Brake Upgrade

[rocco16 at sbcglobal.net (Larry Fry)]

> So this extra weight will cost you, like, what...half a horsepower at 
> worst?
> You can never have too much brake.
>
> Larry
> sandiego16v
>
>
> Upgraded brakes are indeed a good thing, however you can indeed go
> overboard.  I have a friend with an A1 GTI and he put the Corrado brake
> setup on his car.  Well, with his choice of brake pad (Ferrodo, don't 
> recall
> which color) the brake pads would never heat up to operating temp, and
> therefore the brakes sucked on that car.  This is all his experience, so I
> can't really comment directly...
>
> As to the horsepower loss,  just going from 14s to 15s made a huge
> difference in straight-line performance.  The 14s were prolly 10lbs 
> lighter
> each with their tires, and I sure felt it racing someone (on a track, with
> professionals nearby if I cracked-up)...
>
> My .002,
>  David


The original post estimated 20lbs = 1hp.  I was figuring about 10 extra 
pounds (maximum) for the brakes.

Your friend's mistake was not in upgrading his brakes, it was in his choice 
of pads.

Larry
sandiego16v