A good time at the Mallala sprint racing.

[Bandolero]

Some of us Merc Club members (South Australia) went to Mallala on Saturday because the Marque Club who organises the sprint racing conducted a "Come and try" day.

There was a Finnie, a 450SLC and two 6.9s. (Mine and Andreas'.)

(There was a VH Commodore owned by one of our members as well, but we won't talk about that car...LOL.)

Boy, did we have fun!!!!!!

After the first run I came into the pits with smoke coming off the front brakes....yes we were pushing it!!

My brakes were still ok and at the end of the second run Andreas came into the pits with smoke POURING off his front brakes and total brake failure!!!!
After an hour or two they cooled down and he had brakes again.
He made it home safely, but is going to upgrade his brakes very soon.....LOL

It was fantastic fun, can't wait to "do-up" a sprint car, I'd like to use an import 450SE.
(No self-levelling, so can alter springs etc.)

I don't think I'll use my 6.9 again as I'm "terrified" I'll break something.
Tell you what though, after all the high-rev thrashing, the motor feels a bit more responsive. Those "Italian tune-ups" work well!!

We also enjoyed watching Craig sprinting his 280SE doing times of about 1.42.

 

[B13]

Any photos taken of the day?

And when you say Craig in the 280SE, do you mean Craigb in the lpg-280S?

The standard brakes are actually fine, but they are let down with the standard ATE pads, they are rated to only 550C which is fine for moderate or even agressive road use, but Cam found that even with a top speed of 140km/h he was coming into the pits with smoking brakes on his 450SEL race car.

Both our cars now use rebuilt standard brakes and rotors, but with competition pads, and Super DOT4 brake fluid. No brake problems anymore. I successfully lobbied QFM to put into production the renowed Comp 3 (750C) race pad in W116 sizes: DB143 and DB2 (F and R).

I.

 

[Bandolero]

OOPS....I meant 280S. Yes, it was Craigb.
No photos as yet, but there were some taken along with videos.
Will post them when available.

 

[SELfor50]

Awesome!! Great to hear Bandy, glad you had fun!

^^ what Ian said bout the brakes. If you get a set of these pads, well worth it, and no other brake upgrades required. The calipers are already monsters, just needed the pads to compliment them (temperature wise).

Look forward to seeing some pics / vids of the event. Awesome that you got the 6.9 out there...

 

[oscar]

That's a monster photo, but damn good looking too

Yes, looking forward to photos from the event.

I successfully lobbied QFM to put into production the renowed Comp 3 (750C) race pad in W116 sizes: DB143 and DB2 (F and R).

I want a set sooner or later - where do I get 'em and how much roughly?

 

[B13]

Any QFM stockist should be able to get them, but remember to ask for the Comp 3s. If they don't know what you're talking about, look for another OFM stockist who services more of the motorsports community. They are $170 per end, and I think the express-post them for free. I got mine from Brakewest in Sunshine, Vic 03-93137555

I.

 

[oscar]

Thanks Ian. Decals included??

 

[Styria]

Any discussions and posts to racing activities need some form of input from the Godfather, although it cannot be guaranteed as to how useful it might be.

First of all, SELfor50, I am the only one that can address Bandolero by his nickname Bandy - I have photos and descriptions that would do the name 'Bandy' justice. Just ask him !

Bandy, great stuff that you and Andreas got up to. I must admit that if push came to shove, I'd be a bit chicken to subject 'Gleaming Beauty' to undue stresses - but that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy reading about what you get up to. We just need some photos now.

It's interesting to get feed back grom Cameron regarding the size of the calipers. Are you saying that they're good enough to withstand the rigors of circuit racing ? If so, I am surprised - pleasantly so,

B13 - the pads you refer to - would they be suitable for road use and, whatsmore, would they leave brake dust (the black variety) on the wheels ?

Regards Styria

 

[SELfor50]

Any discussions and posts to racing activities need some form of input from the Godfather, although it cannot be guaranteed as to how useful it might be.

First of all, SELfor50, I am the only one that can address Bandolero by his nickname Bandy - I have photos and descriptions that would do the name 'Bandy' justice. Just ask him !

Bandy, great stuff that you and Andreas got up to. I must admit that if push came to shove, I'd be a bit chicken to subject 'Gleaming Beauty' to undue stresses - but that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy reading about what you get up to. We just need some photos now.

It's interesting to get feed back grom Cameron regarding the size of the calipers. Are you saying that they're good enough to withstand the rigors of circuit racing ? If so, I am surprised - pleasantly so,

B13 - the pads you refer to - would they be suitable for road use and, whatsmore, would they leave brake dust (the black variety) on the wheels ?

Regards Styria

Sorry Bandolero... Is Bandecho ok? Or Bandito? wait.. won't use that last one in case of copywrite infringements and the trouble that goes with them..

The caliper design themselves are monsters from factory!! Installing the re-built ones that you gave me Styria is probably also a big part of my braking capacity. I'm sure the originals would've been ok, but knowing they're re-built add's confidence and i'm sure braking capacity!
Regarding size, I say they withstand the rigours of circuit sprints.. Other cars of the same age would probably have to install larger calipers to increase the braking, 116's come stock with monsters.. with a lightened payload (weight reduction) the braking just get's better and better.

The pad's themselves would be ok for road use, but remember being made from different compounds they take a bit of warming up to get to proper working temp.. I haven't noticed the 'black dust', but i'd imagine they're not too friendly on the rotors either. Plus they squeal quite a bit at low speeds due to the metallic compound of the pad (i assume).

Ian, you can probably add a deeper insight to the pads themselves.


Cam2.

 

[B13]

Styria, the comp 3s are probably a little too hard for road use... however both cam and I have driven them on the road and found them to be fine.... they may need a little more pedal effort on say a cold -1 degree winter morning if you had to do an emergency stop. They are much better than other less high-tech vintage competition pads which virtually didn't work until they had a couple hundred degrees in them (needed to be brought to working temperature). Comp 3s are considered "marginally streetable"... i could live with them, others may not... The hot and cold friction co-efficients are very close so they feel pretty much the same over their entire temp range, so all things being equal they should be ok for the street.

There was no descernable brake dust on my wheels after repeated hard brake applications from 160km/h, however pads with the same material fitted to my RX4 shows significant dust on the wheels after repeated hard stops from 210km/h.

These guys sell all variety of QFM pads, and probably one of the less severe ones would be the dust-free solution you are looking for. And they are around the same price of the ATE pads. I'll definately be trying these on my 6.9 when the current ATE (prince of darkness brake dust) wear down:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mercedes-Benz-Front-Disc-Brake-Pads-QFM_W0QQitemZ280263034045QQihZ018QQcategoryZ6763QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And yes oscar they will send you a couple of decals if you ask them when you place your order. Camster I have your decals here.

I.