A work in progress [purist warning]

[t_bush]

I still think it would be much better to find and fix the real problem instead of relying on the booster as a band-aid

Don't concider a booster as a band aid. It is concidered a mandatory piece of equipment on modern cars. Remember todays roads are not the roads these cars were designed for.
A booster increases the "clamp" the pads can apply.
Larger brakes increase the heat they can dissipate.
Larger diameter rotors increase the torque the brakes can handle and are good for larger wheels.
The goal is to have as much braking action as your tires will take, without locking up the wheel. Once it locks up any additional brake doesn't do you any good.
Too little brake will let you rear end someone. Too much brake will throw you in the ditch.

-Tim

 

[TR3driver]

A booster increases the "clamp" the pads can apply.

So what? Without the booster, you should be able to easily lock the wheels. After that point, applying more "clamp" won't do any good at all.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]The goal is the have as much braking action as your tires will take, without locking up the wheel.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. And the stock brakes take care of that nicely.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Too much brake will throw you in the ditch.[/QUOTE]
Only if the driver is too stupid to get off the pedal. The maximum available braking depends greatly on conditions, so there has to be an intelligence involved. With our cars, the driver is expected to provide the intelligence.

Optimum braking actually happens when all four tires are sliding just a little bit. If you can find that point and hold it, all the boosters and "upgrades" won't stop you any quicker.

Even ABS only offers an advantage in that it can adjust to different conditions at each wheel. A skilled driver with a well balanced braking system can still do better than the computer.

But I suppose you could say that I'm a bit biased against boosters. When I was learning to drive, my Dad had a station wagon with very sensitive power brakes (and a tendency to lock the rear wheels first if there was no load in the car). My first accident ever happened when I tried to stop that thing on a few inches of snow and it went over the high side. Compared to it, my first car (which had no booster) would stop on a dime.

Modern cars need boosters because their brakes are tiny compared to the weight of the car, and people don't like having to actually push on the brake pedal. It is a band-aid. I regularly switch between driving a 4500 pound car with power brakes, vented rotors, and ABS; and my TR3 with no power and no vents. Guess which one will stop quicker :laugh:

 

[Don_R]

Randall,

Try switching between a UP ARMORED HMMWV and a Spitfire.

 

[swift6]

Optimum braking actually happens when all four tires are sliding just a little bit. If you can find that point and hold it, all the boosters and "upgrades" won't stop you any quicker.

Even ABS only offers an advantage in that it can adjust to different conditions at each wheel. A skilled driver with a well balanced braking system can still do better than the computer.

Otherwiae known as "threshold braking" and it is what ABS attempts to do in a panic stop where the ABS is kickin on full force.

Early ABS systems actually increased stopping distance.

 

[TR3driver]

Try switching between a UP ARMORED HMMWV and a Spitfire.

Ah, no thanks ... I'm not really into heavy metal !


Although I did meet my first wife while driving a 60 passenger 'pusher' bus!