not12listen
02-13-2008, 12:31 AM
ok. i've done more than my fair share of driving and in many, many different types of cars. the most effective combination i've found, is not a commonly used setup.
it boils down to using a brake pad in the rear, which has a better 'bite' than the front brake pad. the idea is simple: shift more braking duty to the rear to help balance it out.
from the factory, most vehicles have roughly 70% of the braking duty performed by the front brakes. i've spoken with a few people about what i've done, brake setup wise, and some have suggested brake bias adjusters, which serve to shift the brake duty via the pressure from the front to the rear (or whichever ways you choose).
there is one major thing that the bias adjuster cannot compensate for: the bite characteristics of the pads.
you can adjust a brake bias adjuster to be '50/50' and you could EASILY still have a setup that locks up the front wheels.
my initial setup consisted of:
blank rotors from Napa Auto parts
Axxis Metal Master front pads
Axxis Metal Master rear pads
Goodridge Braided Steel Brake Lines
Castrol DOT3 brake fluid
i really did not like the braking characteristics. the front grabbed really soon and the rear did virtually no work (i would purposely test this by braking MID turn).
so, i then did a bit of reading and discovered that the EBC Green Stuff pad does not have the as broad of a active heat range as the Metal Master pads. basically, they're a 'lesser' pad.
so, brake setup v2:
blank rotors from Napa Auto parts
EBC Green Stuff front pads
Axxis Metal Master rear pads
Goodridge Braided Steel Brake Lines
Castrol DOT3 brake fluid
i would drive thru the same 'test' turns as previous, and noticed that not only was the car more easily controlled with braking during the turn, but also that i felt less nose dive under hard braking.
the rear pads were FINALLY starting to do there job, and because of the specific setup, the braking duty had shifted noticeably rearward.
the test vehicle for this:
1986 Toyota Mr2
with its mid engine layout, braking during a turn is a very touchy (and potentially very, very dangerous) maneuver. because there was less nose dive (weight transfer forward), the rear was not lifting nearly as much as previous. this allows mild braking during just about any portion of the turn (if needed), whereas previously it was nearly asking for an accident to happen.
so... how does this all relate to the impreza? this weekend, my 99RS will be undergoing a very similar brake setup.
the current setup:
OEM blank front vented rotors (99RS)
OEM blank rear vented rotors (94 Legacy GT)
OEM front calipers and brackets (99RS)
OEM rear calipers and brackets (94 Legacy GT)
OEM brake lines
ATE Super Blue DOT4 brake fluid
Monroe Semi-Metallic front brake pads
Monroe Semi-Metallic rear brake pads
the future setup:
Brembo blank front vented rotors (99RS)
Brembo blank rear vented rotors (94 Legacy GT)
OEM front calipers and brackets (99RS)
OEM rear calipers and brackets (94 Legacy GT)
GoodRidge Braided Steel Brake lines
ATE Super Blue DOT4 brake fluid
EBC Green Stuff front brake pads
EBC Red Stuff rear brake pads
now... 2 details have not been brought to light. brake bed-in and bleeding.
http://zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm
http://zeckhausen.com/bleeding_brakes.htm
i follow the steps on those pages. i figure that its a german school of racing, they ought to have a pretty good idea of what they're doing. :)
one note though, on the brake bed-in process, i do NOT hit the triple digit speeds... :) this is just my daily driver after all. :)
anywho... if anyone has any questions or comments, PM me or just reply. and, i will be reporting back on here on my findings with my 'future' setup (ie. this weekend) with the good and bad.
it boils down to using a brake pad in the rear, which has a better 'bite' than the front brake pad. the idea is simple: shift more braking duty to the rear to help balance it out.
from the factory, most vehicles have roughly 70% of the braking duty performed by the front brakes. i've spoken with a few people about what i've done, brake setup wise, and some have suggested brake bias adjusters, which serve to shift the brake duty via the pressure from the front to the rear (or whichever ways you choose).
there is one major thing that the bias adjuster cannot compensate for: the bite characteristics of the pads.
you can adjust a brake bias adjuster to be '50/50' and you could EASILY still have a setup that locks up the front wheels.
my initial setup consisted of:
blank rotors from Napa Auto parts
Axxis Metal Master front pads
Axxis Metal Master rear pads
Goodridge Braided Steel Brake Lines
Castrol DOT3 brake fluid
i really did not like the braking characteristics. the front grabbed really soon and the rear did virtually no work (i would purposely test this by braking MID turn).
so, i then did a bit of reading and discovered that the EBC Green Stuff pad does not have the as broad of a active heat range as the Metal Master pads. basically, they're a 'lesser' pad.
so, brake setup v2:
blank rotors from Napa Auto parts
EBC Green Stuff front pads
Axxis Metal Master rear pads
Goodridge Braided Steel Brake Lines
Castrol DOT3 brake fluid
i would drive thru the same 'test' turns as previous, and noticed that not only was the car more easily controlled with braking during the turn, but also that i felt less nose dive under hard braking.
the rear pads were FINALLY starting to do there job, and because of the specific setup, the braking duty had shifted noticeably rearward.
the test vehicle for this:
1986 Toyota Mr2
with its mid engine layout, braking during a turn is a very touchy (and potentially very, very dangerous) maneuver. because there was less nose dive (weight transfer forward), the rear was not lifting nearly as much as previous. this allows mild braking during just about any portion of the turn (if needed), whereas previously it was nearly asking for an accident to happen.
so... how does this all relate to the impreza? this weekend, my 99RS will be undergoing a very similar brake setup.
the current setup:
OEM blank front vented rotors (99RS)
OEM blank rear vented rotors (94 Legacy GT)
OEM front calipers and brackets (99RS)
OEM rear calipers and brackets (94 Legacy GT)
OEM brake lines
ATE Super Blue DOT4 brake fluid
Monroe Semi-Metallic front brake pads
Monroe Semi-Metallic rear brake pads
the future setup:
Brembo blank front vented rotors (99RS)
Brembo blank rear vented rotors (94 Legacy GT)
OEM front calipers and brackets (99RS)
OEM rear calipers and brackets (94 Legacy GT)
GoodRidge Braided Steel Brake lines
ATE Super Blue DOT4 brake fluid
EBC Green Stuff front brake pads
EBC Red Stuff rear brake pads
now... 2 details have not been brought to light. brake bed-in and bleeding.
http://zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm
http://zeckhausen.com/bleeding_brakes.htm
i follow the steps on those pages. i figure that its a german school of racing, they ought to have a pretty good idea of what they're doing. :)
one note though, on the brake bed-in process, i do NOT hit the triple digit speeds... :) this is just my daily driver after all. :)
anywho... if anyone has any questions or comments, PM me or just reply. and, i will be reporting back on here on my findings with my 'future' setup (ie. this weekend) with the good and bad.