245 Let’s taLk Brakes Nothing on your car is so critical when on track as brakes … to performance & safety. And nothing is as personal as how the driver wants the brakes to feel. I have raced with hundreds of drivers & what they want ... heck, what they need to feel confident in the car … is different from driver to driver. I’ve learned that drivers that say they want a firm pedal … push the pedal harder. I see it on the data. Drivers that want a lighter feel, push softer. Simple to account for. With years of experience I create brake packages knowing there is no “one package fits all” because we want different things. I want to share some of my experience with you … to ensure you get the right brake package the first time. While brake technology is very advanced and complex, the basics of braking are pretty simple. If we want more braking force, we can:  Increase rotor diameter  Increase piston area in the calipers  Decrease piston size in the master cylinder  Increase the pedal ratio  Increase the pad Coefficient of Friction Each has pros & cons:  Increased rotor diameter … Typically adds rotating mass & increases the centrifugal effect  Increased piston area in the calipers … makes the pedal travel farther & feel softer  Decreased piston size in the master cylinder … makes the pedal travel farther & feel softer  Increased pedal ratio … makes the pedal travel farther & feel softer  Increased pad Coefficient of Friction … pads cost more, wear out quicker & eat up rotors RSRT Manual Brake Systems – Feel – What do you want? Super Firm Pedal – Utilize a 5.5-1 Pedal & 15/16” M/C Firm Pedal – Utilize a 6-1 Pedal & 15/16” M/C Moderate Pedal – Utilize a 6-1 Pedal & 7/8” M/C Light Pedal – Utilize a 6.25-1 Pedal & 7/8” M/C * Note: If you want a super firm feel & even more braking force … you need to step up the pad CoF. Hmmm. Challenging. What is the right balance? Here are some Total Braking Force Guidelines: 2500# = Average passenger car 3000# = Performance street car (Corvettes, Vipers, etc) 3500# = Good track braking system with big tires 4000# = Race braking system with wide slicks 4500# = Full race brake systems with serious downforce & wide slicks Here are how the systems I’ve created work out: StopTech ST60 Front / ST40 Rear / 14” Rotors / 309 Performance Pad = 3460# Braking Force StopTech ST60 Front / ST40 Rear / 14” Rotors / SR30 Tame Race Pad = 4150# Braking Force Wilwood Aero6 Front / SL4 Rear / 14” Rotors / BP10 Performance Pad = 3120# Braking Force Wilwood Aero6 Front / SL4 Rear / 14” Rotors / BP20 Tame Race Pad = 3750# Braking Force * All good systems / The StopTech will have a firmer feel & better pad modulation Track Brake Info