Quote:
Originally Posted by ksa8907
I love good brakes as much as anyone, but I think you're going to have such large brakes with such a light weight vehicle that... well... things could get interesting in a panic brake, not to mention locked brakes are less effective. I think you may have a more effective brake setup using high-performance pads and not the "discount special".
My old car, 2000 Dodge Intrepid, could lock the brakes no problem. that was with 16" wheels, 225 section tires, single piston calipers, 3500lbs.
I understand you may want big wheels, but lets not say that massive brakes are necessary. You wanting them is a good enough reason to have them.
|
They're a hindrance to MPG and to handling, lots of unsprung weight. I had an S-10 loaded, the front rotors were glowing orange at the bottom of the mountain, and those were stock 10.5" x 1" single-piston floating-caliper brakes. Not the stuff of Ferraris, but I didn't lose them.
However, I also rode one of my '78 Camaros ( I've had 3 of the '78s so far )
down a more moderate canyon, and totally lost all the braking power by the time I got to the bottom. Same brakes as the S-10, except 11". And any car can lock any size brakes, once, when they're around 70 defrees F.
I've experienced both ends of the spectrum, but neither of those were capable of use on a fast racetrack, where this single-seater may well see repeated 2g decel from over 190 MPH.
Now that I've found affordable Brembo 4-piston calipers, and discovered how to find matching rotor choices, I see no reason to surrender the peace of mind. That's how it seems to me. Building adapter brackets to mount the Brembos is easy. Brembos aren't the only best brakes, but they're better than anything cheaper.