Titanium shims are pretty common these days for various track cars. I was having the same issue a couple others described with burn/ melted dust boots and boiled fluid creating fade on my C5Z06, but not the GT. I have not worked the GT hard enough at the track to notice or create this issue.
A NASA racer recommended a set of Titanium shims to use as a heat break. He explained that they act like the handle on a frying pan. The pan is super hot but the heat is reduced at the handle of a frying pan with a modern handle. But, grab a hold of your great grandmothers cast iron skillet when hot and you will have be needing a skin graph.
At the caliper the Titanium shim acts as a heat break between the pad backing plate and the piston and boot area. The heat getting to the boot and piston will drop enough, that it helps solve problems related to fade from boiling fluid and burnt dust boots. If you have found the pedal to be less re-assuring after some hot sessions, chances are the fluid is getting cooked. When the pad is fading, generally the pedal feel remains the same.
I tried them and the melted boot issues went away as did the need to flush the calipers toward the end of day 1. Note : One track is never a problem for me, it has easy braking followed by long cooling periods. Tighter tracks are an huge issue though. Why didn't I just change calipers, Well $5k for set was a little extreme when the T1 race cars were not allowed to, per the rules.Why not just do what they were doing and save that money for more sticky tires.:biggrin
Driver induced - The brake issues got worse as I got more familiar with the car and lap times dropped quickly. I was learning to punish the car and drive closer and closer to 10/10ths. I ended up buying an extra set of calipers and rebuilding them. The shims however, made a huge difference, and I no longer had to do this. So, the problem can be driver improvement induced. As you start to drive more aggressive. Faster corner exits and more peak MPH into the braking zone, later braking all compound to create more heat. The shim diverts the heat away form the piston area. The hot pistons heat the fluid. When the fluid boils, you get air from the bubbles, and now you have fade.
I had an extra set of GT pads and decided to make some shims for us. If they work on the cheezy PBR calipers on the Z06 I believe they will work here as well. There are many other cars that run these at the track with great success, including cars that run our calipers or similar as used on the Porsches.
I only made a couple sets and will buy more Titanium based on interest. PM me if you are interested. The GT pads are the same front and rear. I can tell you these are very inexpensive when compared to the high end Castrol Brake fluid or a upgraded caliper. They are cut specific to the GT pad backing plate, not generic.
Note: The GT backing plate has a nice rubberized shim on it already. It can be removed and add the Titanium one, or simply slide the Titanium shim in. I checked with folks running these and most just leave the OEM shim in place.
The OEM shim is there to reduce noise, no other reason. You may get more noise on the street with these. YMMV.
A NASA racer recommended a set of Titanium shims to use as a heat break. He explained that they act like the handle on a frying pan. The pan is super hot but the heat is reduced at the handle of a frying pan with a modern handle. But, grab a hold of your great grandmothers cast iron skillet when hot and you will have be needing a skin graph.
At the caliper the Titanium shim acts as a heat break between the pad backing plate and the piston and boot area. The heat getting to the boot and piston will drop enough, that it helps solve problems related to fade from boiling fluid and burnt dust boots. If you have found the pedal to be less re-assuring after some hot sessions, chances are the fluid is getting cooked. When the pad is fading, generally the pedal feel remains the same.
I tried them and the melted boot issues went away as did the need to flush the calipers toward the end of day 1. Note : One track is never a problem for me, it has easy braking followed by long cooling periods. Tighter tracks are an huge issue though. Why didn't I just change calipers, Well $5k for set was a little extreme when the T1 race cars were not allowed to, per the rules.Why not just do what they were doing and save that money for more sticky tires.:biggrin
Driver induced - The brake issues got worse as I got more familiar with the car and lap times dropped quickly. I was learning to punish the car and drive closer and closer to 10/10ths. I ended up buying an extra set of calipers and rebuilding them. The shims however, made a huge difference, and I no longer had to do this. So, the problem can be driver improvement induced. As you start to drive more aggressive. Faster corner exits and more peak MPH into the braking zone, later braking all compound to create more heat. The shim diverts the heat away form the piston area. The hot pistons heat the fluid. When the fluid boils, you get air from the bubbles, and now you have fade.
I had an extra set of GT pads and decided to make some shims for us. If they work on the cheezy PBR calipers on the Z06 I believe they will work here as well. There are many other cars that run these at the track with great success, including cars that run our calipers or similar as used on the Porsches.
I only made a couple sets and will buy more Titanium based on interest. PM me if you are interested. The GT pads are the same front and rear. I can tell you these are very inexpensive when compared to the high end Castrol Brake fluid or a upgraded caliper. They are cut specific to the GT pad backing plate, not generic.
Note: The GT backing plate has a nice rubberized shim on it already. It can be removed and add the Titanium one, or simply slide the Titanium shim in. I checked with folks running these and most just leave the OEM shim in place.
The OEM shim is there to reduce noise, no other reason. You may get more noise on the street with these. YMMV.
thank you very much!!
