Brake cooling ducts

[BruceAlmighty]

My understanding is that vented rotors carry the air from the center to the outside. I take that to mean that the air should be directed towards the center and the caliper - yes?

thats correct sir. 

i would definitely pull them in your situation. even if the wheels do help dissipate heat, cant hurt to have the backing plates/dust shields off as well for a little extra cooling.

[GTS22REC]

I agree with Bruce and technogon on the backing plate. 

In my old 86 mr2, I upgraded to the late 87-88 rotors in the front, my backing plate were too small so instead of bending them back and risk pebbles from getting inside, I just completely removed them. 

I did do a few heavy driving in the Canyons,  I didnt get any overheating problems.  I drove with my backing plates off for about 2 years without any issues. 

[Sigma Projects]

Most hi perf cars I know have them leading rather than trailing.

Really? I always though hi performance cars have them on inside, even F1 cars have the calipers on the inside. Thought it was to help with moving CG further to the center.

The cooling however on this car is not so simple. The duct hose would have to run under the frame rail to avoid the tire at full lock. The strut rod and sway bar both reside there

Ah good point.

[a2ndopinion]

Really? I always though hi performance cars have them on inside, even F1 cars have the calipers on the inside. Thought it was to help with moving CG further to the center.

I think you misunderstood. They are talking about the caliper being on the front/forward side (towards the front of the car) of the strut, not behind, or towards the back of the car.

[Sigma Projects]

Maybe I'm still missing the point, lol I'm a visual person words keep confusing me.

This is what i mean, is this the same as what you're trying to say?




Calipers on the inside, towards the center of the car. Both front and rear calipers are on the inside.

[a2ndopinion]

Ahh, visual aids! The front calipers are mounted on the back (trailing), the rear calipers are mounted on the front (leading).
The point above was that ours front calipers are mounted on the front. If you simply swapped the struts side-to-side, the calipers would be mounted on the back. Of course then the calipers have to be swapped as well, to keep the bleeders pointing up.

[Sigma Projects]

i guess if you want it that way, but swapping the struts from side to side wouldn't orient the bleeder valve differently.

[ozzie]

I'll bet the F1 calipers are mounted where the are for better weight distribution. Wouldn't make a damn bit of difference on our cars though

[a2ndopinion]

swapping the struts from side to side wouldn't orient the bleeder valve differently.

As long as you swap the calipers also. If you try to move the caliper that is on the right from forward to the back, the bleeder(s) move from the top to the bottom.

Then you'd be like the moron I worked with that put the multiple hundred pound radiator into a transit mixer (cement truck) upside down, and then asked how to fill the radiator!

[Sigma Projects]

bob: I guess I was being bad with words again, when I think of swapping the struts I think of the whole things being swapped, like hubs/caliper/rotors with it, lol. So ok I think we are on the same page, for some reason I was thinking you were saying that after swapping you had to re swap the calipers.

ozzie:yea, that's the reason they do it. I'm not sure how much of an effect it is on the F1 car, but they do everything they can, even if it means shaving 10grams off of a suspension component. All the high end cars have the calipers setup this way, I'm sure it affects are cars too, but to what extent? I have no clue. The main reason I suggested it was so that Technogon could have a modified dust guard facing forward and have the brake ducting into that, but then he talked about clearance issues with the wheels.

[a2ndopinion]

ozzie:yea, that's the reason they do it. I'm not sure how much of an effect it is on the F1 car, but they do everything they can, even if it means shaving 10 grams off of a suspension component. All the high end cars have the calipers setup this way, I'm sure it affects are cars too, but to what extent? I have no clue. The main reason I suggested it was so that Technogon could have a modified dust guard facing forward and have the brake ducting into that, but then he talked about clearance issues with the wheels.

If you think about it, it is a pound or so hanging forward on the strut, or hanging back on the strut. I doubt we could weigh or quantify the difference, but I do see the point. Like you said, they are shaving 10 grams - barely 1/3 of an ounce...

[Sigma Projects]

The weight distribution change is so the car has better turn in characteristics, just like relocating the battery. You can try to quantify it by calculating CG changes. It's like if you put some putty on the end of a stick and start swinging it around and then relocating the putty closer to your hand you'll notice it's easier to swing.

[a2ndopinion]

I fully understand that, but on our cars, I doubt the change would be noticeable. Like like the difference in an aircraft carrier + or - one aircraft.

[Sigma Projects]

well our cars are pretty light and the lighter the car the more of a difference is noticed with weight changes. I mean I think in a ST moving the battery to the rear is like a 2% change, kinda big. But it's all about the combined effects, like when someone says they shaved 4 pounds off their steering wheel, it's like whoopty do 4lbs, but then when it's in a combination of things then it can all add up.

[a2ndopinion]

I still say that "I doubt the change would be noticeable" in our cars.