godzilla killa journal. a 2006 sti

[finallymysti]

the goal for my car is to run njmp thunderbolt with no chicane in a minute 36. this time would make me faster than a stock gtr. i'm already at a minute 39.
i got my car in august 2010. i had wanted a sti since they came out. the plan was to keep it stock for the first year. it has been my daiy driver. the in june 2011 i went to a driving school on track. more addictive than heroine. i fell in love with tracking my car and quickly realized my brakes werent up to the job. so i upgraded the fluid,lines, pads, and rotors. i also then got an ap and flashed stage 1 for a little more power. i was thrilled with my car. i did a couple more trackdays and continued to daily drive my car. then over winter i got a sponsorship from racecomp engineering and instaled their camberplates and black springs. they made a huge improvement to the handling of the car. much less understeer and the car was more predictable. then the middle of summer 2012 i got a cai and protune from ray at turbotek tuning. great guy and great tuner. i threw in a harness to hold me in place while on track. this summer i was doing a track day every other weekend. with all the heat i put into the calipers they seized. this brought me to a relization. i realized that prepping my car for the track and putting it back for the street isn't going to work longterm. so while it was out of commission i decided to retire it to track and weekend warrior duty and pick up a beater. i'm building it to be a track car that i can drive to and from the track. i'm going stage two over winter and installing some other things that will be revieled soon enough. pics to come

video from one of my earlier events.

mod list
- ferodo ds1.11 pads
-motul rbf 600 brake fluid
- goodridge ss brake lines
-dba 4000 rotors
- brake cooling ducts
-strutbar with master cylider brace
- rce camber plates
-rce black springs
-aps cai with tune from ray at turbotek tuning
-q-rack
-tbe
- ewg uppipe setup
- step colder plugs

mods waiting to be installed
-fuel pump

-other things that i'm keeping under wraps untill the grand unveil

 

[Grinder34]

You're not going to upgrade to a BBK?

 

[finallymysti]

honestly there is no need really but there is alot better way to spend that same 2500 dollars. i don't fade on track, replacement rotors are the same price even though everybody thinks just replacing the outside is cheaper. i don't run enough power or tire to warrant it. my pads last a fair number of days aswell, on average about 4. i have no idea how this is but its true. there must be something about the combination of parts i have and my driving that works really well.

 

[Grinder34]

wow. I torched a new set of pads (DTC-30) in 4 sessions and turned my brembos brown. I think i destroyed my rotors as well. If you said you got enough heat to seize a caliper, i'd think you'd want to upgrade.

Anyways, there's more to brakes than just stopping. You want to try to keep some heat out of those hubs. Your brake ducts will help, but a nice two-piece rotor will help even more. Also, titanium shims can help keep the heat from transferring into the caliper and brake fluid.

 

[Ghostwhite]

You are off to a great start on your build! I don't see swaybars on your list, any plans? How about some bushings and some mounts to lock things down nicely.

 

[finallymysti]

no matter what brake kit you get they will need to be rebuilt any way so to me if my calipers last two years between rebuilds(which i think they will) and its $300 a rebuild then it will take 16 years to equal the cost of a bbk. all brake compenents, even calipers, are consumables. this season i'm gonna get me some titanium shims, forgot to put that. i have a feeling that you and me probably disagree when it comes to bbk's. but thats whats great about this site we can disagree and still be cool. also what tracks do you run? i mainly run on njmp which isn't bad on brakes.
the wheel berings/hub is a good point. how long do they tend to last?

 

[finallymysti]

You are off to a great start on your build! I don't see swaybars on your list, any plans? How about some bushings and some mounts to lock things down nicely.

 

[Alin]

Welcome! Cant wait to see pics and vids on the track!

 

[Grinder34]

no matter what brake kit you get they will need to be rebuilt any way so to me if my calipers last two years between rebuilds(which i think they will) and its $300 a rebuild then it will take 16 years to equal the cost of a bbk. all brake compenents, even calipers, are consumables. this season i'm gonna get me some titanium shims, forgot to put that. i have a feeling that you and me probably disagree when it comes to bbk's. but thats whats great about this site we can disagree and still be cool. also what tracks do you run? i mainly run on njmp which isn't bad on brakes.
the wheel berings/hub is a good point. how long do they tend to last?

Im on the fence now about BBKs. I'm trying to justify it to myself, but its a lot of money as you've pointed out.

