Re: Corrado Brakes -- Physics Question: Are they pointless?

[Shawn C Meze <skerocdriver@juno.com>]

On Thu, 04 Feb 1999 16:45:13 -0500 16V JASON <jason@scirocco.org> writes:

>True, the increase in swept area will give the brakes more initial
bite..
>but (and now we come to my point), isn't the braking distance of a car
>limited essentially to the tires' ability to grip?  I mean, I'm sure I
>could do 200 km/h (125mph) in my 16v and lock my front wheels up
instantly
>(not that I would want to, of course)... so what good would bigger
rotors
>do? If the rotors can overpower the tires (which they can, if they can
stop
>the wheel from turning), what's the point of having bigger rotors?


True, the tires ability to grip can be the limiting factor in the cars
ability to stop. However a skilled driver will know how to make the
brakes work to their fullest without locking them up. Need I refer to the
CART series as an example? Al Unser Jr. was famous for being able to
outbrake the competition going into a turn. Nuff said, point made. 



>So, with that said, and thus neglecting the fade factor, what's the
benefit
>of upgrading to 11" brakes?  As far as I can see, the only benefits are
>fame (people saying "You're cool!"), and that's surely outweighed by the
>cost (ouch) and the increase in unspring weight.


Bigger is better in the braking world. Ive driven/ridden in a car with
11" brakes and -damn it-, it just stops. I want those so I can be the
first to -ever- make them 11"s fade! <Drool>


              Shawn Meze
86' Jetta GLi           82' Scirocco GTi
The Fastest, Quickest, Cleanest and
best looking Scirocco in all of San Diego!
http://www.Geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/1308/index.htm

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