08/22/2023
This is a great post about brakes from a Miata page. Technical but informative.
This is a funny discussion to observe. Some points sadly missed, some great points brought to attention, some placebo opinions, and one HUGE missing link. Question! What does a caliper do? In-short, it clamps down on a rotor (by way of sacrificial brake pads) and inhibits it's rotation. If your caliper can hold this rotor from spinning because the friction surface (brake pads) have sufficient 'bite' to stop it's rotation, you've just achieved maximum braking ability. Why? Because now you've overwhelmed something completely unrelated...and that's your tires/contact patch (tire skidding, full ABS, grip). So, if you can get to that point, how could you possibly do any better with red paint? HANG ON! Got more... BIG IF; If your stock brakes are changing in feel (soft brake pedal, some fade with repeated use, inconsistency, pulsation as heat increases), you need to FIRST flush and upgrade your brake fluid to a higher temp version. Boiling brake fluid is more often the cause of "brake fade" than something to do with the pads and rotors. Yes, they are all interconnected...but the fluid seems to be overlooked most often. These racing (boutique) fluids require more yearly maintenance, so be sure you realize the can-o-worms you are opening. Then, consider a slightly more aggressive/higher temp compatible brake pad. Don't jump to a full race pad without understanding these esoteric compounds take special bedding and require a significant amount of temp to work. Rotors...if they are warped, they won't magically get flat again. Replace them. Fancy cross-drilled rotors for the street look cool but do little to improve your situation. Most people think the holes are there to improve cooling. That's secondary to the real reason. The holes help eliminate brake fade as the pads out-gas and build up an extreme cushion of heat between the two opposing friction surfaces. Ironically, today's pad compounds don't out-gas as much in most situations, so those pretty little holes that crack and structurally weaken the rotor, are mostly for decoration. The best spirited street and occasional track rotor might (arguably) be a cross-hatched (groved) rotor. Now comes the big MISS. If your current brakes work, and you like how your car handles, WHY ARE YOU ADDING MORE UNSPRUNG WEIGHT to the wonderfully compliant and agile suspension??? Furthermore, did anyone do the extensive. research on brake-bias (balance) front to rear for all of these "upgrades?" I see these brake distance tests that 'claim' 70% better stopping distance and laugh my ass off. If you can achieve full threshold braking with your stock brakes on a single pass, you are NOT going to stop 70% shorter with red paint. That's just ridiculous. NOTE: Racers or racing engineers, I realize my submission has some holes (ceramics, surface area, diameter, bite, fade, heat soak, and a whole host of other buzz words that you might throw at me. But for the 98 percentile, my dictation on red-paint is accurate and informative. Let's not confuse the masses with arguments that will never be an issue with 350TW tires on a local mountain road driven by an enthusiastic Miata owner that would prefer NOT to be spending hard-earned money on red paint).
