{"id":8295,"date":"2016-08-05T12:22:24","date_gmt":"2016-08-05T20:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.corksport.com\/blog\/?p=8295"},"modified":"2023-08-03T07:04:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T15:04:00","slug":"big-brakes-not-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/big-brakes-not-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"When Big Brakes Are Not Enough"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Big<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So you\u2019ve installed your brand new big brake kit<\/a>, and you\u2019re thinking, \u201cThese really should keep me under control.\u201d And maybe you\u2019re even dreaming about being the latest, late-braking “braker” of all time in your run group. Well, before you start celebrating your newfound glory, there are three things you should consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Brakes generate heat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2026and a lot of it at track speeds. Don\u2019t believe me? Check out the picture below. It\u2019s our big brake kit<\/a> in the corner after putting the product through testing<\/a> on the back straight of the Portland International Raceway<\/a>. We wanted to demonstrate that we could take our brakes to the limit, and three laps in to an event can be quite fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Big<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Brakes need fluid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our 2015 Mazda 3 is a road racecar, so we already had RBF600 brake fluid<\/a> installed in the system. We also bled out the system with fresh fluid just in case we had any moisture. Moisture in the system could make the brake fluid overheat and boil, causing the brakes to feel spongy instead of the nice crisp pedal feel the car is known for having while driving around the paddock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first session we discovered that the temperatures of the brakes were exceeding the capacity of the brake fluid. I was boiling the brakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was on a non-turbo Mazda 3, weighing roughly 2900 pounds with a driver. Imagine the extra heat that would be generated from a faster and heavier car like a Mazdaspeed3<\/a> or a Mazdaspeed6. I won\u2019t lie; it\u2019s rather exciting hitting the brake pedal when you need to slow down from 130 mph to enter a set of corners and the peddle goes to the floor in the Mazda 3. With a Mazdaspeed3, you could be approaching 145 mph at the same point.