[DeTomaso] Brake Upgrade

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/12/11 8 21 4, hoppe1 at cox.net writes:


> I have to say this brake system at high speeds was every bit as good as 
> the
> sierra and wilwoods.
> 

Under what conditions?   I fully believe that what you say is true for 
normal and even aggressive street driving, and a single panic stop.   But 
repeated heavy braking (track work) will overwhelm any braking system that relies 
on solid rotors.   Ken stated the facts there extremely accurately and 
succinctly, I believe.

Did you have contrary experience?   That is, did you punish your brakes 
with maximum-effort stops for extended durations and suffer no degredation of 
performance, with your dual-rear-caliper setup?

I've never noticed any brake fade etc. on my Wilwood-equipped Pantera even 
after extended track sessions (45 minutes or longer sometimes).   On my 
GT350 clone, I did have some issues which were rectified by installing a very 
professional cooling ducting system.   It takes ram air from the nose and 
routes it through three-inch hose directly to fixtures bolted to the spindles, 
which blow half the air onto the inside surface of the rotor, and the other 
half into the center of the hat, where it is then radiated outwards through 
the cooling vanes.   That completely eliminated anything resembling brake 
fade, even under severe punishment.

Cory Gehling (Collector's Choice) sells (or at least sold) a pair of 
bolt-on widgets which attached to the inside of the Pantera spindles.   They 
weren't set up for hoses; instead, they acted like cupped hands to trap the air 
going buy and duct it onto the rotors.   I don't know how well they worked, 
if at all, nor do I know if he still sells them.   I contemplated buying them 
for myself, but my own experience indicated they weren't necessary, at 
least on my car.   Perhaps when I start running slicks, the increased energy 
directed at the brakes (made possible by the much greater traction available 
under braking) may cause me to revisit that.

Mike