Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 08:37:55 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Why Bigger Brakes Was Cause of brake rotor warping
In-Reply-To: <20130914094200.RX15T.304735.imail@eastrmwml214>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
What you would do, is to shift down to a very low gear, a gear that will
keep you at a speed that doesn't make it necessary to keep the brakes on
very often... That is why we encounter very slow trucks on the downhills
as well as the climbs....They've shifted to a low enough to hold their
trucks from gaining speed...and thereby they can control the heat they
create with their brakes.....
When you crest many of our western US passes there are signs warning of
downhills, and notifying you..."Use Lower Gears."......the problem is that
many don't pay much attention to those...until they start to feel their
brakes losing power due to overheating...and THEN they try to fix the
situation....
Stopping to let the brakes cool is not the best...If you think about
it....the brake rotors will not be able to lose heat in an even way...Where
the brake calipers are, that part of the rotor is 'covered' and the heat
there will be transferred right into the calipers and the
hydraulics....Heat rises so the top of your wheels will get all the heat
from the brakes...it is better to keep the air circulating around
everything to promote more even cooling and cooling that takes the heat
away from the vehicle...
As has been said, it is NOT very fun to encounter overheating brakes and
the panic that feeling brings...it is much smarter to acknowledge that
selecting a proper gear and then simply taking the extra time to descend
slowly, that is the way to assure you won't encounter that panicky and
sometimes fatal 'brake fade' or ever have to try one of those "Runaway
truck ramp...No Parking" exits you see on the major grades on busy roads...
On Sat, Sep 14, 2013 at 6:42 AM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:
> Well Scott, what does one do if the brakes are overheated, but not using
> them will result in uncontrollable speed? I have never had this situation,
> though I have driven on some several mile long, steep grades. But some
> people have. Truckers certainly have faced that situation, to the point
> that highways are equipped with runaway truck ramps. I can sure imagine
> the fear involved in having to pull into one of those things! mcneely
>
> ---- Scott Daniel <scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
> > I hope everyone recognizes it's better to cool brakes by driving and not
> > using them, then to just stop with very hot brakes.
> >
> >
> > On 9/13/2013 8:29 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
> > > ---- Mike Miller <mwmiller6@ATT.NET> wrote:
> > >> I certainly didn't do it on purpose. In both cases when it happened I
> just didn't think it would, but there was never a place to get off the
> brakes and let them cool. Constant downgrade and suddenly overheated!
> > > What gear were you in? Was there a place to stop? Maybe not, on some
> mountain roads there is no place to pull over. But in a low gear one is
> usually able to keep the speed down enough to rest the brakes sometimes.
> > >>
> > >> On Sep 13, 2013, at 3:54 PM, <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> ---- Mike Miller <mwmiller6@ATT.NET> wrote:
> > >>>> Haven't had to gear down yet, but I haven't gone over those two
> roads again either
> > >>> I don't have to be on brutally downhill roads to gear down and avoid
> excessive braking. I have never overheated brakes, and I don't intend to.
> mcneely
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> ________________________________
> > > --
> > > David McNeely
> > >
> >
>
> --
> David McNeely
>
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