So here you are. You’ve got all this amazing go power. You’re lined up against that big bad piece of Detroit iron. He revs his motor and the entire car torques to one side, you do the same and are rewarded by the pleasing sound of your turbo spooling and the blow-off valve venting … your ready to go.
And go you do. But what happens when it is time to stop your 3200+ lb. beast of horsepower engorged metal. Are your brakes up to the task? If you are running the stock braking system the answer is no.
Our braking system was designed to handle a street driven car, and barely even then if you were a spirited driver. But it usually holds up to the task and smart pad choice can often keep you out of trouble. The problem comes, however when you 1) start really racing 2) increase your power an thus your ability to get going really fast or worse BOTH. In either case you will be pushing the limits of your brakes. Oh sure, they may stop you and with the right pads brake fade might not be too much of a problem, but are you really in control of the car? Or are you stomping on the pedal with all your weight that you have no ability to actually modulate the brakes? What about running race tires … chances are your tires are stronger than your brakes and you aren’t even able to fully utilize the tires grip to slow your car down. There are many ways to define and decide if you have enough brake. Obviously if you press the stop pedal and the car doesn’t you have a problem. But high performance driving is more than that. It is about control, consistency, and safety.
A quick tutorial on brake fade. There are two types. Pad fade and fluid fade. Pad fade occurs when the pads get too hot and can no longer generate the friction needed to slow the car down. Or put another way you step on the pedal and the car keeps going; meanwhile the pedal feels "normal". Fluid fade occurs when the fluid in your brake system gets so hot it boils. Once it is boiling you get bubbles and those bubbles compress when you press the pedal rather than the caliper pistons pushing on the pads. The result: you press the pedal, it goes to the floor (mushy) and you keep going. It is very important to understand which type of fade you are having problems with as it will directly effect how to deal with upgrading your brakes. In one form your pads can’t generate the friction to slow the car down, in the other you can’t generate the pressure on the pads to slow the car down. Different problems … different solutions
So what to do: As with all things, that depends on your current needs and your future plans. I will say right off that whatever you THINK your future plans are take them and write them down. Then take that piece of paper and throw it away. Now think of what the "next step up" would be for your car and use THAT as your "light at the end of the tunnel." Rest assured that wherever you think you are planning now will change and you will go further in the future. If you always use that mind set then you will have the best luck of buying the right parts now and not upgrading them again later. Don’t worry about that causing "mod-inflation," your money and time will limit you - have no fear of that :)
Ok so depending on where you think you are going here are your basic steps:
1) Better brake pads
2) Larger rotors
3) Larger / better calipers
4) Better brake fluid
5) Braided Stainless steel lines
6) Brake ducts