Brake ducting installed
I bought a brake ducting kit from gw ages ago but never installed it due to the reservoirs on the KW3 suspension interfering with the inlet of the ducts. After experiencing serious brake fade on the first track day this year I wanted to do one more try on improving the stock brakes before I $hell out for a BBK.
The kit includes everything you need including some very nice inlets that are based on modified stock parts. Very nice and stealthy. Since I don’t have fog lights the openings are perfect for this use.
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Closeup of the bumper inlets compared to the stock “blanks”
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Installed in the bumper:
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The hose is one size smaller than the typical ducting used due to cramped space. There where limited instructions but I found the best routing to be via the steering rod and then cut a hole in the lower part of the plastic covering the wheel well. Fits with 235 on 9” rim :) You do NOT need to remove the large plastic under tray covering the radiator. Ask me how I know.
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Here is a pic of the interference problem. I’m only getting about 720 deg lock to lock now but if there is some kind of mad drift emergency I can get more by just keep turning and squeezing the tube. Not a problem yet.
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Did it work ?
YES. Very well actually. I used the same half worn pads and didn’t touch the fluid between the two track days. No fade at all. I also pushed harder and managed to better my time by over 1 second. I ran 16 balls out laps on the last session and there was no change in pedal feel or brake performance.
But the brake performance was the same. With my current power level this is a problem as there is simply not enough power there stop the car in a controlled manner. I bet I could at least get 0.5 sec with later braking in “slaktern”. But the same kit will work with any BBK. It will also prevent cooking the wheel bearings. For NC’s used hard on the track this is a very good upgrade. For the street or on track with street tires it’s not.
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