In the first two installments covering our stalwart project WRX wagon, we took the machine from factory stock to dual-purpose, daily driven track car. Well, almost. Bigger, stickier BF-G tires, some Whiteline suspension tuning, 258 hp, and a set of Buddy Club racing seats meant that our Project Two-Face had been reborn with a new soul. Around town, the Subaru feels completely capable, released from the soft, compromised, understeer-laden handling that had been built in from the factory. In fact, we found that the car was so good, to really push the limits on the streets, you'd either have to have the biggest brass ones on the face of the Earth or you'd have to be very stupid. For many modified cars, the best place to see what your car can really do is on the racetrack. Here's what we found.
Equipped with only the Whiteline Anti-Lift Kit, front and rear anti-roll bars, BF-G KDW tires, and an I-Speed tuned engine, we loaded up and headed out to Buttonwillow Raceway, located in dreary Buttonwillow, Calif. We brought along wrenches, sockets, breaker bars, jack stands, a floor jack, a chair, lots of water and high hopes that the car would do well. But the one thing that we should have brought, but didn't, was a better set of brake pads.
Here's how the first session for Project Two-Face goes. First lap, car feels great but we're taking it easy, it's just a warm-up lap. Second time around, still feels great, big difference from stock. Seats feel great, no longer do we feel like we're holding ourselves up in corners by using a death grip on the steering wheel. Lap three; coming down the front straight, ready to brake for Sunset, a medium speed right-hander that dumps towards the Esses. Nothing but a creative mix of curse words follows. Overshooting the previous turn-in point because the car can't stop like it did just a lap ago; we begin to eye the runoff area ahead, hoping that there are no hidden rocks ready to tear the WRX to bits. Should we just aim for the cheapest thing in sight or should we tag that Porsche? Turning in very late, but at least keeping it on the asphalt, we find the same scary behavior turn after turn. The pedal's there, the brake fluid hasn't boiled, but the pad has gone way past its heat range.
Whether they are manufactured out of carbon ceramic, organic, ferro-carbon, metallic, or any other variant of magical material, all brake pads are engineered to function within a specified temperature range. Aftermarket street brake pads normally max out at about 800-900 degrees Fahrenheit with OEM pads ranking far lower, while true racing pads can function past the 1450 degrees Fahrenheit range. Ever seen pictures of JGTC racecars with the brake rotors glowing bright red, yet the car can still brake deep into corners? It's because the brake system is designed to function at that incredibly high temperature level.