Quote:
Originally Posted by cfg83
They claim their brake rotors are 1/5 the weight of a regular car.
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Brakes that normally weigh 10 lbs are less than a pound".
I used 2kg of brake system mass, but maybe that's not fair. If the rotors are thermally coupled to the wheels, and the pads are thermally insulated from the calipers, they might be able to dissipate quite a bit more energy with the brakes than I give them credit for. Or maybe the Very Light Brakes fade when you do a panic stop or go down hills, even if you try engine braking with the Very Small Displacement Engine.
cfg, the standard American male is 191lbs, but it's probably smarter to design for the 90th percentile man. He's closer to 240lbs. Though that didn't stop Honda from selling a car (the Insight) with a 350lb payload capacity. Set two adults in it, and the ride quality suffers noticeably.
What a fascinating concept car, and look at all the speculation we are reduced to. Neil, you should invite the Edison team to join the discussion in this thread. I want to see their wheels and tires, and I want to know if any of their techniques can apply to my Insight.