Comments on: Will slicks put brakes under more stress?

By: Geraint Dew

Geraint Dew — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:06:33 +0000

Make brakes less effective they should, the longer the braking distances the more of a chance the driver got to out brake the other driver!!!

By: Geraint Dew

Geraint Dew — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:05:17 +0000

After half the season has been, its clear that the braking distances are even shorter than last year and overtking ia no easier!!! Increase the braking distances so they are not braking almost in the corner!!! This will lead to more chances of overtaking

By: Stresspersonalities.com

Stresspersonalities.com — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:55:42 +0000

New to the blog and wanted to say great blog so far and I am looking forward to reading more and posting some comments of my own. Hello to everyone!

By: Alejandro

Alejandro — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:43:41 +0000

I should also note that front brakes will still get no help from KERS at all, and being they are the ones that are more stressed we might see issues on the slower circuits

By: Alejandro

Alejandro — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:27:00 +0000

I agree w/Mattclinch, only slow circuits should see higher brake wear, and also agree with Ukk in that it’s not through brake heat but rather motion through the drivertrain that KERS does its job
@ theRoswellite, braking capacity is always higher than grip if they are working correctly, the end result being a lockup, the question being can they consistently do it with slicks throughout a slow race?
@Mahir C, Everything i’ve heard about the new tyres is that the compound will be softer, in fact someone from bridgestone said so i’m sure, this due to the fact that the structural requirements for grooves no longer apply.
@martinb, i’m also thinking you won’t always have more straight line speed, i’m thinking of mid to short straights with a previous quick corner that will see lower exit speeds due to less downforce.

My own question, is KERS capable of discarding energy in an effective way? ie, you can only use 80hp during 6 seconds per lap, but what if you were to need the unit to simply assist your braking a lot more than you are allowed to release the energy through the drive train? I guess the only way would be through heat, some type of big resistance?

By: martinb

martinb — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 11:22:10 +0000

Interesting question. Brakes are there to dissipate kinetic energy. 1/2 mv^2. If cars are faster because of less drag, then more energy to be dissipated. But if grip is better then can corner faster therefore don’t need to lose so much kinetic energy before corner. KERS will assist the brakes (Prius drivers report much lower brake pad wear) but lower aero drag will increase the work the brakes have to do. In any case, driver will want to brake as hard as possible, so will stress brakes to maximum. But can tyres transmit all that braking force? Grip = friction x downforce. Better friction, worse downforce, how does it balance out? Will placement of KERS affect weight transfer under braking to counterbalance loss of downforce?

My head hurts! But I think the brakes will have an easier life.

By: Mahir C

Mahir C — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:24:32 +0000

Lets not take that braking distances will be shorter for granted. Yes slicks means more contact patch, but there will be less downforce to help braking.Also we dont know much anything about the tire compound, maybe the compound will be harder so it gives less grip for the same contact patch.

By: Chaz

Chaz — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:03:24 +0000

mmm yes interesting! I did not know about this rule change of not being allowed to increase brake sizes…

By: b0son

b0son — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:51:02 +0000

More rubber maybe, but the tyre compounds are somewhat harder than a few years ago (at the height of the tyre war). Less downforce at the rear, but how about at the front? Add KERS, and I’d be surprised if the front brakes are as stressed as they were a few years ago.

By: Amarjit Singh

Amarjit Singh — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:45:34 +0000

Most likely the brakes will receive more ventilation to account for the increased stress. This will probably compensate for the increased wear.