One thing that i *DO* like is that (theoretically) BBKs can tend to pay for themselves over time. Here's my thinking on that:

1) Pads can be significantly cheaper for something like an ST-40 vs the OEM brembo. I've had trouble finding specifics on some of the pad prices for BBK kits (websites usually ask for car year, not brake caliper model #!), but i think there might be as large a difference as ~150/set depending on discount, BBK, etc..
2) Replacement rotor rings for the ST-40 335mm kit are only about $250 each. How much are replacement DBA4000 or DBA5000 rings? A quick search got me that new DBA4000 are maybe $360 and new DBA 5000 are $750 new, so less than that for the ring. But still.

So in my situation i'm looking at:
a) SS lines (~$90), DBA5000 (~$750), Ti Shims ($70?), Potentially/probably helicoiling my Brembos ($100?), DTC-70 ($300) = $1300
b) ST-40 (~2000), Sell front brembos (~-400? not sure) = $1600.

Now we're only $300 apart. If i get longer life and/or cheaper replacements from my new ST-40s, I'll win out in the end. I keep trying to convince myself of that, and yet i haven't bought a BBK yet.

 

[finallymysti]

Welcome! Cant wait to see pics and vids on the track!

updated with a vid

 

[finallymysti]

Im on the fence now about BBKs. I'm trying to justify it to myself, but its a lot of money as you've pointed out.

One thing that i *DO* like is that (theoretically) BBKs can tend to pay for themselves over time. Here's my thinking on that:

1) Pads can be significantly cheaper for something like an ST-40 vs the OEM brembo. I've had trouble finding specifics on some of the pad prices for BBK kits (websites usually ask for car year, not brake caliper model #!), but i think there might be as large a difference as ~150/set depending on discount, BBK, etc..
2) Replacement rotor rings for the ST-40 335mm kit are only about $250 each. How much are replacement DBA4000 or DBA5000 rings? A quick search got me that new DBA4000 are maybe $360 and new DBA 5000 are $750 new, so less than that for the ring. But still.

So in my situation i'm looking at:
a) SS lines (~$90), DBA5000 (~$750), Ti Shims ($70?), Potentially/probably helicoiling my Brembos ($100?), DTC-70 ($300) = $1300
b) ST-40 (~2000), Sell front brembos (~-400? not sure) = $1600.

Now we're only $300 apart. If i get longer life and/or cheaper replacements from my new ST-40s, I'll win out in the end. I keep trying to convince myself of that, and yet i haven't bought a BBK yet.

i've heard about 40% cheaper pads for bbk. whatever that would come out to be. the dba 4000 are a one piece and its 366 for the pair. opposed to 500 for a pair of rings. but you also wouldn't be going thru them as quickly. does the st 40 come with pads you want? if not you would need to factor in that price. do you win in the end, yes. but for me the break even point isn't close enough for me to warrant a bbk now. for you it may be worth it. if your not doing any big things to your car and your really going to start tracking and step up to r-comps at some point in the near future then go for it. not even that but if its something you want for your car that will make you happy then its worth.

 

[Grinder34]

Yeah its definitely a long-term/short-term trade off.

Have you done much weight savings on your car? I dunno if you've gone full track car and stripped everything, or if it's still pretty stock.

 

[finallymysti]

at the moment pretty stock

 

[Alin]

updated with a vid

Omg eargasm at the beginning. Cant wait to see more! :tup:

 

[finallymysti]

you should be there and here it in person. and that was just the hpde 2 group. you should here some of the time trialers.

 

[Grinder34]

Which other tracks do you do?

 

[finallymysti]

my main tracks are pocono and njmp(both an hour and a half from my house). i go to the glen once or twice a year. but i'm thinking of cutting it out for vir. the glen is a great but scary track, no room for error. so i only go 7 or 8/10 on it. pocono is my absolute favorite track. there is nothing like entering the bowl at 125. unfortunatley most organizations run a chicane on the straights so i only get the configuration i like twice a year on the same weekend.

 

[Grinder34]

well maybe i'll see you at VIR or NJMP! So far all i've done in the STI is Summit Point, but thinking of doing NJMP or VIR soon.

 

[finallymysti]

here a vid at the glen,

we should plan what track day come next season.

 

[finallymysti]

update to the godzilla killa

most of the parts have been installed. just need to hook up my catchcans and get my custom exhaust bent.:tup: