Good point about the tranny, and one advantage of three pedals over two in my opinion, I also agree that this is one exception to the rule when it comes to driving on a public road. there are no side roads or driveways, stay in your lane, if you mess up its you, your car and a mountain. Its enjoyed by auto and motorcycle drivers from all over. When I was there last I met several motorcycle enthusist from Europe who had traveled to the US just to spend several days on the Dragon and the surrounding roads

 

yea, our cars are ridiculously heavy with all the crap the put inside the car. To compare our z06 (which is damn near twice the size of the crossfire) only weighs 3200 (ballpark)

 

we can also have calipers coated with some sort of caliper thermal coating. i'll have to get more info on them but they do them all the time for high end racing teams. it basically keeps the fluid cooler. the caliper needs to be disassembled for it to be applied.

we can get brembo bbk's but since i beleive the stoptech's to be superior i havent listed them up, there are in the 4k range for the fronts and another 3-3500 for the rears. i cant imagine anyone ever purchasing them and figured id be wasting my time listing them but is there ny interest in digging up a real quote on them?

for the limited and base crossfires
front pad options..
Axxis Ultimate109.07400C-TEK Standard Metallic102.07400Centric Premium Brake Pads w/Shims300.07400Centric Premium Ceramic Pads w/Shims301.07400OE Formula Brake Pads100.07400Posi-Quiet Ceramic w/Shims105.07400Posi-Quiet Extended Wear w/Shims106.07400StopTech Street Performance Brake Pads309.07400

rear pads...
Axxis Ultimate109.07790C-TEK Standard Metallic102.07790Centric Premium Ceramic Pads w/Shims301.07790OE Formula Brake Pads100.07790Posi-Quiet Ceramic w/Shims105.07790Posi-Quiet Extended Wear w/Shims106.07790

front rotors...
C-TEK Standard Rotor121.35058Power Alloy Discs125.35058Power Slot Slotted Brake Rotor126.35058SLPower Slot Slotted Brake Rotor126.35058SRPower Slot Slotted Cryo Treated Brk Rtr126.35058CSLPower Slot Slotted Cryo Treated Brk Rtr126.35058CSRPremium Cryo Treated Rotors120.35058CRYSportStop Drilled & Slotted Brake Rotor127.35058LSportStop Drilled & Slotted Brake Rotor127.35058R

rear rotors...
C-TEK Standard Rotor121.35012Power Alloy Discs125.35012Power Slot Slotted Brake Rotor126.35012SLPower Slot Slotted Brake Rotor126.35012SRPower Slot Slotted Cryo Treated Brk Rtr126.35012CSLPower Slot Slotted Cryo Treated Brk Rtr126.35012CSRPremium Cryo Treated Rotors120.35012CRYSportStop Drilled & Slotted Brake Rotor127.35012LSportStop Drilled & Slotted Brake Rotor127.35012RSportStop Drilled Brake Rotor128.35012LSportStop Drilled Brake Rotor128.35012R

 

i can't complain about our car weighing in just over 3000 pounds, i weighed ours an it was 3300 in full trim with me in it (im 220). im very happy to start with a car this light, my tt stealth weighs over 4000 with me in it. our car is not a little lotus and shouldnt be expected to weigh as such in my opinion. pull into your local scrap yard and drive up ontot he scales and then walk inside and nicely ask them what the scale is reading, they are usually +/- 20 pounds.

for an all our race setup i see where we could drop 200-300 pounds but im not willing to take away the comfort that weight provides.

we have a "front heavy" setup on the crossfires and hence we can usually get away with just a front BBK and not need them in the back for most racing scenarios.

 

btw, tony up in canada has a front stoptech BBK kit on his limited so it can be done

 

I can't see needing more than what Stoptech offers. Easy to instal, dual bleeders, you can find any pad you want for them and they just work great without changing the brake balance of the car. Don't forget about the weight savings. The Stoptech rotors are 355mm and the calipers are larger than the stock ones but weigh less. Not a bad thing.

Les

 

The only place bbk weigh less are the calipers and the hats. the rotors almost always negate the weight savings of the caliper and the hat.

your typical 13" rotor weighs about 20ish lbs

 

Well you really stepped in it with that generalization.

On my bathroom scale which may or may not be 100% accurate my stock 330 mm front rotors weighed 26.1 lbs. The Stoptech 355 mm rotors and hats weighed 18 lbs. My stock calipers with pads weighed 19 lbs and the stoptech without pads 11 lbs. I forgot to weigh the pads but I can assure you that they don't weigh much.

Les

 

the rotors must not be very thick then.

I know my 13" by 1.38" wilwoods weigh 20lbs a piece by themselves with no hats.
My calipers are are so light, the load cell in my scale wont weigh them, which means the weigh less than 5lbs unloaded. the pads for my calipers weigh almost 3lbs a piece.

 

BoilerUpXFire,

Yes, I have actually ridden (motorcycle) on the Gap before.
I've also spent some quality time on some other roads near the Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee border that were also really, really tasty, and much less crowded too, and enjoyed those, thoroughly. Highway 28 is my personal favorite, to be honest. That road is a kick in the pants.

And I know a whole lot of people to travel vast distances to go to the Gap, and hang out with groups of similar people, and have great times. Itsky is definitely one of those willing to travel to have a good time with good friends. I think just about every forum I'm on for cars and motorcycles has at least one get together at Deals Gap every year. If I attended all of them, I would have to get a second job just to afford it all.

