[s-cars] Cracked Big Brake Brackets - ECS Stage 2

[Eric Phillips]

Taka:

M12 x 1.5 x 25mm in grade 10.9.  If you can find a source, I'll be
happy to buy, since I re-used and cut down the ones that were
undoubtedly installed at the factory.

It may be common, but maybe one needs to use a special search
parameter not commonly used?  I am willing to accept blame for not
searching everywhere possible.

While I don't really want to go back and address every point made,
I'll hit some high points:

1.)  Yes, I do believe it's possible to design an aluminum bracket
that will have the required "lifetime of the car" fatigue strength.  I
have no idea which ones those would be.  Maybe Wilwood has one.

2.)  No, comparing alloys of aluminum as "apples and oranges" doesn't
address fatigue limit.  No alloy of aluminum has a fatigue limit.
Alloying does affect fatigue strength.  I would imagine those main
wing spars in the 40+ year old B-52 Stratofortresses have some darn
good fatigue strength.  747s, too (And built by the same company, of
course.  :)  )

3.)  I have tried to be careful to separate what is my opinion, and
what is fact.  I appreciate your corrections to where I have made
errors - I do wish to learn where my knowledge is low.  The Brembo
thing I did know - must have been a bit of brain death.  Brembo serves
Ferrari too, right?  If so, that sort of underscores my point.

In any case, I still hold the opinion that aluminum is not the best
material for brackets.  Whether or not there are designs in aluminum
that are adequate to the task is a separate issue, and one where I'd
rather not make an incorrect choice.  I suppose it's my conservative
nature.  One of the things I hope is that anyone with aluminum
brackets *never* has any problems due to materials or design, and that
they keep their cars and themselves completely undamaged.  This is
something that I'd be very happy to be totally wrong about.

And, in the end, I am still disappointed that the cars we got here had
such crappy brakes in comparison to the ones offered elsewhere in the
world.  The UrS cars are not the only VAG products where that occurred
- ISTR some VW products where that was true as well.  (It's been a
while since I drove VWs, so I can't remember exactly.)

As always, JMO,

Eric


On 10/24/06, Taka Mizutani <t44tqtro at gmail.com> wrote:
> Eric-
> M12x1.5mm and M14x1.5mm bolts should not be that hard to find- these are
> common thread pitches for wheel bolts on European and Japanese cars.
>
>
> Taka
>
>


-- 
Eric

1995 UrS6 "Silber Geist"