Roush VENTING and a quick question

[sk8mrw]

OK venting first!! I haven't received my Team Saleen order in the mail yet (placed order 2 weeks ago), so I decided to call them. Once again, they didn't get the order. This is the second time I have ordered my Team Saleen subscription, and I even called it in this time!!!!! I bet they even charged my credit card too. Saleen is already starting to really piss me off, and I've only owned one for like a month! So, I cancelled my order...and will not be joining Team Saleen anytime soon. I am taking my business to Haney or Chicane. Screw you Saleen!!!!!

OK now the quick question. I think I will be needing new brakes here soon (starting to squeal on me). My car does not have the brake upgrade, so what pads should I buy? A part number or anything would be great. Also, do you recommend taking my car to a local brake shop, to a speed shop, or just ordering the pads and doing it myself? Thanks.

 

[DG S-351]

I recommend Porterfield R4S pads!!! Dust is minimal for daily driving and very rotor friendly.
http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/

 

[Head Paneer]

If you have stock GT brakes and are not going to try to race with them, any OEM style pad should do.

Hawk HPS Series pads are be an alternative. I have them on the Brembos and have no complaints but have not pushed their limits much on the street.

I know a small circle of Saleen enthusiasts who rave about the Porterfield R4-S pads. I haven’t tried them but plan to when it’s time for new pads.

You beat me to it Dave.

Regarding who should do your brake job: Where do you live?

 

[sk8mrw]

I am in the Cincinnati/Dayton (OH) area. No, I don't plan on racing and yes they are the stock brakes (whatever Saleen puts on the '99 S-281 w/o the brake upgrade option). I just want something that will stop me and not produce too much brake dust on my precious rims lol.

 

[sal07b]

Hey,

I just moved from Springboro Ohio a year and a half ago. We are probably moving back in the spring or so next year ...

Sal

 

[sk8mrw]

Oh yes, wonderful ohio...I can't wait till all this college and law school pays off and I finally have some money, then its SoCal for me and my girlfriend (future wife)

 

[Head Paneer]

Oh yes, wonderful ohio...I can't wait till all this college and law school pays off and I finally have some money, then its SoCal for me and my girlfriend (future wife)

Oh, I am sorry, sk8mrw. There is no more room left in Southern California. I hear Arizona still has plenty of space, though.

Well, it sounds like you have stock GT brakes. An O.E.M. formula pad should suffice. I do not recall them generating much dust when I had stock brakes. Like Dave said, the Porterfield’s are low dusting as are the Hawk HPSs but they will probably set you back $100.00 or more per set.

 

[sal07b]

Oh yes, SoCal is the place to be... Just think, you can spend $750,000 on a $100,000 dollar house, $2.50 per gallon for gas when the rest of the US is paying $1.80, $2500 per year on car insurance (and that's for the Escort), all while breathing air that has the air quality of a 71' Ford F100 tailpipe! But look at the bright side, the $750,000 house is only 2 hours from a beach where the water is 67 degrees on average (and that might be high...). Honestly, how do people move "to" California? I can see moving around "in" CA because you have 500K in equity in your house. But, sell a house anywhere else in the US and you can't afford an apartment in CA. It is pretty though, I'll give it that. That's why we go there on vacation 3-4 times a year. But we live where it is affordable ...

Sal

 

[marcus95]

Oh yes, SoCal is the place to be... Just think, you can spend $750,000 on a $100,000 dollar house, $2.50 per gallon for gas when the rest of the US is paying $1.80, $2500 per year on car insurance (and that's for the Escort), all while breathing air that has the air quality of a 71' Ford F100 tailpipe! But look at the bright side, the $750,000 house is only 2 hours from a beach where the water is 67 degrees on average (and that might be high...). Honestly, how do people move "to" California? I can see moving around "in" CA because you have 500K in equity in your house. But, sell a house anywhere else in the US and you can't afford an apartment in CA. It is pretty though, I'll give it that. That's why we go there on vacation 3-4 times a year. But we live where it is affordable ...

Sal

Nice Sal,


You nailed it on the head. You got everything right, almost. Sounds like you lived here before. I grew up here in So. Cal. so of course, I don't know any better. You must know me already (the cost of my tiny 1,400 sq. ft house) but I am 5 min. from the beach. ( no need for air conditioning ) You low balled on the cost of fuel though. It has been higher than that this summer and the best we get out of the pump is 91 octane, but we have already discussed that. Has anyone here ever lived in Europe? If so, then you will never complain about the cost of auto fuel even if it's $4.00 a gallon!
Sounds crazy to anyone outside of the beach in Los Angeles but it is home to us. You can take a guy out of Los Angeles for a while, but you can't take Los Angeles out of the guy. Head Paneer will agree.
We do have one thing going for us here though. Saleen customer service woes don't exist, at least not for me. Especially since I can drive there in about 30 min. and get whatever I need the same day. Chicane Sport Tuning is 10 min. away too! See you at the show.

 

[Head Paneer]

Being a native of Southern California and 37 years old, I have seen a lot change here. Some of your observations about So Cal are a little off base from my personal experience but are generally close. Insurance is high but my wife and I pay $1,600 a year for three cars, a 2000, and two 2003s. We live two miles from the beach. The price of our house in just over three years has gone up over 120%, an insane amount for sure. But have not housing prices around the country gone up considerably, as well? I could sell the house and with all the equity, live more leisurely elsewhere in the country. While, there are many places around the country I absolutely love to I have not found another place I would rather live. Marcus95 can probably relate.

