Re: ahhh, a brake thread

[Dave Eaton <dave.eaton@minedu.govt.nz>]

the thing to remember is that, in retrospect, all brakes are/were poor, because
the design and performance has improved markedly over the years.  i know of no
audi or bmw whose brakes stand comparison against the competition today. 
except perhaps the sport quattro and the 2nd m5...

questions to ask yourself:
1) how many panic stops from 70mph am i planning to do?
2) how many panic stops 70mph-0 will i do *in sequence*

most of us answer question #1 with "none hopefully, but 1 when the need
arises".  therfore the 70-0 numbers are key.  *not* the fade characteristics.

most of us answer question #2 with "none".  unless you're being bl**dy stupid
on the road, or you're on the track.  if you're on the track, then you need to
worry about both braking distance and fade characteristics.

if you're on the track, upgrade your brakes.  they're never "good enough".

and, i dare say, there are a number of "vendors" on the list....

dave
'95 rs2
'90 ur-q

>
>Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 09:03:29 EDT
>From: QSHIPQ <QSHIPQ@aol.com>
>Subject: Give the rest a brake
>
>
>Most people don't touch there brakes until the pads wear out.  Good point.
>Another reason to be careful with the "race caliper" kits, they require more
>than casual touching.  Tires can help, but understand, if fade is the problem,
>tires don't help, they actually hurt.  Why?  Cuz better tires will reduce
>stopping distance, they don't do squat for heat dissipation.  So, it would
>depend on your definition of 'performance'.  Stopping distance is just one of
>the evaluations.  When your foot goes to the floor with fade, the last time
>you got that 110foot stop doesn't give you much bragging rights.  Nice tires
>tho.  :)
>
>I think very few of us would say that the stopping distances of G60's is
>"poor".  Just about everyone on this thread that is looking at upgrades, knows
>about the "poor" fade characteristics of G60's.
>
>Scott Justusson