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Old 01-16-2014, 10:25 AM   #6
Suberman
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Drives: Subaru BRZ Sport Tech Satin White
Location: Calgary, Alberta,Canada
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Brakes are possibly the most misunderstood mod out there.

Whenever you're tempted to "upgrade" your brakes go out and see if ABS can be activated on warm dry pavement. If it can your brakes are already stopping the car as quickly as possible.

Then fit grippier tires. If the ABS does not activate then and only then do you need "bigger brakes".

Brakes generate heat by slowing the wheels. Brake discs need to be big enough and vented enough to keep the brake pads from fading by dissipating that heat quickly enough to maintain the designed operating temperature for the selected pads. Larger rotors are mainly about improved heat capacity and dissipation rates. It is rare that a road car has brake rotors that are too small. Small is beautiful because brakes are unsprung weight, remember that, unsprung weight.

It is critical to recognize that brake pads only work well over their designed temperature range. Cold brakes don't work very well at all. You MUST fit brake pads that run neither too cool nor too hot, with the "too cool" aspect of primary importance on the street. Often brakes that look too cool are and don't stop you as well as they need to on that first cold emergency stop of the day.

The number of pistons in the caliper is not relevant in the real world. Basically, total caliper piston area has to match the pressure multiplier required by the size of the master cylinder piston. Go too big and the MC won't work effectively. Caliper piston area is mainly a function of pad area. Big pads might be needed for very demanding braking but they will likely be useless on the street. So, start with pads before you decide you need bigger calipers with more pistons or more piston area.

If you find your brakes are fading on the street then you need to modify your driving. You should NEVER experience an "oh shit" moment when driving. If you do, then you need to be more observant.

For track work the best solution is a set of track optimized pads you put in and take out at the track. Using track pads on the street is pretty stupid actually and can kill you.

Don't mess around with brakes until you've read up enough to know you don't mess around with brakes. Buy only from a reputable brake specialist AFTER reading everything you can about their products to ensure it will do what you need it to do (NEED, not want brakes are not a styling option).

Any factory brake upgrade will also work fine. Note there isn't one for these cars as yet. The factory brakes are very, very good for most driving. Only repeated hot lapping shows up any fade. That's due to the chosen pad material and designed that way.
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