justmax

I don't think I've seen this topic discussed (but I'm getting older, so I may have just forgotten)...


I'm outside taking a smoke break today and I'm looking at my Max's brakes. The rear discs and calipers are so much smaller than the front!! I'm no car mechanic nor a race car driver, but in Gran Turismo, in order to decrease understeer during braking, you increase rear braking power.

So:
1. Do the front brakes do the most work simply because there is more friction surface than on the rear? Or is it just the physics of the car slowing down that forces more work on the front brakes?

1. Is it mechanically possible to, say, buy a set of front rotors & calipers and mount them on the rear?

2. If so, does anyone think this is a good idea?

Thanks for any input...
Justin

Daniel B. Martin

Gran Turismo what? Is that some kind of computer simulation? If so, are they simulating front wheel drive or rear wheel drive cars?

Physics. The front brakes do more work than the rear brakes because the front end is heavier ...
- more than half the weight of a 4Gen Maxima is on the front wheels when the car is at rest
- when the brakes are applied there is a weight transfer from the rear to the front

I don't know.

No. The rear brakes are big enough.

justmax

Yeah, sorry, it's a series of Playstation games. Please don't ask what a Playstation is.
GT does in fact simulate FF (front engine, front drive cars), FR, MR, and AWD vehicles. The emphasis is on realism, and it's extremely fun (yes, time consuming too). In the game, after you get an FF car up to a certain level of power, it becomes increasingly harder to corner. One way to counteract the massive understeer is to increase rear braking power (to induce a little oversteer). The opposite is true for FR cars: you want more braking in the front so as not to spin the car. In any case, I figured "bigger brakes is bigger brakes", the more braking power the better.

thanks anyway DBM.

dmbmaxima2k2

iTrader: (1)

this would be a great idea, you could get a big brake kit for the front and then move the front brakes to the back. it would help a little because a lot of the braking is phyics and weight transfer to the front. i wonder what would be involved to do this.

MaxSE98

at the limits of adhesion given two cars in ideal situations the car with a larger diameter rear rotor will oversteer more. but if you would like more oversteer id suggest a RSB if you dont already have one. in adverse conditions (rain snow ice) changing the front/rear brake bias could really adversly affect the balance of the car intended from the factory. if you dont want either and you want oversteer , try stabbing the brakes for an instant before the corner, the sudden change in the cars attitude unweights the rear tires just enough if done right to break the coefficient of friction and allow the car to rotate. avoid practicing on public roads. trees are not your cars friend
-pete

Eric L.

Well, you would have get new rear calipers too since the rears are meant to use the 0.4" rotors, not the 0.9" rotors from up front.

I wouldn't put too much faith on Gran Turismo. Yes, it is a simulation, but remember it is also a GAME (albeit a great great game). It's realistic, but not real.

I think you would see the benefit of larger rotors only if you are constantly braking really really hard into corners. If you are doing that, then you are going too fast already for normal street driving. Best thing to do is to brake early, and turn without braking (keeps the weight shift to a minimum).

MaxSE98

sometimes those turns sneak up on you , so u need to rotate. when it snows i go to big parking lots and practice everything i can think off. it works

justmax

I understand that GT is just a game and not "real", that's why I was inquiring about the upgrade. I know it works in GT, but will it work in real life driving? I have an ADDCO RSB, and it will cause a little oversteer, but in addittion to that, I had hoped that having 2 sets of front-brake-size brakes would help in overall braking performance.


It friggin' *NEVER* snows in Austin. I remember finding an iced-over parking lot 3 or 4 years ago and having fun in my girlfriend's Legend coupe! I had never had such an experience (grew up in Houston)... that was a real blast!


Justin

Daniel B. Martin

This thread has drifted (forgive the pun) from bigger brakes to oversteer.

Personal opinion: Oversteer will get most drivers in big trouble. It's fine for the expert driver. In this world the number of people who think they are expert drivers exceeds the number of people who genuinely are expert drivers.

MaxSE98

i am by no means an expert, just fortunate to have made it through a few situations that i got into out of my own stupidity

dmbmaxima2k2

iTrader: (1)

what i'm saying is if i but a willwood kit i would have my front brakes to go on the rear, but will they line up.

Shadow

iTrader: (15)

I don't think you'd have a parking brake anymore. I could be wrong though. I'll have to check it out, I still have my old stock front calipers and rotors laying around.

Turbo95Max

iTrader: (25)

if you use front calipers on the rear you'll lose your parking brakes. There's a reason why rear brakes are always smaller then front. THe fronts do more braking. You dont want your rears to lock up on you. You dont need that much braking in rear anyways, Wilwood some nice products like adjustable porportioning valve thats universal you can juss put more braking to the rear. Be cautious tho, overadjustment caues your rears to lock up and youll quickly find yourself in more trouble.

Daniel B. Martin

This is correct.

dmbmaxima2k2

iTrader: (1)

hmm, well this sucks. i was just thinking that it would be a good idea but i guess not. i'm still undecided about a brake upgrade, i really would like to be able to use my stock 15''s at the track and in the winter.