Re: Brakes in General

[Jeremy R King <kingjer@eng.auburn.edu>]

Sure you can lock your's up once.  Most, if not nearly all, can do that.  
But try stopping from 70 MPH as quickly as possible about 8 times in a 
row and you'll experience what we autocrossers (and real racers who have 
a lot more authority) call fade.  When you try to stop that tenth time on 
stock pads and discs, your two ton monster might not be so willing.  Try 
it out for yourself.  Basically the stock system builds and retains too 
much heat, causing the pad material to become soft.  You can fix that two 
ways: 1. Better pads - pads that resist heat better won't get soft as 
fast, 2. Vented/Cross Drilled or Slotted rotors - these provide more 
surface area for the metal disc to give its heat to the much cooler air, 
taking the load off of the pads.  Actually another remedy is to duct more 
air to your brakes, but that usually involves new body panels.

Hope this helps.

Jeremy R. King
1986 VW Quantum GL5
Audi at Heart
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aaa    aaa   uuu    uuu   ddd     ddd    iii
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On Mon, 30 Oct 1995, Michael Spiers wrote:

> >  Has anybody ever had any experience with Brake pads called "rofren"?? I
> > have never heard of them before.  This morning someone contacted me and
> > said he was a distributer for Rofren pads. They are carbon graphite, and
> > he said (of course) will stop you better than anything on the market.
> 
> Alright, I have a question.  I've got  hte stock Audi brake garbage on my TQ
> right now.  If I turn off the ABS and stomp on the brakes, I can lock all four
> wheels adn come to a stop REAL quick.  So, why would I want to consider
> upgrading the brakes?  If I can lock all four wheels with what I've got, what's
> the advantage?  The brakes can't outperform the tires right??  Is the only
> reason so the brakes keep their cool?  I know how well high temperatures and
> brakes go together, so is this the only reason for upgrading brakes???
> Enquiring minds want to know.
> 
> -- 
> -Mike
> mikes@specnet.com
> mks107@psuvm.psu.edu
> 87 5000CS TQ
> 84 5000S (2,000 miles away and a mile high)
> 90 80 (sibling's mode of transportation I get lynched into working on)
>