I'm a bit of a 'Brake dabber' . I'll dab the brakes a few times as an attention grabber (Hopefully) to the person driving behind me. I like to anticipate my braking and gear changing as much as possible, so I'm very light on brake pads. Someone complained recently about the very quick 'Engine' braking' in the S2000, referring to the way that there is a very quick loss of speed when lifting off the accelerator. That coupled with the 6 close gear ratios is what makes the car so enjoyable for me and suits my style of driving. The most efficient way to stop in a hurry of course is to just stand on the brakes and let ABS do the work.

 

When I notice the car in front stopping fast, I hit the brakes as hard as possible. As soon as my car is slowed to the speed of the car in front, I let up on the brakes so that I don't get rear ended for no good reason. Threshold braking is fine for the track, ABS is fine for the street.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by marcucci
[B]FIRST check your rear-view mirror.

 

roll on the brakes for hard, consistent pressure. like gil said, you want a smooth weight transfer to your front wheels to increase your contact patch for braking. It is your tires that slow you down, don't forget!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by S TWO K
[B]Your doing 75mph and suddenly the light turns yellow at the next intersection....

Do you apply hard, consistent brake pressure without steping off the brake pedal?

Or,

Do you apply hard pressure, and than let up a second, and than reapply?

I sometimes do this thinking it may save my pads/rotors a bit by releasing heat buildup, pressure etc.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by S TWO K
[B]Your doing 75mph and suddenly the light turns yellow at the next intersection....


I sometimes do this thinking it may save my pads/rotors a bit by releasing heat buildup, pressure etc.

 

When you make a stop, you have to dissipate the energy through your brakes. The amount of cooling that happens during the couple of seconds of braking is infinitesimal compared to the amount of heat you are putting into the brakes. And the amount of heat you put into the brakes is almost constant no matter what you do.

My suggestion is that after a hard stop, you leave some room between you and the car in front of you. That way, you can creep forward a little at a time so your brakes can cool evenly. If you don't, you could get warped rotors easy. This is because at a stop with hard brakes, 4/5 of your brake rotors are exposed to air and atmosphere and cool very quickly compared to the part of the rotor behind the pads (which are just as hot as the rotor). Creeping forward allows a different part of the rotor to cool, reducing stress due to differential thermal expansion states. Creeping backwards works too (if there is no one behind you).

 

your brakes do not get hot enough to warp the rotors after a single 75-0 application.

 

Maybe not in a S2000, but there are an awful lot of everyday street cars out there that get them from slower speeds for this very reason.

When I participated in the TL forum, people were always going back to their dealers whining about warped rotors. The number 2 reason was driving hard to a car wash and then spraying the rotors with water.

In all three forms of heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation), temperature is a major factor. But differential cooling stress is time dependant. It doesn't matter how hot your brakes get, if you can cool them evenly and your lug nuts are torqued properly, you'll never get warped rotors. I haven't in 20 years of driving!

 

Think about how much ground you will cover at 70 mph in the time it takes to lift off and re apply just because you like how the pedal feels!!!??

Roll onto them hard and let ABS do its job in an emergency stop, and watch behind you for that cell phone user!