Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 14:14:46 -0800
Reply-To: "Standley, Craig" <standlc@DATA-IO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Standley, Craig" <standlc@DATA-IO.COM>
Subject: Re: Reducing brake fade on '88 Westy?
Content-Type: text/plain
Unless you are on a race track, brake fade is mostly from the pads heating
up. On the track, the brake fluid can boil too, but that's unlikely in
normal driving. So I'd look at the pads first.
They might be glazed, or the rotor might be glazed. Cross drilled rotors
are a gimmick that do no good on 99% of the cars you see them on. They
weaken the rotor too since the holes are drilled into the rotors. This is a
great place for cracks to form. The cross drilled rotors you see on
Porsches and Ferraris are actually cast that way, and are different than the
ones you can go out and get at Shucks. Save your money and get plain
rotors.
Get the best pads you can afford too, and get them with the highest heat
tolerance if that's an option. Heat in the pad is what is causing the
fade.
When you are driving, let off the brake for a while in an effort to get them
to cool down. You probably do this anyways but I figured I'd mention it.
I drive my Mustang on the track pretty regularly and deal with brake fade
quite a bit there. We fix the problem with better pads, better rotors
(though this mostly to prevent warping), high temp brake fluid and ducting.
Ducting might be an option too, if you are on mountain roads a lot and this
becomes an issue frequently. I haven't examined the Vanagon brakes too
closely but if you do ducting you'll probably have to remove the dust
shields for it to work. Ducting may be extreme, but so is losing your
brakes on a mountain road so you might want to think about it.
-Craig
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kenneth D Lewis [SMTP:kdlewis@JUNO.COM]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2001 12:58 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Reducing brake fade on '88 Westy?
>
> Shawn;
> Brake fade can sure get your heart pumping! BTDT. I would
> certainly pay
> some immediate attention to the brake system, to be on the safe side.
> Brake material could be "glazed", reducing stopping efficiency.
>
> Good Luck and Stop Safely
> Ken Lewis temporarily hailing from OKC
> 86 Transporter Crew Cab , 60 356 Coupe
> http://NekSiwel.20m.com/
>
>
> On Wed, 22 Aug 2001 07:26:53 -0700 Shawn Wright <swright@SLS.BC.CA>
> writes:
> > Once again I encountered fairly serious brake fade driving behind
> > some slowpokes coming down various passes on the Crowsnest Hwy. I
> > flushed the system 2 years ago with fresh DOT4 fluid, so I suppose
> > it's time to do this again. But since the van has only gone ~10k km
> > since the last fluid change, I'm not convinced this will help all
> > that much.
> >
> > I know I do have slightly warped front rotors - could this lead to
> > more heat build-up? I'll need to pull them and either have them
> > turned, or replaced I guess. Cross drilled rotors seem pretty
> > expensive - what other options do I have for improved braking at low
> > cost? Are there specific brands of pads to look for that offer
> > better
> > fade resistance?
> >
> > Thanks.
> > Shawn Wright, I.T. Manager
> > Shawnigan Lake School
> > swright@SLS.bc.ca
> > http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
> > http://www.sls.bc.ca
>
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