Hi all,
still on the stopping power tangent - tires are the absolute first thing to
consider - so long as all the brakes work.
As a racer and "road runner" I find stopping to be that much more important
than even turning in our cars. They only corner so so at the best of times,
but with good tires they can go very deep into a corner. This lets you keep
your foot in it for much longer - quite frankly I have not found TR6 brakes
to be a problem even on the track. Others in our TR club disagree - some
only could get 10 laps before "they went soft" - but those were the same
guys that had shitty tires on the stock steel rims (heavy and poorly
ventilated - not like alloy wheels).
Some engineer is going to zap me on this one but there must be some kind of
heating up curve that makes long stops with poor brakes perpetuate the
problem... I find that if you can hit them HARD for a short time (ie at
Gimli 100 mph to 75 in 2 sec or so) and they bite well (metal master pads
with more than 1/2 material left, true rotors, clean fresh brake fluif (hi
Joe)) I can drive until the car overheats and I get tired. On "stock" cars
with "marginal stuff" I can kill the brakes in 5 laps. And not be going as
fast as in my own car.
Any ideas? Mine is: "take advantage of modern materials first".... brake
pads (try carbon kevlar), tires (don't be cheap, only the tires keep you
touching the road), fluids (550 deg DOT 4 is available in places).
Then, go take a hi performance driving or racing school (I'm teaching this
weekend) to get the most out of yourself.
Now, if you;re still running out of brakes - you'd better have a helmet on
because you'll really be movin' when they run out on you.
Happy driving
Dave T
-----Original Message-----
From: iron_horse819@yahoo.com <iron_horse819@yahoo.com>
To: rgb@exact.com <rgb@exact.com>; triumphs@autox.team.net
<triumphs@autox.team.net>
Date: May 3, 1999 10:11 AM
Subject: Re: Four wheel disc brakes?
>
>--- rgb@exact.com wrote:
>>
>> I agree, the modern roads are high speed, fast paced, with no margin
>> for driver error or mechanical malfunction...
>>
>> So, the goal is more stopping power on a TR6? Then, the rear brakes
>> would be the last item to consider. Its a front heavy car with huge
>> discs designed in already, these should be optimized. Oh, and do not
>> forget the most important piece --- the tires.
>
>
>Thank you Roger for a very informative and complete list ... gives me a lot
to
>think about! Although many of the items I had already considered, you did
cover
>some points I hadn't thought of ...
>
>Raymond
>
>
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