TeriAnn Wakeman wrote:
>
> > I have NEVER understood why people think you need better brakes if you
> add more HP. If you are going 50 MPH in a car that has 75 HP, doesn't it
> take about the same amount of space & time to stop as the same car going
> 50 MPH with a 300 HP engine???
>
> I always thought better brakes were desirable at any time & even more so
> if you add an overdrive or higher diff ratios allowing you to go faster
> than you could before.
>
> Still wondering how how fast you can reach speed X, affects how quickly
> you can go from X to zero.
>
TeriAnn & All,
I think the brake concern isn't so much that the vehicle's stopping is
going to be affected by the addition of the HP, as much as the extra
weight required to add the HP. This is evidenced by the larger GT6
brakes over the Spit. My feeling is that for example if you replace the
GT6 engine with a Rover aluminum V8, you would actually decrease the
weight of the vehicle while raising the HP. In doing so, you would get
an added benefit of better braking due to the reduced weight that has to
be controlled. Therein lies the rub. Most engine swaps end up adding
weight instead of reducing it and thus making the vehicle harder to
arrest (pun intended).
So now I have 4 cents invested in this thread.
Joe Curry
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