Adequate Brakes???

[Tman]

With Dallas in keeping with the jovial portion and spirit of the rules. This wouild be my rulebook qoute.

"All vehicles should have an adequate brake system to safely unload and reload the car from and to the trailer; all other stopping should be at the drivers risk" ....JD

PS: after you loose a chute you quickly formulate a new plan..

NOte to self, formulate plan sooner rather than later

[desotoman]

Years ago I remember a Streamliner running at El Mirage that only had "Parking Brakes", as the car relied on the Parachute to stop.  As fate would have it the chute did not open one time, and they went for the ride of their life over pucker bushes out the back door at El Mirage damaging the car. Officials were not happy and said not to bring the car back until the braking issues had been resolved.

The reason I bring this up is it is best to learn from others experience.

Tom G.

[Tman]

Years ago I remember a Streamliner running at El Mirage that only had "Parking Brakes", as the car relied on the Parachute to stop.  As fate would have it the chute did not open one time, and they went for the ride of their life over pucker bushes out the back door at El Mirage damaging the car. Officials were not happy and said not to bring the car back until the braking issues had been resolved.

The reason I bring this up is it is best to learn from others experience.

Tom G.

I am a quick learner, I said the same thing as your last line to myself a bit ago!

[Dynoroom]

Many folks will promote the use of minimal brakes at Bonneville but we also run at El Mirage. These are the brakes I use.


 The tires are rollers.

[Rex Schimmer]

Mike,
Do you pull back the pads from the rotors before each run? I know that the NASCAR guys do this at the super speedways to qualify.

Rex

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Pad pulling, so to speak, got me at least 1/4 - 1/2 mph -- on the bike.  Don't forget they're back, though, when putting the vehicle back on the trailer

[Tman]

So, what are you guys using/doing to get the pads back?

[Seldom Seen Slim]

A putty knife gets things started when the pads are hard against the rotor, or just a broad screwdriver blade against the backing plate of the pad.  Be careful not to nick the rotor's surface.  Move the pad away from the rotor far enough that there's plenty of clearance - then make sure the pads slide easily on the pins so that you'll have both sides free.  A quarter inch is a big movement -- an eighth is enough.

There was a time when I had moved them away and left them so - 'til I got to Maxton.  There I was, in the lights, grabbing the brakes like is required there, and I pulled the lever - and pulled, and pulled again.  It was what you call an Oh, Sh*t moment -- even as I remembered why I had no front brake.  I instantly remember the reason and kept pumping, gently, another few times and had brakes.  But it was a lesson learned -- check brakes before a run.

[Tman]

A putty knife gets things started when the pads are hard against the rotor, or just a broad screwdriver blade against the backing plate of the pad.  Be careful not to nick the rotor's surface.  Move the pad away from the rotor far enough that there's plenty of clearance - then make sure the pads slide easily on the pins so that you'll have both sides free.  A quarter inch is a big movement -- an eighth is enough.

There was a time when I had moved them away and left them so - 'til I got to Maxton.  There I was, in the lights, grabbing the brakes like is required there, and I pulled the lever - and pulled, and pulled again.  It was what you call an Oh, Sh*t moment -- even as I remembered why I had no front brake.  I instantly remember the reason and kept pumping, gently, another few times and had brakes.  But it was a lesson learned -- check brakes before a run.

Thats what I was envisioning Jon. Tom Burkland also mentioned some form of springs to retract the pads. Thanks

[Buickguy3]

  We did that with our drag race car in the 70's. Only did it once! When I hit the brakes in the lights the car made a very abrupt move to the left. Then I hit the brakes again, and it did it again. When I finally got stopped and went back to the pits, Frank removed the springs that we had inserted and I went and put on clean shorts. Trust me, it's not worth it. 
Doug

[maguromic]

On our RMR we are using a Brembo braking system that knocks the pads back off the rotors.  But others like Performance Friction have also developed zero drag caliper systems for racing that eliminates brake drag that is associated with traditional caliper designs.  Tony

[Tman]

  We did that with our drag race car in the 70's. Only did it once! When I hit the brakes in the lights the car made a very abrupt move to the left. Then I hit the brakes again, and it did it again. When I finally got stopped and went back to the pits, Frank removed the springs that we had inserted and I went and put on clean shorts. Trust me, it's not worth it. 
Doug

Tom did say make sure the driver is aware!

[Tman]

On our RMR we are using a Brembo braking system that knocks the pads back off the rotors.  But others like Performance Friction have also developed zero drag caliper systems for racing that eliminates brake drag that is associated with traditional caliper designs.  Tony

I am not too worried about drag, when I got this Frankland I was amazed at how true things were and the lack of caliper/pad drag. Much better than any of my drivers or hotrods have been.

[wobblywalrus]

On a bike brake try simply pushing sideways on the caliper with your foot.  This pushes one of the pucks in.  When you take your foot off of the caliper the distance between the pucks is wider than the disk thickness.   

[Morpheus]

     Couldn't you use floating rotors on a bike ?