[DeTomaso] Stock brake calibers & other musings

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/14/13 0 37 4, eb0711 at kolumbus.fi writes:


> Have been driving around with the rebuilt stock brakes with Porterfield
> pads. I appreciate this may not be greatest news, but I've got to admit
> I'm surprised how well it brakes. Not sure how good thin, stock style,
> rotors are for track use, but I really like what I got with small
> investment and elbow grease.
> 
>>>There is NOTHING wrong with stock Pantera brakes for driving on the 
street, even aggressively.   This presumes that they are functioning properly 
and equipped with quality pads (the stock pads were much too hard and don't 
have nearly enough friction).   Some people unfairly criticize the brakes, 
when the problem lies with one or more malfunctioning components, to include 
ancient (even original???) brake fluid, which can lead to one or more 
stuck/frozen pistons in the calipers.   Yes, a broken brake system doesn't work all 
that well--but then what broken *anything* works well?

Having said that, for even moderate track driving, the solid rotors become 
a problem.   They simply aren't capable of shedding the heat, and the brakes 
will eventually overheat and performance will fall off.   That's why the 
early European Panteras had (as an option) ventilated rotors.   

Truthfully, I am rather surprised that these were not a standard feature.   
By 1970 engineers knew of the superiority of vented discs, and they were 
commonplace on American cars.   But keep in mind that disc brakes were still a 
relatively new technology (their first-ever automotive application had only 
been 15 years prior, on the Jaguar D-type) and Italians were slow to adopt 
new things.   Discs were seen as a great improvement over drums (which they 
were) and while the Americans made the next great leap and used vented discs 
as standard on virtually any/all disc-brake-equipped cars almost from the 
start, most Euro cars of the day, at any price point, still used solid 
rotors.

Mike (who has replaced the stock solid discs on all four VW Sciroccos with 
bolt-on vented discs from later-model VWs, with great success....)