On Mon, 3 Jan 2005, Bill & Skip Pugh wrote:
> I read a very interesting article concerning Brake Improvement,
> before you go buying stuff check what you have. Friction from
> disk brakes (or drums for that matter) is a direct function of
> the total area of the brake pads contacting the rotor. If the
> area ( square inches) if the new set up is less, you will NOT get
> better brakes.
> Something to think about ...
The braking power is actually a combination of the surface area and the
coefficient of friction between the friction material and the rotor. It's
not just swept area - it's the whole package.
If you look at the article (Lee Janssen) that has been referenced in this
thread, you'll see that the surface area of the Toyota pad is a great deal
larger than the stock Girling caliper - about 34%, yet this has no
apparent inpact on the stopping distance in tests done by the author.
Why? Because with the increased pad area, there is more weight transfer to
the front of the car and this is more work than the larger pads can do.
The result is that the braking distance is uneffected. I'll bet it's
easier to lock the fronts with the increased clamping force on the fronts,
but a locked brake will absolutely not help braking distance. Not only
that, but it'll screw up your ability to steer the car at the same time!
The key is _balance_ between the front/rear.
I've played a great deal with the brakes on my race car, and the stock M/C
with booster and the stock front calipers/rotors and uprated pads along
with the large rear wheel cylinders (and uprated shoes) is a very nice
combo. The only bad thing about the setup is that with a race motor that
has a cam on it, the vacuum assist is a little odd and sometimes it's very
easy to "roast" the fronts. In fact, getting the stock booster out is my
next step, but this car is pretty extreme. The street car is stock
everything except for tires and it stops "real good" too. But the handling
is the result of suspension work to optimize the contact patch
(the shocks/springs are uprated significantly).
> --
> Bill Pugh
> 1957 TR3 TS16765L
> aka
> Casper
> 1971 TR6 CC59179L
> aka
> Rosey
> Wallace, CA
regards,
rml
CF14111U
CR1871 UO
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