http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...E/61106011/1065

Wow. Braking distances cut in half! I'm somewhat surprised tire technology allows the brakes to perform this much better. You must need fantastic grip to see that kind of improvement.

 

Roads built out of used tires & other material are actually in the testing right now. It's supposed to lessen road noise, increase grip, and decrease road damage rates. I'm more looking forward to that.

 

Marketing BS. As you stated, the primary limiting factor in braking distances is tire grip. If these brakes need less time to go to full braking power and/or allow the ABS to work better due to finer-grained control, then I could imagine some braking distance improvement, but half? No way in hell.

 

Yeah, that's a suspicious claim. As soon as you have enough brake power to lock up the wheel you don't need any more. Still seems like an interesting mechanical arrangement. But if the braking force increases (self-locking) then does a failure mean instant wheel lock? Ouch.

 

We've been paying tire recycling charges and grinding them up for road construction use for years. The problem is nobody seems to be using them. There are huge, and I mean huge, mounds of rubber pellets and one of them seems to self ignite about every two years. It burns too hot for the fire dept. to put out so they watch a few thousand (million?) tons of rubber burn for a couple of weeks. The smoke column can be seen for tens of miles. Really pretty impressive if you don't mind the smell.

 

I will still take these bling bling calipers (link: http://stadium.weblogsinc.com/autoblog/hir...peccrar_04.jpg) over the ones mentioned.

I think these on the new scoob are the biggest set i've ever seen.

 

Cutting the stopping distance in half is an extraordinary claim.
I'd like to see proof.

Here's the official website, FWIW:
http://www.siemensvdo.com/products_solutio...ing-technology/

 

As PedalFaster mentioned, braking distance these days is grip limited, not brake limited. They would have to be using ultra-sticky tires on an ultra-sticky surface to even come close to that, I think.

 

Maybe they get so hot because of their super braking capabilities they melt your tires to to the road. You stop fast, but you only get to do it once.

 

The joys of being able to make a claim without specific details, eh?