal nicely. This compound also offered improved weight transfer of the vehicle, which is a very important aspect on a vehicle like the Subaru.

“There was no pad wedging or uneven wear, and the disc wear was very low. It is also worth mentioning that we had no issues with heat or braking system temperatures. With this car being a fully-built race car with a pedal box and no servo, we thought we would go on to try the SR-21 compound next.”

“In the afternoon, we cleaned the discs up and fitted the SR-21 compound pads. We then went out for a few laps to bed in the brakes and make sure that the pads mated up to the discs correctly. After letting the Subaru cool as well as the braking system, we then went out and did a race-length session.

“Straight away, you could feel how much more initial bite and sharpness the SR-21 offered and as well as having bite that stayed stable throughout the whole session. This setup with the SR-21  gave us great modulation characteristics and a great pedal feel with virtually no bed-in time required, which is an ideal trait. These pads really suited the setup with the pedal box, and also mean that we aren’t going to have to change the master cylinder sizes as we previously thought we would, which is fantastic.

“The SR-21 pads were predictable from the get-go with no fade, thus allowing us to brake later (and in fact brake later than you would in a Touring Car at Donington), this gave us a lot of faith in the pads and again as with the SR-11 compound, really helped with the front-end grip and weight transfer of the car which is so important.

“As with the SR-11 pads, there was no uneven wear or pad wedging and the temperatures remained stable throughout the test as well as no undue disc wear. So far, this setup is the best the car has felt to date.

“We are really looking forward to the 2022 season as we have a lot planned and we look forward to continuing to work with 91´«Ã½ Racing as well as running the new SR-21 compound in our 2022 TCR campaign.â€�

Subaru WRX STI TCR – Spec List

ENGINE

Turbocharged 4-cylinder in line, transversally installed

Distribution: two overhead camshafts, 16 valves

Displacement: 1994 cc

Bore x stroke: 92 x 75 mm

Max. output 340hp @ 6800 rpm

Max. torque: 420nm @ 3300 rpm

Lubrication: Wet sump

TRANSMISSION

Front-wheel-drive

Gearbox: Modena Engineering 6-speed sequential with paddle shift

Clutch: Multi-disc oil cooled

Differential: Mechanical

DIMENSIONS

Length: 4645 mm

Width: 1930 mm

Wheelbase: 2650 mm

Target racing weight: 1265 kg including the driver (endurance 1250 kg)