And even though you haven't heard of the roads here in Colorado from your driving tourism books, doesn't mean that they don't exist. Colorado doesn't get the tourism dollars to promote anything other than its ski resorts, to be honest. Some of the roads are only open during the prime section of summer, like Trailridge. Here's a link to Trailridge, to give you an idea what we have here, that I'm sure you've never heard of (it even has a map of the road):

Rocky Mountain National Park - Park Area: Trail Ridge Road

Here's a link from GORP. While there, click on the link for the San Juan Skyway. That is also another gem we have here in Colorado, near Ouray.

Top 10 Scenic Mountain Drives: Trail Ridge Road, Colorado | GORP.com

Then we have the more local stuff, that's capable of curling your toes.

In fact, the Ducati Monster forum is having their yearly get together again at Ouray in early August. They've been doing this for several years now instead of going to the Gap.

I'll throw some more roads out for you to research on your own time, whenever you're curious:

Squaw Pass (Route 103)
Golden Gate Canyon (Highway 46)
Lookout Mountain
Boulder Canyon (Highway 119)
Lefthand Canyon
Peak to Peak Highway (also known as the Pothole to Pothole) (Highway 72)
Coal Creek Canyon (Highway 72)
Clear Creek Canyon (Highway 6)
Flagstaff Road
Poudre Canyon (Highway 14)
Big Thompson Canyon Road (Highway 34)

I could go on and on.

If you were completely insane, you might be able to do all of those in one day.
I say best to break it up into 3 days. Amazing roads, that are all vastly different, and all offer incredible views and thrills.

Much better than just going to one place, and driving one road, with hundreds of other people seeking the same thrill. Plus, with the massive elevation changes on some of these roads, your car is getting as much of a workout as you are. Bring water, lots of water.

But, no one, other than the Ducati group, wants to come to Colorado for driving fun.
That's fine too, as it means the roads are always wide open, and undisturbed for us locals to enjoy.

I wrote another book.
Hope you aren't too upset about that.

Like I've said before, I'm a driving and riding enthusiast.
This is all fun to me.

BC.

 

Why don't you organize an event for us next year?

 

see to me, this car is a very heavy platform to start with, but Im used to stripped civics, 240s, etc. basically full track cars with every carbon/fiberglass replacement panel you can think of.

I think that anyone that bought this car shouldnt gut it, this car was never intended to be a purpose built track car. Just something you can enjoy around town and on the twisty backroads... atleast thats what i think daimler was aiming for, and i think the aftermarket reflects that fact.

I do agree on the car being front heavy. The srt6 springs helped a bit but the front end still has a fair bit of push to it.

and before we get anymore o.t. does anyone know the stock master cylinder diameter?

 

I don't. That video showed classic understeer from going too hot into a corner. I don't care if his brakes had 36 pistons and the brake discs were made of carbon-ceramic the size of extra large papa johns pizzas. Brakes lock, tires lose traction, and boom. That claim of brake fade had a smell about it I didn't like.

I'll put my personal experience in - Brainerd International Raceway - on the NA stock brakes, zero fade even after 15+ laps of the course.

There are benefits to big brakes, but preventing you from losing traction and biting the big one when you go too hot into corners won't help. Installing a gravel trap on the outside of the turn might, however

 

we have abs, so technically over-braking woulnt cause a loss of traction, but it does increase stopped distances.

I disabled mine, now i can threshold brake and not worry about the abs unit thinking for me.

 

There is an old saying that "There's no simple solution to a complex problem".
You can't just throw huge calipers on a car and expect it to become a "Sultan of Stop".
Look at the specifications and numbers the Crossfire SRT lays down and you'll notice they are very comperable to that of the finest of exotics. Unless driving HARD and I mean hard the brakes are very good and with minimal, affordable upgrades the brakes and overall the car can be brought up a full level quite easily.

 

I can only speak for me....but when playing with the car all stock, it did just fine....I've done EVOC w/ the departments I have been on for years...so throwing a car around isn't new to me...the stock brakes and rotors are above average for the xfire....I only stepped up my brakes for me, not cause the car needed them...I am a big believer in stab braking techniques...approach hard, stab brake and go, if you miscalculate and come in too hot, you can always lean on the brakes again...but usually, if your timing is good, you will be fine...it's driver, more than brakes with this little car...brakes aren't the problem...do the same thing with a 5800lb Crown Vic loaded with equipment, you need the brakes more...lol

 

The stock brakes are very good. I don't know if a BBK stops much shorter but it does take much less pressure on the pedal and the 50th stop is the same as the first. I boiled the fluid with the stock brakes, changed it for ATE Blue, then I exceeded the maximum temperature for the Porterfield's. It matters how you use the car and how hard you use the brakes as to whether or not you "need" a BBK. Even with a BBK pad selection is important. The stock brakes effectiveness can be extended with cooling ducts if your willing and a different set of pads. I like the wow factor of the Stoptech's but even better is their performance on the track. One less major worry when driving at the limit. I thought the stock system was excellent until I got a chance to test the Stoptech's.

Les

 

Have never been out to CO, but within the next few years, me and GF are going to plan a trip. I will buy beers afterwards if you show me some of these fantastic roads

 

you'll find out just how slow a crossfire can be, lol. the elevation kills any hope of making power

 

If you're interested in some fantastic Rocky Mountain roads and NO other cars for the most part I am always up for the tour.