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Originally Posted by
BenFenner
The stock brakes can already lock up the tires. The real gain of the larger setup is the fade resistance, and you get 100% of that, squishy pedal or no. Additionally, I don't recall having too bad of a pedal with just the 11" kit up front and stock MC. I don't even know if I could tell the difference in travel.
The real gain is "Fade Resistance"? No, not remotely true, especially not in autocross.
The real gains are
shorter braking distance, superior
initial bite (higher coefficient of friction at the pad/rotor) and superior
Modulation. Despite the CW "Brakes don't make you faster", well no, they don't - however they do allow you to GO faster AND still slow down in time, with later application.
Fade is caused first and foremost by heat. Heat changing the coefficient of friction at the pad to rotor surface, heat causing the fluid to boil prematurely, in extreme cases causing the rotor and pad surfaces to glaze. Heat is mitigated by larger surface areas, vented rotors, pad materials, more fluid volume, etc.
Being able to lock the wheels as any measure of braking effectiveness is baloney. You can lock the wheels with drum brakes. Hell, I can stick a steel rod in the spokes and lock the wheel.
Modulation of the brakes is key in autocross and track, a mark of a mismatched set of components is wheels locking under hard braking, with the accompanying huge loss of traction of a sliding wheel. Being able to set the car into a turn with weight transfer, aided by precise pedal feel, huge plus in traction at very high speeds. I would never have thought I could take the first turn at Pocono Raceway at
over 100 mph (no braking) without the brakes capable of handling the speed reduction needed for turn 2. That's where this kind of stuff really pays dividends. If my
initial bite is lower, I have to brake sooner to allow time for the pad to rotor friction to ramp up to the level needed. That's time away from being on the throttle or just holding a higher speed later into a turn.
The whole justification for these brakes in
autocross is superior initial bite, i.e. better braking with a higher coefficient of friction when you want it, sooner AND more effective braking after you do apply them. Fade is rarely even an issue in autocross,
the problem is having a set of brakes you apply late enough, in a short enough distance to slow the car for a turn that do not fail at that task, and do not require so much time (distance) to perform that task that you have to slow down prematurely.
Stock B13 disc brakes take longer at this task, and yes, if the course is long enough and severe enough, you can overwhelm their fade resistance by the last gates. The real issue however is you can lose buckets of time because your brakes just do not allow for really late braking, trail-braking, and other time-shaving techniques.
Ben, have you ever
personally actually run this Wilwood 11" front, with U13/B13 MC and Maxima/Atima rear caliper setup? Do you actually
drive your car at autocross and track events?
Because when I read this crap, I cannot help but say wth man, another person writing about what other people say and post, not their own actual experience...for what that's worth. *insert facepalm here*