why upgrade calipers ?

[kieran_ej9]

hi just got az quick question about upgrading calipers as its been sticking in my mind for a while, say for example your lucky enough to own an ek9 ( which im not ) and the standard brakes lock the wheels up then why would you upgrade the calipers, the way i see it is that the standard calipers are good enough to lock the wheels therefor you dont need new calipers. or am i missing something

thanks again,
kieran

 

[DOSvtec]

bigger brakes = quicker and more efficient brakes (better stopping distance) but too big of brakes isnt good either, it also depends on the grip your tyres has

 

[kieran_ej9]

ah so when im thinkin the brakes are locking up its actually the tires ?

 

[Weasel]

If youve small breaks then youve a small willy.
Pull more birds with bigger breaks.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kozy]

If you can lock the wheels then the brakes are powerful enough, any more may be detrimental. They do offer better feel, better cooling, better modulation and less unsprung mass.

 

[fez]

I got 300mm twin pots on mine and it stops amazing but in bad weather the wheels lock up when im having a heavy right foot moment, but i still stop quite well

 

[EK4chris]

its not all down to the calipers that is the problem its also down to the size of the discs not being able to cope and dissipate the heat from the small 262mm discs, where as if you upgrade to something like the dc2 calipers or ek9 calipers (they are both the same) the disc size is now moved up to 282mm so needing the bigger caliper and pads to cover the increased disc size if that makes sence.

 

[clockwoRk]

Locking up brakes/wheels is not an indicator of good or bad brakes, just a heavy foot.

Spot on. Once you've stamped on the peddle hard enough to lock the wheels, the brakes don't really have to do that much to keep them locked as all the friction is then going on between the tyre and the track surface (not between the pad and disk).
For good brakes you need big enough disks to disappate the heat and the bigger the pads, the more stopping friction you're able to put on the disk per unit it of force being pushed on the calipers.

If it's just for normal road use the oem setup is probably fine though.

 

[Kozy]

After my in depth look at brake system design, a general rule of thumb would be that you only really need more powerful brakes if you have significantly increased the available grip from the tyres, otherwise a bigger disc with a smaller caliper is all you need to improve heat management. Tyres stop the car, the relative force of the brakes affects nothing more than the amount you have to push on the pedal.

 

[kieran_ej9]

cheers guys been off for a while but had a good read at all the info and im understanding now tanks again !