Source:  gtplanet.net  

There are a few different reasons heat will affect your braking performance and predictability.  With the right brake setup, heat problems can be avoided in the first place. 

A stock braking system on a street car will perform poorly in race applications, and race vehicles need quality brake systems.  Of the various methods available to improve the performance of a braking system, a majority exist as a way to either increase the amount of heat created or heat dissipated.

The reason to increase heat creation in a braking system is to generate added stopping power.  A braking system works by converting the kinetic energy of a vehicle into heat through friction, so more heat means more friction and stopping power.  The drawback of increasing the heat generating prop...

Not all high performance vehicles are in need of high performance brake fluid, but highly abused braking systems can benefit from a racing formulation. During periods of high frequency braking, excessive heat builds up in the system, causing brake fluid temperatures to increase.

If the brake fluid temperature increases too much, the brake fluid itself will boil and cause brake pedal “fade”. If this has ever happened to you, bleed your brakes and upgrade to a higher dot grade of brake fluid upon replenisho familiar with brake fluids and their DOT grades, you should review of the pros and cons of each type before choosing a brake fluid for application.

Brake fluid comes in either DOT 3, 4, or 5 grades, and the properties of each are standardized by the government. Each DOT standard certifie...

Stainless Steel Brake Brake Line      

Overview

There are two different types of brake lines that can be installed on  a vehicle; rubber and stainless steel.  Of these, rubber brake lines are much cheaper than their stainless steel counterparts.   

Rubber brake line installations are much more common, because the average everyday vehicle owner won’t notice the difference in braking response that comes from using rubber brake lines.

Rubber Style Brake Lines                      

Technical Differences Between Rubber Versus Steel

At the layering level, stainless steel brake lines are somewhat similar to standard rubber brake lines as they both have flexible hoses encapsulated by a rigid shell. 

If you were to cut a rubber brake line in half, you would notice there is nylon weave that ser...

Caliper Clamping Pressure- What Effects It and How It Affects Braking Performance

In a high performance braking system, you will have integrated as standard a high performance brake caliper that has all the best features integrated. 

A braking caliper that is made of strong materials will be resistant to flex or torsion, and multiple pistons will create more points of contacts on the brake pads.  This combination of features will increase clamping force of the brake caliper over stock, and will do so without undesired consequences. 

Installing a set of high performance brake rotors with only one of these features included will not benefit the braking system as both work together to accomplish the goal.

If you are looking to increase your vehicles stopping power, then a brake caliper swap is...

Source: www.vetteweb.com

There are several different options available when completing a brake system upgrade.  By default, the driver should be looking at getting away from stock vehicle rotor material types if they plan on doing any elevated degree of performance driving. 

Putting undue stress on a braking system that has not been designed for the purpose will most likely end with brake failure or unpredictability. 

Performance from a set of rotors will mostly depend on how much money the driver wants to spend, as rotor materials vary highly in their price.  Simple two piece iron designs with cross drilling may be all that is needed for some of driving habits, but exotic materials can be utilized to increase a braking systems capacity for heat while reducing the vehicles weight.

There a...