The air quality has improved over the years, noticeably. It can still be bad in inland areas but many other places around the country have been experiencing California-like smog for quite a while. Those are also the places that have adopted vehicle emissions inspection programs, modeled off California’s.

Sal07b, you forgot to mention all the congestion, over-development, poor mass transit systems, earthquakes, etc. that plague this area. There are downsides to living here for sure, but I still love it. I do not think of So Cal as the Mecca of all places to live. It works for me, though.

Sorry for continuing the off-topic conversation sk8mrw but I really enjoy discussing this stuff. Have you visited So Cal before?

 

[sk8mrw]

Yes, I have visited SoCal before, but not on my own. My parents have been good about taking me on cool family vacations in the past. When I was thirteen or so we went to Vegas (not much for me to do there yet), then to San Diego (LOVED it, and the Hotel Del Coronado kicks ass), then finally to LA, which was also cool. From then on I knew I wanted to get the hell out of the Midwest and move to San Diego or in that area. With the money I'll be making later on when I'm a corporate lawyer, I know I'll be able to handle the cost of living increase.

Side note - I turn 21 in a week in a half (20th), so I'll definitely be paying a visit to Vegas eventually here. I am already addicted to gambling...me and my girlfriend make frequent trips up to Windsor Canada to gamble, where you only need to be 19. Only problem is my g/f doesn't turn 21 for another year and a half, so it'll be Windsor until then. Any other gambling addicts in here?

 

[sal07b]

I was joking more then anything. My wife's fathers side of the family lives in SoCal (Temecula, Wrightwood, Long Beach). I like it there, just couldn't personally see living there. Great, great place to visit though. See everyone at the show...

Sal

 

[2k2extreme]

Back to one of sk8mrw's original issues...all I can say is "welcome to the club". Saleen has the worse customer service. I, too, experienced your problem and more. I originally ordered from there site. No response after 4 weeks. Called, and called, and called (put on hold each time) and ended up with nothing but a large phone bill. Finally I got through and had to re-order via phone 'cause he said the site doesn't work. I ordered about 8 items (from shirts to actual car parts) and have only received 3 things after 3 weeks. Called numerous times again to finally find out the rest is (the famous line) on back order. I was billed for the whole order and 2 months later still nothing. As for the Team Saleen thing, that (they tell you) is a separate order and they aren't responsible...huh?!
Here's another good one....try asking a technical question about the cars THEY made and you'll get at least two different answers. It's very frustrating and they should be embarrassed/ashamed. I'm at the point of writing Steve S. himself, but feel that won't accomplish anything either.
p.s. San Diego is better than L.A.

 

[Head Paneer]

p.s. San Diego is better than L.A.

If you are in S.D., does that mean you are coming up for the Saleen show?

 

[Acheron315]

Don't worry about the team saleen thing, it isn't really worth it. For my $75.00 I recieved a saleen windbreaker, a catalog, and the promise of a discount. However, After several orders from saleen I almost never received this discount. I had to specifically make sure to get it, and even then sometimes they "forgot".

I never did receive a single newsletter, which is what I was most interested in at the time.

 

[bln92cpe]

Theres no more room here, I have lived in a beach town in LA, CA my whole life and see transplants taking all my parking spots and trying to surf...LOL JKJK totally kidding..Come enjoy the best place to live in the nation..If you can afford it and dont mind horrendous traffic.

 

[sk8mrw]

Ah come on man I know how to surf and have been skateboarding for 8 years, gimme some credit lol. One thing I don't know, however, is how I'll ever get used to that freezing ass liquid you Californians pass off as the ocean I kid, I kid....

 

[2k2extreme]

Head Paneer.....no, unfortunately to both questions. My parents used to live in Coronado (in the towers next to the "Del") so I visited their alot. I'm actually stuck in (gulp) the yeehah state of Alabama due to my job.

 

[sk8mrw]

Alright, back to the brake question...unfortunately I know absolutely nothing about brakes. Anyway, I am pretty sure that the stock GT brakes suck pretty bad and that I should upgrade them in some way. What is a good way to upgrade my brakes without dropping over a grand on them? Looking at the rotors, the lips of them are rusted, should they be replaced? Or should I just replace the pads and be done with it? Should I look at some sorta upgrade kit? Again, I know nothing about brakes except for that they are comprised of pads, rotors, calipers and brake lines so any input you can offer me would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Acheron315]

I wouldn't worry about the rust on your brakes, it is just a surface coat and all rotors that aren't coated or painted get that way.

If you wanted a good, low cost upgrade, the cobra kit is a good setup. You can get a used package from something like www.stangparts.com or a new package from steeda.

The lowest cost option would be to piece one together from junkyards. I would try www.car-part.com . I would get new pads and stainless steel lines. You will need the calipers, caliper brackets, and rotors from the used parts place. It would be the best and cheapest option. If you are worried about rust, you can paint the calipers and rotors (not the brake surface, just the lips and center section). From car-part.com you should be able to piece together a set for under $300.00 using used parts. I would reccomend rebuilding the calipers as well if you go this route.

It is a really easy installation, you can do it yourself with some minor tools.

There is a write-up here if you are interested http://www.corral.net/Tech/Suspension/CobraBrakes .