Well said, as usual, Bob!
Modulation and Feel seem most important to me. My style is to brake fairly
early and concentrate on track out for maximum speed on the following straight.
using the TR6 Moto-Vac worked well for me when I was running Ferodo DS11s,
but they are not available any longer. With more aggressive brake pads, I have
disabled the vaccuum assist.
Ergo heat rejection is not a big issue for me, especially with 20-30 minute
vintage races.
Joe (A)
Joe (A)
> Hi,
>
> There's a lot of reasons that racers go for larger brakes. But the most
> important for a racer is the margin between "bite" and "complete, utter
> loackup". This is described by racers as the "feel".
>
> Think of it this way. If the braking force is measured as a curve, the
> feel is the "area under the curve". More area under the curve translates
> to better feel.
>
> Also note that racers as a rule do not use power assist for the brakes, so
> they have to make up the clamping force of the brake system with different
> mechanical forces (pedal travel, pedal ratio, MC bore size, fluid motion,
> etc.)
>
> But the big thing for brakes is HEAT. More rotor size means better heat
> distribution. The work done is the same, but the larger rotors distribute
> the heat over a lager area. And, of course, vented rotors are even better.
>
> But they also do it "because they can". In many cases (class rules, for
> example) they cannot. And the most important reason why? If you go to
> bigger, stickier tires, the inadequacies of the stock brakes become
> apparent. Big brakes gives you a way to get the balance back.
>
> As I have said in the past, the biggest part of the equation is the tires.
> But if you can't overcome the tires with the brakes, then you can change
> the brake system to bring things into balance.
>
> That said, the folks that have to worry the most about the brakes are the
> folks with heavy cars. Like Pony cars. Those cars are designed with
> marginal brakes to keep production costs down. There is a def. advantage
> to upgrading the brakes on those cars.
>
> TR6 owners don't have the same concerns _because our cars are relatively
> light compared to the brake rotor and caliper sizing_. But once you change
> one aspect of the system, everything goes out the window and you're likely
> to have to change everything. I just went though this with my race car.
> The cage interfered with the brake booster - c ya latah brake booster. New
> pedal box. New MC's. New plumbing. I haven't driven the car (yet), but
> it's likely that before the car rolls under power that the front / rear
> brakes will get changed (allowed under certain rules). Hmmmm. A totally
> new brake system. Go figure.
>
> Regards,
> rml
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