Brakes and batteries

[C M Smith <cmsmith@domain.elided>]

Cross drilled or slotted brake rotors have superior wanker factor built 
right in. Neither feature makes any difference to actual braking 
performance on a street car other than to wear the pads faster and possibly 
cause the rotors to crack after high mileages. Street disc brakes do not 
suffer from overheating, they need to be warmed up more often than cooled 
off. Hard brake pads are no good for the same reason, no good when cold. If 
you are repeatedly applying your brakes so heavily on the street that you 
need to cool the brakes you are driving like an idiot. Simple logic 
dictates that fast street driving involves applying the minimum braking 
required for safe driving. In fact, I pride myself on using the brakes as 
little as possible, especially on the highway, it is the fastest way from A 
to B. Plus that first cold emergency stop is the measure of performance 
braking on a street machine. Soft pads and solid but vented rotors work 
best for the street.

Batteries should be as big as will fit in the designated space. Deep 
discharge batteries will work fine in a car but they sacrifice power for 
durability. It is pointless to use one in a car. The useful limit on 
starter cranking (the only significant load on a car battery) is the 
overheating of the starter motor not the ability of the battery to deliver 
power. Car batteries should be designed for many shallow discharges and 
long periods of slight overcharging. Heat kills batteries and cold reveals 
they are dead or dying. Hot summers and cold winters are the car battery's 
hell on earth. Try keeping a battery alive on the Canadian Prairie. 3-4 
years is good service from top quality batteries.

However, my 91 164 AC Delco lasted over 10 years! I'm impressed. BTW, if 
you can, always use a SUV or light truck battery in your car. They are 
built with heavier plates than those made for cars. They sacrifice a little 
power for robust construction and last significantly longer than just car 
batteries.

Keep those batteries cool and the brakes hot....

Cheers




Michael Smith
Calgary, Alberta,Canada
91 Alfa 164L

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