Can you better quantify "going through disks like crazy?" How many track days, sessions, etcetera are you getting out of a set of rotors? Can you post pictures of the rotors at end of life?

Your wear rate might be normal, or, you might be changing your rotors too soon. But, without actual quantifiable statements / metrics, no one is going to be able to give you any meaningful type of analysis and then recommendation(s).

From a cost standpoint, a non-OEM big brake kit is not going to save you money - you will probably find ourself spending a lot more on consumable such as rotors and hardware. For example, a set of 15" rings and hardware for my Brembo Pro kit are about $1,000 after I get a 15% discount off of racer net prices. A $1,000 was enough to buy several years worth of rotors when I was running the OEM Brembos.

Here is a pic I just took, these are my current DBA 2pc discs..... Its been raining like crazy since the last track day two weeks ago... So the they got quite rusty....



These have about 4 hours of track time on them.... I junked the stoptech discs I had unfortunately. Will get a better pic this week end after track practice.

As per your comment about non OEM brakes. agreed, will probably just get more Costs.... Thats why I like the idea of the S550 15" setup with the OEM discs.... Just the 14" DBA rings would pay for half the S550 setup.

I would do them right now but I like the idea of having a spare set of race wheels just in case.... the 15" kit would render my old Drifts useless.

Try better ducts first. As far as the S550 Brembos, there may be a mismatch between the surface area of the pistons on the Brembo S197 (4p or 6p) and the surface area of the S550 Brembo pistons. The S197 master cylinder may not be enough for track usage. Terry at Vorshlag had an issue just going from a non-PP to the PP pistons on an S550 and had to upgrade the MC and power booster.

The S550 brakes with an S197 master work fine. The slightly longer pedal throw is a driver preference issue. CaptainDistraction did not like the change, while Pete DeSisto loved the S550 setup Steve Esposito and I installed on his Boss. Steve Esposito also liked the S550 setup on the original 21 car.

Back to the OP. Those rotors in the picture have a lot of life left in them. At least another 4 hours, and probably 8 -12, maybe more. How many weekends is really a function of how hard you are on brakes. Post up some more pictures after your next track weekend.

Are you taking spares to the track? Spares or no spares have a big impact on rotor changes between weekends. If you don’t carry spares, you have to be conservative and change rotors that have a lot of life left in them.

What about the rears? I will warn you that the rears typically don’t heat check much, they just crack across the entire rotor all at once. You don’t get much indication that the rears are due replacement.

Will do!... as mentioned above, thats with about 4 hours of track time.

The only reason these are not on the car is because they are 2mm under Brembo recommended minimum thickness. You can see the wear by the silver ring on the outside edge of the rotor. Once your OEM rotors start to look like this, it is about time to replace them. At this point, you need to pay attention to minimum thickness and any cracks that extend to the edge of the rotor. Also, make sure you have spares with you. I would not go to the track with rotors that look like this and no spares.

Yup thats pretty much how my other rotors looked like. Usually have a set of original rotors lying around just in case. Had one of them go at the track once...

How long does it take for your rotors to start looking like the above?

About 7 to 8 hours... about 3/4's the time it takes to go through a Pagid RS29 or Rst-2. Just switched to try the Gloc R16's which do seem to be more aggressive on the rotors, so maybe less.

But none of my discs ever had much wear as far as thickness goes (pagid pads mostly)

If you are taking spares to the track, run them until you start to see cracks extending to the edge. That will probably get you another 4 - 8 hours.

My experience with GLOC pads is that they have much higher rotor wear compared to Pagids.

Try the RST-3 and the RST-1. They won’t last as long as the 29, but have far more bit and brake torque.

Finally, the only economical way for you to get a big increase in rotor life is an S550 swap running the 2013 -2014 GT500 front OEM rotors.

I don’t recommend the 2013 - 2014 GT500 six piston calipers due to limited pad choice. The calipers are also more expensive than the S550 caliper.

If you do the swap, consider a larger rear rotor.

Here we go..... Looks like they have a few hours left...



I think its time to quite screwing around and get the S550 brake setup.... Will stick to OEM 15" rotors, they seem to last much longer.

Yes, maybe another day or two. But, again, only is you have spares immediately available in case one of those cracks spread to the edge of the rotor.

It also looks like the pads may be overheating, at least on the outer portion. The wear pattern on the outside of the ring could be from hotspots on the pads.

Again, try the simple inexpensive solution first. Switch out your FRPP backing plates. They have round ducts that waste a good percentage of their airflow on the inner face of the rotor. This uneven cooling could possibly be contributing to the cracking. The FRPP duct also seems to have an oval notch near the hub that may also be leaking air to the hub instead of going to the center of the rotor

Get backing plates with oval ducts such as those from Vorshlag or Kenny Brown.

I debated about responding... the Ford brake cooling kit is an excellent product. You will see no benefit changing the backing plate unless it is to a 4” system from inlet to out let.

It is excellent except for the backing plate. I'd give it a "fair" for that component.

For $200 and probably less than 1/2 hour of work it is worth a try before spending the additional time & money upgrading calipers.