The most important thing being, get the brakes, checked up, upgraded and
repaired as the most important thing.
If you can't stop at any speed, then where will you be? Redesigning the
backends of other peoples cars, or power poles, etc.
Before making a car faster, one should make it stop better first. It's
usually the last upgrade made, if ever.
People let their brakes really go before they tend to do anything about them.
When being a grease monkey in college, seeing people drive in and barely
stop their car in the garage for a complete brake overhaul...
It's pretty amazing how trashed brakes can get and still work, somewhat.
Q
At 06:11 AM 6/26/97 -0500, Dwade Clay Reinsch wrote:
>Let me add my little .02 worth to this thread.
> 1. The engine modifications will enable the car to go faster.
> 2. The owner chose to make those modifications.
>
> 3. Therefore, the owner can be expected to drive faster at
>almost all times and places.
>
> 4. So a brake checkup, up grade, service and repair *is* an
>important modification, which has no mechanical connection to the engine
>modifications. The connection between more power/better brakes is
>sitting in the driver's seat. (With that five point competition seat
>belt pulled up tight!)
>
>Dwade
>Moved to Big D yesterday afternoon and the first thing I set up was the
>computer!
>
>
>On Wed, 25 Jun 1997, Scott Gardner wrote:
>
>>
>> > > difference being that speed, while dependent on availible power, is
also
>> > > a function of gearing. Example (non LBC) My works Moto-crosser was
>> > > extremely modified for power. In fact the versions we rode put out
almost
>> > > twice the power of the un-modified version. BUT the top speed was about
>> > > 20 mph SLOWER. Because the purpose was to get there quick, not faster.
>> >
>>
>> I don't know who wrote this part of the thread, but I'm curious now.
>> How can any engine produce twice the stock power and have a lower top
>> speed? I guess it's possible that if the powerband distribution was
>> changed significantly, this could happen, but I'm more inclined to
>> believe it was the result of a transmission and/or rear end gear
>> ratio change. If so, what's the relevance?
>> I may be reducing the argument too much, but if an engine
>> modification results in the car travelling faster at any given
>> position, be it cruising down the highway, or 100 feet from a
>> stoplight, some attention needs to be paid to the brakes to make sure
>> they're still up to snuff. If a new engine allows the car to get up
>> to 50 mph between the stoplight and the nasty hairpin curve, whereas
>> the old engine would only get the car to 30 in the same distance,
>> then you're presenting the brakes with more of a challenge.
>> Scott
>>
>
>
--
Jay Quinn - Systems Engineer
jpquinn@cyberramp.net
http://www.cyberramp.net/~jpquinn/index.htm
'62 Healey Sprite MKII HAN6L2874
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