Big Brakes

[JShadzi at aol.com]

Mabe,
If you are talking strictly "daily driving", driving to point a-b type driving, I agree with you.  

BUT, if you are referring to spirited driving for the sake of driving, pushing the car to its limits of acceleration and control, you will find that stainless lines, venting, or even aggressive pads will do little to prevent the inevitable heat soak of both your rotors and brake fulid.

The issue is aggrivated even more with any type of track driving, 1 or 2 decent laps in most Audis with stock brakes severely reveals their weaknesses, or if you happen to increase the hp level significntly, which was the case in my 80 when I essentially doubled hp.

Don't discount the laws of physics and the ability of a larger rotor to absorb and release heat.  The aftremarket would love to sell you all kinds of bandaids to help increase braking. The difference between an 11" and 12" rotor is significant, often 20% in surface area alone not including thickness or mass increase.  Another benefit of bigger brakes is often weight savings over the heavy stock calipers (if you use a nice multi-piston aluminum caliper), helping reduce unsprung weight.

You can see what I did on my car at 

http://www.80tq.com/brakes.html

Javad Shadzi

In a message dated Sun, 2 Sep 2001  2:09:10 PM Eastern Daylight Time, "Andrew Mabe" <bahnrokt at hotmail.com> writes:

> As far as I go the stock brakes on most ares are suficent to stop the car in 
> daily driving.  Using the stock brakes, adding stainless steel lines, top of 
> the line pads, and vented rotors.  Put in some additional cooling ducts and 
> make sure the bias is perfect.  With this the stock   dia. brakes should be 
> more than capable of providing all the heat transfer you could want. You say 
> a larger rotor is a bigger heat sink.  Ok it is.  Compair a 12" rotor to a 
> 11" rotor.  Do you relize how little material you are adding?
> 
> Unless your doing top speed runs or have much much much muchmore hp than you 
> had stock there is little reason aside from show to add larger brakes.
> 
> Mabe
> 95 90 Quattro Sport
> 91 GTI 16v 172bhp (still has 9.4 brakes and does 60-0 in 107 feet)
> 
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