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> Overheated brakes?, Ever actually done this?
lapuwali
post Feb 24 2005, 12:44 PM
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With all of the recent caliper discussions, I got to thinking: has anyone here actually suffered from stock rotors overheating? Street or track? Which calipers? Which MC?

I've personally only ever suffered from brake fade caused by overheating brakes twice, and neither time was in a 914. Once on a Alfa with inboard rear brakes and an overenthusiatic romp along a road with lots of downhill hairpins, the other time on a Mini with drums all round, also on a romp through a (different) set of downhill hairpins. The Alfa was heavy and suffered from bad cooling of those inboard brakes (which had vented rotors), and the Mini just used cheap iron drums (and I was deliberately trying to induce fade). Interestingly, another very similar Alfa that was much lighter (400lbs or so, from lighter body stampings and a four instead of a six) never suffered from fade despite solid rotors at both ends, on the same roads that would cook the brakes on the later, heavier car.

Much as I approve of the idea of good strong brakes, I wonder just how necessary big, heavy, expensive vented rotors really are on the car (at least with stock or near-stock power).
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john rogers
post Feb 24 2005, 05:19 PM
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As you have found out there are several things that can reduce the chances of brake fade from over heating. Clean, hi temp brake fluid, larger calipers which provide a larger heat sink for the fluid, vented rotors with some cooling air directed at them and short hard braking instead of easing onto the brakes. A couple of additional items are much longer brake lines in front so there is more fluid volume to absorb heat, a fluid recirculator with the lines going through a cool can type of setup and finally a water mister in the cooling ducts to help cool things off. We don't have much room for the recirc system but I have added 36 inch long sections of line for the front brakes when I switched to Volvo calipers and will have to wait until the first race in Tecate Mx to see if the fade problem has been licked. It was raining in Phoenix so it did not matter. The long brake lines is a trick used by the BMW 2002 vintage race guys as they have a lot of trouble with brake fade they told me and this cured it.
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Posts in this topic
lapuwali   Overheated brakes?   Feb 24 2005, 12:44 PM
Mueller   ...   Feb 24 2005, 12:50 PM
mudfoot76   Yes, on my 914, during two different DE events at ...   Feb 24 2005, 01:07 PM
SirAndy   ...   Feb 24 2005, 01:07 PM
VegasRacer   I am hard on brakes with my driving style. I frequ...   Feb 24 2005, 01:20 PM
airsix   ...   Feb 24 2005, 01:26 PM
seanery   I did on the track, but I was on god-who-knows-how...   Feb 24 2005, 01:27 PM
redshift   Ok, in my 23 years I have lost brakes maybe... 7 o...   Feb 24 2005, 01:31 PM
davep   Stock brakes on my 73 1.7 at Watkins Glen. Came of...   Feb 24 2005, 01:33 PM
Demick   I've had serious brake fade from driving down ...   Feb 24 2005, 02:03 PM
ArtechnikA   saw the evidence once (cracked rotors) in my ...   Feb 24 2005, 02:13 PM
Eric_Shea     Feb 24 2005, 02:17 PM
Eric_Shea   James, Did you get the goods today?   Feb 24 2005, 02:18 PM
Mueller   one thing to consider is that some people have bee...   Feb 24 2005, 02:22 PM
Eric_Shea   Sure... but what about my browser?   Feb 24 2005, 05:16 PM
Eric_Shea  
  Feb 24 2005, 05:25 PM


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