General question: Why are bigger brakes better?

Jeffblue · 10-26-2010, 08:16 AM

one thing to take home from this is that bigger brakes are better, and tires with more grip are better, however the ability of the car to stop is limited whichever is the weak link. all things being equal, same tires, same car, same conditions etc, the car with bigger brakes is going to stop better. The ability of a car to stop is limited by a lot of things, tire compound is just one of them. weight of the car (even number of passengers affects the weight), speed at which it is traveling, road conditions (wet/dry, hot/cold). all things being equal, bigger brakes (assuming kits being compared are of equal quality) are going to stop the car better. end of story. if you want to put those brakes on a minivan going 100mph in the snow down a hill or on grandma's carolla going 20mph down main street, obviously they are going to perform differently, but that is because of other variables, not the brakes themselves.

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10-26-2010, 08:16 AM	#21 (permalink)
Jeffblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: NY Age: 38 Posts: 9,192 Drives: Z32TT & 335xi Coupe Rep Power: 39	one thing to take home from this is that bigger brakes are better, and tires with more grip are better, however the ability of the car to stop is limited whichever is the weak link. all things being equal, same tires, same car, same conditions etc, the car with bigger brakes is going to stop better. The ability of a car to stop is limited by a lot of things, tire compound is just one of them. weight of the car (even number of passengers affects the weight), speed at which it is traveling, road conditions (wet/dry, hot/cold). all things being equal, bigger brakes (assuming kits being compared are of equal quality) are going to stop the car better. end of story. if you want to put those brakes on a minivan going 100mph in the snow down a hill or on grandma's carolla going 20mph down main street, obviously they are going to perform differently, but that is because of other variables, not the brakes themselves.