SCCA ITE Brake Design

[retromk2]

Hey Guys:
Hope you can help me. I have a 83 Celica that I plan on running in our regional SCCA's ITE class (socal). I was wondering what the best brake set-up/ design would be (everything from prop. valves, rotor, pads, fluid, etc), based on these 3 guidelines--1. Cheapest, 2. Moderately priced, and 3. Price is no problem. Pls. include Cost/ install time/ fabrication (if needed).
Thanks in Advance!
Carlos
retromk2@yahoo.com

[graham bahr]

thats a lot to answer on this forum, assuming others are racing the same type of car you want to modify, the place to start is in the paddock and talk to other celica drivers

[Kev_205]

Well the first question surely is - are your brakes good enough?
If they dont overheat then slapping on a bigger disk and multi pot calipers wont necessarily do anything except give you better feel through the system
Do you run slicks? Whats your current setup?

[Goran Malmberg]

Something almost allways forgotten when discussing brakes is braking balance. For heavy braking power we must effectively use all rubber area in the best way, since this is the limiting factor for stopping force. We can create this stopping power using almost any size disc, caliper, number of pistons and pad area. Provided the hudraulic balance between parts is Ok. So we need tires that balance the weight distribution of the car and a hydraulic balance that mathces the firction capacity of the front and rear axle.

THEN, we can take a look at how much iron we need in the discs in order to handle the heat generated from the type of racing we do. But effective cooling will reduce tha material needed. Pad area is used to generate the right working temperatur for the pad material in question, so both to big and small area is bad. Number of piston that moostley is a function of the caliper construction to handle the selected pad area, and should therfore form the user side only be looked at as piston area, since this is what governs the balance. Then calipers should be light, and last but not least, caliper should NOT flex.

There are lot of brands to choos from.

Goran Malmberg

[Dauntless]

Carlos, I urge you to get hold of a copy of the SCCA rule book (the GCR) and read section 17.1.4 IMPROVED TOURING CATEGORY, paragraph D.6, Brakes, where it states that brake pads, linings and fluids are unrestricted, but that the rotors, drums and calipers must be stock units from the make, model and year in question. (Read the rest of 17.1.4 for more info.)

Unfortunately, you do not have the option of mounting a 'big brake' kit, or even chose from better OEM Toyota brake systems. You don't have to buy rotors from the dealer - you may purchase aftermarket rotors that are dimensionally identical to the OEM rotors, but other than removing the dust shield and adding cooling ductwork, that's about the extent of the permitted modifications.

Your competitors will know the rule book very well, and will be quick to point out any unpermitted 'upgrades' on your car to the scrutineers. Being disqualified for cheating is not the way you want to start your SCCA racing career.