When upgrading the front rotors, must you re-tune the Traction control, ABS, etc. systems? Because we'd be upsetting the brake balance if the clamping force for the big brake kit for front is stronger than stock.
If the brake balance is changed, the introduction of a BBK for front might result in the grip of the rear tyres not being used to the max.
Unless of course the Electronic Brake Force distribution system in the Cayman is good enough to proportion the braking force sufficiently among the 4 tyres to maximize grip.
Is the EBD in the Cayman good enough?
Clamping force and grip are not related. My stock brakes have enough clamping force to lock the wheels at any speed. Which means they exceed the ability of the tires to grip the road. Bigger brakes will distribute the work over a larger surface area and will lead to lower spot temperatures and more fade resistance, I suppose.
If you put monster brakes on the front, and they locked up the wheels with a breeze blowing on the brake pedal, your ABS would just kick in earlier as it sensed the lock up. The front and rear respond separately as traction varies under each wheel. ABS responds to traction conditions under each wheel. Not clamping force of the brakes.
My guess is that your big brakes would just have to work less hard to accomplish the same task.
My 2.7 (with the "small brake" kit) stopped just as quickly as my 3.4, and I never experienced fade on the track even with stock pads. Going to Pagid pads gave me a different pedal feel, but I am not convinced they helped me stop faster. In fact, they were worse until they bedded in and warmed up. I might not be hammering hard enough to leverage the difference, though.
Anyone do BBK in the front? Does your car swap ends under hard braking?
Sharky has new brakes on the Sharkwerks project CS.
http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-chat/9252-sharkwerks-project-cayman-s-coming-soon-5.html#post188402
and a good read...
Shedding Light on Fading Brakes - Features - Car and Driver September 2002
If, because of the BBK upgrade in front, the clamping force is so much greater in the front, or the braking torque so much greater, than stock, the front tyres may have their grip overwhelmed way before the rears have a chance to max out their grip.
Reliance on ABS itself does not reduce braking distance, it's not optimized for that. I think Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) was made for optimization of braking distance by sensing traction, using the ABS sensors.
What I wanted to know was whether the Cayman EBD program was good enough to factor in the increased braking torque/clamping force of enhanced BBKs like the Brembo 6-pot available for the Cayman.
