Most of the people who DE regularly...

I recently attended a DE at Homestead Speedway. It was my first DE and I had a blast, thanks largely to Pedro who was my instructor .

Midway through the second session, the Brake Wear light came on. I thought it was odd as I had fairly new pads on the car, but I finished out the sessions with no issues. I ordered new pads and front sensors thinking that would be where the problem was. I finally got around to replacing the pads yesterday and to my surprise, the pads were all fine.

The problem was that the brake pad sensor on the passenger side had melted in the outer pad. The plastic housing on that side was deformed and the wire was exposed.

As I intend to do more of these events, I would like to prevent this issue in the future. Anyone have experience with this? Any ideas how I might prevent the problem? The pad and caliper are fine, the piston moves normally.

Car is 2000 Boxster S.

... check/change their brake pads constantly so we have no need for the sensors and just eliminate them altogether.
Also, most of the track pads don't have the holes for the sensors so you can't use them anyway.
I had a lot of fun and was happy to have you as my student.
Not having seen your brakes I'd venture to say that the sensor worked itself loose from the pad and the heat from the rotor melted the plastic.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

I swap to track pads for DE. As Pedro says, they don't have holes for the sensor which doesn't matter since they get checked every day of use. As you get faster, the track pads have less fade so you can brake later. I just use a small wire tie to hold the sensor back out of the way while the track pads are on. I put them back in the street pads to keep the brakes stock for street use.

Tires and pads are a matter of personal choice and perhaps local peer pressure . I use Pagid Orange pads and Toyo R888 tires.

Dave - 06 987 S coupe SG/NL; gone (but still my first love): 03 986 AS/GG/BK;

... make a set of shorting plugs out of the old sensors. The ones you toasted are fine - just clip and wire-nut the wires together. Plug in. Done.

If you DE regularly you should have wheels off regularly - to check safety; to bleed; to flush; to swap pads (maybe).

In the beginning, street pads are, IMO, fine. Juts have new-ish ones. My favorites are Textar by the way.

Later you can step up to some track pads that dont squeal, although they will have little friction cold. I dont mind - its perfectly safe despite what some will say. I've used Stoptech 309s - quiet; rotor friendly, and 1300 degree max operating temp (!!!!!!!!!!!!).

You are far better off taking off wheels and really checking than counting on the imprecise sensors anyway.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Thanks!

I like the idea that I can unplug the sensors and avoid the problem on track day. I will make up some plugs to keep the light off while I am on track. Unfortunately I cut off the sensor wires right at the plug before I thought about how they send a signal, so the light is still on I will have to find one old sensor plug to re-wire for the track...

The sensors were still in place in the inner and outer pads. The plastic plug that goes into the outer pad was just completely melted. I was able to pull most of it out of the brake pad, but some of it still remains in the hole. I will use my indexed drill bit set to clean out the hole before I install the new sensors.

By the way, when I had the wheels off I got a look at the tire treads. I must have been abusing them pretty badly as the treads have chunked. I don't feel anything unusual in driving the car on the street, but they definitely don't look like they did before my day at the track.

I guess I need to find a spare set of wheels and get some new tires. Any recommendations for 17" tires that can be driven to the track but still work well on course?

I know Pedro likes Kumho's for the track. I've been very happy with my Dunlop Star Specs. Very streetable in warm weather but have good stick and responsiveness on the track.

See my other pastime at www.gothamcityracing.net

r-spec khumos. I am running both michelin PS ribs (work great, expensive) and Khumo SPT/Sport (work near great, much cheaper).

Many like Bridgestone S0-1s.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

[www.tirerack.com]

Now that they are in stock 18" 987 sizes, I'll replace the NT05's with these. On your sizes, I think they are under $500 and you can actually drive them on the street without wearing hearing protection.

... but a bunch more grip. I'm at a great grip deficit!

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

I roached a sensor at my first DE in April. After that, I disabled them completely and switched to track pads for the rest of the events. Second set of wheels, track tires and camber plates are on the winter shopping list.