Car and Driver Crashes a Nismo 370Z

JonBoy · 01-21-2010, 11:20 AM

+1

VIR is very hard on brakes. The article stated the pedal went to the floor, which can mean one of a few things:

1. The brake fluid boiled (probable cause, and common on many cars with stock brake fluid).

2. Mechanical failure of the braking system (burst brake line or seal somewhere)

3. Insufficient brake fluid in the system to start with, eventually causing air in the lines

"Bad" or "poor" brake pads will not cause the pedal to go to the floor. When you have glazed or overheated pads, you still get brake pressure (until the fluid overheats) but you get very little stopping force from the pads. It is possible that they both boiled the fluid and overheated the pads, which is about as bad as it gets aside from actually bursting a brake line.

Very few people ever get their cars to 130-140 mph and then hammer the brakes into a turn like that. Even fewer do it lap after lap. This was not a driver problem, it was a car problem and while other cars at VIR in this test experienced brake fade, none of them experienced catastrophic brake fade or failure.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Virginia International Raceway Crashes	spearfish25	Track / Autocross / Drifting / Dragstrip	18	12-13-2009 07:47 PM
New GTR R35 crashes following an Evo IX MR	AK370Z	Other Vehicles	33	12-11-2009 01:25 AM
Lamborghini Diablo Crashes In Front Of Crowd	AK370Z	Other Vehicles	8	05-01-2009 08:03 PM
Plane Crashes In Hudson River	CrownR426	The Lounge (Off Topic)	9	01-17-2009 10:31 AM
$$$$$$$ Crashes	BanningZ	The Lounge (Off Topic)	12	01-03-2009 04:53 AM

01-21-2010, 11:20 AM	#22 (permalink)
JonBoy Base Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 20 Drives: Bleh Rep Power: 17	+1 VIR is very hard on brakes. The article stated the pedal went to the floor, which can mean one of a few things: 1. The brake fluid boiled (probable cause, and common on many cars with stock brake fluid). 2. Mechanical failure of the braking system (burst brake line or seal somewhere) 3. Insufficient brake fluid in the system to start with, eventually causing air in the lines "Bad" or "poor" brake pads will not cause the pedal to go to the floor. When you have glazed or overheated pads, you still get brake pressure (until the fluid overheats) but you get very little stopping force from the pads. It is possible that they both boiled the fluid and overheated the pads, which is about as bad as it gets aside from actually bursting a brake line. Very few people ever get their cars to 130-140 mph and then hammer the brakes into a turn like that. Even fewer do it lap after lap. This was not a driver problem, it was a car problem and while other cars at VIR in this test experienced brake fade, none of them experienced catastrophic brake fade or failure.